Tahoe Prosperity Center report provides roadmap for economic improvement

TAHOE-TRUCKEE — While Heidi Hill Drum’s mission is simple — improve Tahoe’s lake-wide resort economy — the path toward regional financial health is anything but. It includes redevelopment efforts, including affordable housing, improved phone and web services, an increased focus on creation of full-time, year-round work and more.

“To the outside world, we’re one Tahoe,” said Drum, Tahoe Prosperity Center’s executive director, adding that poverty is a huge issue for Lake Tahoe Basin communities, regardless of shore location. “We’re a regional organization — we’re not North Shore, South Shore, Nevada or California.”

To help key players better understand the region, Drum spearheaded the creation of a report titled “Measuring for Prosperity,” which published in September of last year. Findings were recently presented at South Lake Tahoe’s monthly Tahoe Talks Brown Bag Lunch Series in December.

There were two reasons to create the report, according to Drum: the only comprehensive economic data done on the Lake Tahoe Basin was a 2010 prosperity plan; and such a report can be used by local government, nonprofits and businesses for budgeting, planning purposes and grant applications.

“The information is now in one place,” she said. “You still have to pull the data for the piece you need.”

Jesse Walker, a Tahoe-based economist involved in guiding report research, said “a multi-pronged approach” is necessary to improve Tahoe’s lake-wide economy. This should include improving “employment opportunities that are year-round, stable, and offer high wages in ‘white collar’ industries that are outside of tourism;” “aggressively pursuing opportunities to improve our tourism sector in order to be more competitive with other destinations;” and “improving housing affordability for local residents.”

According to Walker, “If we don’t do something to improve the ability for our workforce to afford quality housing, we are going to see them leave the basin in droves to pursue both housing and employment opportunities in Reno, Carson Valley and elsewhere. This is already occurring, and with the projected growth in Reno over the next five to 10 years, it will only get worse.”

Hill agreed with that sentiment, saying “The visitors will come anyway [to Lake Tahoe]. If you create communities that have quality of life, it will benefit visitors. If we’re raising the bar for our residents with restaurants, affordable housing and mixed-use development, it will benefit everyone.

“We’re not talking about new development; we’re talking about redevelopment,” she added. ”It’s better for the environment. Outdated buildings are the main reason we’re seeing sediment go into the lake. With redevelopment you get environmental benefits.”

For more information about Tahoe Prosperity Center and its recent report, visit www.tahoeprosperity.org.