Warning: I am only writing about one portion of the evening…the meeting on a whole was fantastic and if anyone wants more details…please shoot me an e-mail and we can get together to discuss! 
After 10 pages of notes and three hours of discussion, Mayor Lisa Swarthout wrapped up the Economic Development Town Hall Meeting on a cold and rainy Tuesday evening. Approximately forty community and staff members gathered in Fire Station 2 to talk about and identify the following:
- The City’s vision for economic development;
- The City’s role in field of economic development; and
- The City’s strategies or actions steps to facilitate economic development.
The full Staff Report is awesome and can be found here.
Some great insights were shared concerning individuals’ ideas of what is economic development and what the City’s role is in the process. The Mayor asked each City Councilmember to share their thoughts. I began the process by describing the City of Winters and a recent experience I enjoyed with Vice Mayor Jan Arbuckle during a California League of Cities-Sacramento Valley Division event. I shared how alive and “pumping” the community felt. Needless to say, the word “pumping” caught on throughout the remainder of the meeting. I was surprised by the reaction of some the participants of the description of my experience, because my intent was not put down Grass Valley, but to show an example of what I really enjoyed in a sister community. On a Friday night, in a city with a population of 7,000, Winters had an energy running through it that I have only experienced during special events in Grass Valley (thankfully we have many).
As a thirty something, I want to be able to go and have dinner at 6:00, then maybe walk around and shop, perhaps do some wine tasting or have a drink at local bar, and check out a band that is not from an era before I was born.
Am I the only one?
Yolanda:
Thanks for this good report. I especially like your conclusion, when you put a portion of your vision in very personal terms, asking if you’re “the only one?” :
“As a thirty something, I want to be able to go and have dinner at 6:00, then maybe walk around and shop, perhaps do some wine tasting or have a drink at local bar, and check out a band that is not from an era before I was born.”
As a sixty-something, I share that vision (with many more music styles to choose from in my lifetime!
).
I know this is a stretch of a comparison, but I recall years ago, window-shopping in Carmel one balmy summer evening with our children, feeling that everyone in the world should enjoy this sort of ease and beauty.
It all starts with a vision, so these are very important meetings. Jane and I will try to make the next ones coming up.
[...] on Yolanda Cookson for reporting on yesterday’s Economic Development Town Hall Forum in her [...]
Thanks Don!
I appreciate your encouragement and feedback…it would be great to have you and Jane and the next meetings 
-YO
Hi Yolanda, I thought your comments were a breath of fresh air last night. I did not interpret them as putting down Grass Valley in any way. Grass Valley could use some infusion of “new thinking” into its planning – a vision for the future that doesn’t simply rely on more of the same. A new generation will expect new venues, restaurant themes, musical performances, etc.. I am very glad to hear you give voice to these ideas and I want to encourage to continue speaking your message!
Yolanda,
Thanks for the report. Sorry, I could not make it, with writing deadlines pressing for my attention. Your leadership and enthusiasm were mentioned at the Economic Resource Council Board Meeting this morning. The general conclusion — it was great that the young people in Grass Valley are taking interest in Grass Valley’s future. You were cited as one of the examples. As one Board Member who attended the Town Hall meeting said, ” your wisdom and maturity are beyond someone of your age.” Congratulations, I think you may have gotten some to the 50-60s somethings to do some thinking outside their historical box. Let’s hope.
Thanks for blogging the event. I hope that you will continue to share your thoughts with the community. Not many citizen attend City Council Meeting and not many more Town Halls other than the usual suspects, thus blogging can bring you a larger and much younger audience for your ideas.
Russ
Must be hard for Gil Mathews, Director of the Nevada County Economic Resource Council to be working to get clean, green, and high tech businesses to come to western Nevada County with the “possibility” of a cyanide leach mine being opened up in the middle of town.
The number one thing we have to promote, the number one thing that Gil Mathews and the ERC promotes is our QUALITY OF LIFE here. That is how we get good businesses to come here, to stay here and to grow here.
If you visit the business park in Auburn, in the airport area you see millions of square ft. of empty business park for sale and/or lease. There are millions of square ft. empty right next to Highway 80. This is telling folks. This location has great transportation access and is below the snow line and the buildings are available for rent or purchase REAL cheap. That is their competitive advantage over us. We can’t compete with them on these issues. But we can and do compete with the quality of life our communty has to offer.
