“New Leaders – New Visions for Grass Valley & Nevada City” is the topic of this month’s free Community Forum 10:30-11:30 AM Friday, October 23. The live, one-hour panel discussion will be held at Grass Valley’s Sierra College-Nevada County Campus in the Building N-12 auditorium.
Guests are Grass Valley City Manager Alex Gammelgard and Nevada City City Manager Carrie Wright.
“Nevada City faces real challenges including aging infrastructure, limited resources, housing pressure, wildfire risk, and the need for a strong local economy,” says Wright. “But we have something many communities would envy: an engaged community, committed leadership, and a shared commitment to Nevada City’s future. Our challenges are significant, but so is our capacity to solve them.”
About half of small-town America is not thriving in today’s economy. Many isolated towns are struggling. But tourism hubs like Grass Valley and Nevada City offer natural beauty and other environmental assets. Nevada County boasts historical experiences for both tourists and locals, including the Empire Mine State Historic Park and Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. The area also offers recreational activities, such as hiking and kayaking along and on the South Yuba River. One challenge facing local leaders is how to maximize natural amenities that draw visitors and navigate constantly changing federal and state funding sources, all the while implementing strategies that help sustain local economies.
“Fiscal constraints have and will continue to be of concern to small towns,” Gammelgard says. “Our city’s charm helps us stay resilient while also making it a special place to call home. Our challenge is ensuring financial resources to reliably provide a full array of municipal services while preserving our small-town feel, the way of life we value, and making sure our infrastructure meets community expectations.”
Areas of discussion will include budget constraints, parking costs and enforcement, road construction and roundabouts, water rates, and homelessness issues. The moderator of each session reserves time for guests in the audience to pose questions to the panel of experts.
Local journalist and Community Forum Steering Committee member Lorraine Jewett will moderate this month’s discussion.
Sponsored by the Sierra College-Nevada County Campus Foundation, the Community Forum hosts hour-long, in-depth informational events several times each year, presenting local issues and topics of interest to both our community and neighboring counties.
Each of these speaker series is free and open to the public. Free parking is available on campus in Lots 5 and 6. Directional signs inform guests where to park and how to access the Building N-12 auditorium.