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County highlights economic development partnerships, SALT grant and agritourism plans
Summary
Economic development staff reviewed sales‑tax trends, business support programs, a $500,000 SALT sustainable agricultural lands grant, workforce training, and tourism efforts; supervisors pressed for clearer metrics and continued grant support for long‑running projects.
Nevada County economic development staff told supervisors that small business support, tourism and agriculture remain core priorities as the county seeks to strengthen local resilience and jobs.
Kimberly Parker, the county's economic development manager, summarized key indicators including sales tax and unemployment trends and listed active contracts and partnerships with local organizations like Sierra Business Council and Sierra Commons. "Steady filing activity suggests residents are continuing to pursue small business opportunities," Parker said, noting the county is aiding firms with permitting, workforce connections and access to capital.
Brianna Bacon described a $500,000 Sustainable Agricultural Lands (SALT) grant awarded to the county to fund an agricultural economic strategy, land‑use policy work, climate resiliency planning and outreach. "That project will help protect farmland and support farmers and ranchers as part of the county's economy," Bacon said.
Panelists also described progress on tourism and the county's gonevadacounty.com portal and reported new film interest after state tax credits, along with workforce training such as a recent certified nurse assistant (CNA) cohort run with Sierra College.
Supervisors asked for more outcome measures tying county investment to results. Supervisor Rob Tucker urged staff to identify the specific metrics the board will find most useful to make funding decisions and to return with more detailed project updates.
Next steps: staff will continue contracting with partners, refine the economic metrics requested by supervisors and return with focused updates and grant‑implementation support plans.