Here we don’t have that competitive advantage of being next to Highway 80 or major transportation. What we have here is our QUALITY OF LIFE to promote and leverage to bring businesses and jobs here. High tech and clean-green is a big part of our existing businesses and our future. They come here for our QUALITY OF LIFE and the great folks that make up our commuity. This is our competitive advantage and it must be respected and protected.
But having the “possibility” of a cyanide leach mine open in town, one promoted by a scam Canadian penny stock company that is broke not only undermines our economic future, it guarantees high tech, green-clean businesses will not come here. A number of our high tech business here have gone on record that they will move out if the IMM opens here. These are highpaying, high quality jobs that will leave.
The mine “offers” false hope for a small segment that refuse to look forward, that refuses to look at what our community is and what we can become. We need to look forward, not backward.
The City needs to do the following ASAP… Set a hard date, a time certain that Emgold must provide their revised project plans and the money needed to undertake the new, required draft environmental impact report.
If Emgold doesn’t provide the money and the revised plan by that date then the City needs to close and terminate their application.
End this penny stock scam fantasy that is killing our chances for new businesses to move here. Kill this fantasy that has had a major impact on landowners in the area that can’t sell their land for a fair price because they must disclose the “possibility” that a cyanide leach mine might open up near them. These land owners are paying the price for this fantasy and the City of Grass Valley is failing to take action representing the best interests of the ENTIRE community.
It’s time to get to work building our future, time for the City of Grass Valley to step up, do their job and represent the interests of the ENTIRE community and set a hard date for Emgold to meet. Time to put this dead albatross on notice and time to put it to bed so we can work on a real, viable economic future for our great community.
Time to ask who at City Hall is protecting Emgold at the expense of the entire community. The economic future of our fine community is at stake. Time for the City to do what is right for the ENTIRE community!
Our pumping community just sent a message… Terry Lamphier is now a County Supervisor and John Spencer is out.
In 2000 I was elected to the Grass Valley City Council. 3 seats open and 7 candidates running.
Linda Stevens, Dee Mautino and Bill Hullender were in the race. All three “local well knowns” and Dee and Bill had time as Council members and Mayors. Dee was the first female Mayor of Grass Valley and always wears sporty hats. Dee always dresses sharp and brings color and energy to any room she is in. She’s sharp, she’s feisty and I very much like that about Dee. Linda was going for re-election, as was Mayor Hullender. Dee had served in the past and wanted back in.
The campaigns were testy, very energized and very emotional. Some hard statements were flying all around.
So it really started when Mayor Hullender first announced he would not run for re-election, that he was retiring, thus opening up another seat on the Council.
After Mayor Hullender announced he was not running for re-election I pulled nomination papers, gathered the needed signatures and tossed my hat into the ring.
Once I filed my candidate paperwork Mayor Hullender made an announcement on the front page of The Union newspaper saying he changed his mind. He was coming out of his previously declared retirement and was going to run for re-election… in order to stop me. Mayor Hullender stated I must be stopped because if elected I would destroy Grass Valley.
I love Grass Valley. I live in Earl Coveys old house. My house glows neon green from the Del Oro Tower at night. I truly love Grass Valley.
It’s the “idea” of opening of a cyanide leak mine in the middle of Grass Valley that has the likelihood of destroying our town, not me, I oppose opening a cyanide leak mine in the middle of Grass Valley.
I beat the sitting Mayor, Bill Hullender to earn my seat on the Grass Valley City Council. Dee was elected, Linda was re-elected and Mayor Bill Hullender came in fourth.
The first person I called the morning after the election was Mayor Hullender. I told him how much I respected him and his dedication to our fine community. I told Bill I learned much from him while attending City Council meetings. I told Mayor Hullender a few stories/examples of his genuine commitment to our community. I told him I respected him and our community and I would work to do what is best for the entire community.
Not long after Mayor Hullender left office and I was sworn in, Bill passed way. The moment I heard the news I thought… let’s get him his well-earned and well-deserved bronze sidewalk star at City Hall. It was a special day and moving moment when Mayor Hullenders’ star was unveiled and his wife accepted for him.