Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 | 9:50 a.m.
The escalating cost of government services and access to walking paths were two of the concerns expressed by a handful of people Tuesday in a public forum held by the group charged with coming up with strategies to deal with Las Vegas' rapid growth.
The Clark County Growth Management Task Force -- a 17-member group with representatives from businesses, developers, environmentalists, community activists and others -- has been meeting since the Clark County Commission created the body in March. Pat Goodall, task force chairman and former UNLV president, told the audience members that their input was appreciated.
"In a variety of ways, we have tried to maximize input from the public," Goodall said. The opportunities include regular public comment periods after the end of the task force meetings, which have stepped up from once a month earlier this year to about every week now.
William Petrasek, a homeowner on West Oakey Boulevard, told the task force he is concerned that government costs -- particularly those of Clark County government -- are escalating. He referenced a report delivered last month by Clark County Finance Director George Stevens, who said the costs of wages and benefits for county employees "has increased significantly more than the cost of inflation, so a lot of the revenue associated with the growth in population has gone to existing staff."
The cost of a full-time employee in 1995 was on average about $54,000 compared with almost $83,000 today, Stevens told the board last month.
"We the taxpayers are concerned with the rising costs," Petrasek said. He added that homeowners also are concerned with the potential for soaring property taxes, and noted that Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, has called for a one-year moratorium on any tax increases tied to property value.
Frank Perna, a community activist concerned about treatment of the homeless and other issues, said the urban area lacks sufficient mental health services and services for the homeless, especially homeless veterans.
And Michelle Lord, a condominium owner on West Lake Mead Boulevard, told the task force that she would like to see more paths for walking, especially trails "away from traffic." She noted the health benefits associated with walking and said Las Vegas often makes walking difficult.
The public will have other opportunities to throw their two cents into the ongoing growth discussions.
Goodall also said that the public would be welcome at a public forum to be held Jan. 22. By that time, the group should have identified its key strategies for handling growth.
He acknowledged that issues that the group has tried to address, especially the size and location of high-rise buildings and the controversy of the potential property tax increases, have outpaced the task force's discussions. Goodall said in other areas, the group could contribute recommendations that would not be "magic solutions," but could aid the county's response to growth.
The group already has identified priority strategies in two of four broader core areas. In the issue of urban design, literally what a metropolitan area should look like, the task force has drafted as priorities access to mass transit, mixed-use areas including high rises, infill of vacant areas within the urban sprawl and redevelopment of decaying areas, and support for more affordable housing.
With the potentially sensitive issues of the natural resources of air, land and water, the task force has focused on tying air quality, mass transit and land-use planning together; recommended incentives to use more clean-burning fuels; and recommended ways to have homeowner associations accept low-water desert landscaping and artificial turf.
The task force is still working on the issues of providing public-service infrastructure to the growing population and bringing the broader goals of the task force to the cities outside the county's unincorporated areas.
Goodall said the task force would bring its recommendations to the Clark County Commission in April.
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