Montandon says betting on the city has paid off

Beth Slovic

Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 | 9:26 a.m.

Before a crowd of more than 750 Thursday at the ninth annual North Las Vegas State of the City address, North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon said he had been right about his city all along.

Last year Montandon had urged businesses to buy into the North Las Vegas market before the second-fastest growing city's land value shot up even more.

Prices have, but Montandon hasn't stopped pushing his city. His self-declared pro-growth, pro-business agenda continues, he said. And at Thursday's luncheon event he highlighted some of the year's results.

"The successes are a tough act to follow," Montandon said in his speech before the crowd.

Part year-end-review, part marketing campaign, the 2-hour program featured a video presentation with an opening segment declaring "this is not the Strip, this is not downtown, this is not Summerlin ... this is the North."

Seemingly striking a chord with the audience, the sequence caused many members to cheer loudly.

"You wouldn't think you'd have to market a city, be you can and we do," Montandon said at another point in the presentation.

From mass transit projects and the planned expansion of UNLV to home building and the new $29 million justice facility, Montandon had plenty to talk about with the crowd of business and nonprofit organization leaders, government employees and elected officials in attendance.

According to the city's 2005 community report, North Las Vegas's assessed land value increased in 2004 to more than $3.3 billion from $2.7 billion the year before.

The city's population also increased to nearly 168,000 in 2004 from 148,000 in 2003. Its rate of growth was outstripped only by Gilbert, Ariz.

Meanwhile, the city's growth also fueled an increase in the number of businesses with active licenses there. That number grew to 8,425 in 2004 from 7,951 the year before.

Among the special projects the mayor highlighted was the previously announced UNLV north campus, which will occupy 640 acres near the beltway and Pecos Road; last year's inauguration of MAX,the rapid transit bus system; and the new Justice Facilty, which is scheduled to open in a few weeks, " on time and under budget," the mayor said.

He also announced the planned return of the city's annual balloon festival, which inspired applause in the audience.

Angela Pernatozzi, the executive director of the nonprofit organization Classrooms on Wheels, attended the event with co-workers and called the presentation " exciting."

Her group's office has been in North Las Vegas for four years and has offered education services there for 12. In an effort to keep her clients up-to-date on what's happening in the Las Vegas Valley, Pernatozzi said she has made an effort to attend events such as Thursday's in all the valley's cities.

"It's important for us to see how the cities are growing and what their needs are," Pernatozzi.

One need that was not addressed specifically was affordable housing, for which Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who was in attendance, said federal dollars are increasingly hard to get.