I’m not saying there haven’t been solid arguments presented about some of these proposals, or that they were proposed in less than advisable methods, but in the aggregate we are creating a message to the outside world of, “We don’t want (fill in the blank).”
It occurred to me some time ago that the reason for this ‘not in our back yard’ mindset about these new projects is that we are a community with no vision.
Clark County has no encompassing idea about what we want our community to become.
Yes, we decided a couple of years ago that we should have a county-wide strategic plan for economic development, which is currently guiding efforts, but that is just a piece of what our county needs to be articulating about our future. And in a quick search of local jurisdiction websites it is no wonder there is no vision for the county. If the jurisdictions have a vision statement it is not readily apparent. Those who do have a vision statement are drastically light on detail.
What is it that we want for Clark County? Must we define that by what we don’t want? Why aren’t we, the business community, convening our elected and appointed leaders across the county (as we did with the county-wide strategic economic development plan)? A successful visioning process for the County can only be beneficial to business. Our vision could lead the efforts to build industry, infrastructure and the amenities we desire as a community.
Fear of the unknown seems to have gripped our neighbors and friends because everything proposed with the possibility to change the status quo is automatically opposed. How different would the dynamic be if those making the proposals could look to a community vision and point to it as justification for a project? How different would it be if our elected officials could use that vision as a measuring stick when determining whether a project should be approved?
A vision for our county should inspire not only those who live here, but those who want to live here and those who want to move their businesses here. It should be specific enough to create a mental vision of what life in the county could be like as we move toward the vision.
Creating a vision with broad consensus across the community is not an easy task, but that shouldn’t keep us from undertaking it. We are a community of diverse and strongly held opinions. That diversity of opinion was never more prevalent than in the county charter review recently undertaken by the freeholders. They were able to reach consensus in less than 10 months, and we’ll get to vote on their work this fall. Is creating a vision for the county any more challenging or any less important?
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