Last city walk of the year asks businesses for their take

North Las Vegas City Councilman Wade Wagner took to the streets to take the temperature of city businesses in his district, Ward 4, on Nov. 27. The event was the last in a series of city business walks held in each of the city's wards.

More than a dozen people representing the city's Economic Development Division, local business volunteers and chamber members divided into teams and spent two hours walking from business to business filling out questionnaires about the business' successes and what the city could do to help.

"It is critical we as city leaders keep our finger on the pulse of business and industry, especially as we weather tough economic times," Wagner said. "We are pleased to continue these grass-roots activities to get an honest assessment from the people who keep our economic engine running."

Maxine Miller, president of Bulk Carrier Services Inc. on Losee Road, runs a liquid bulk transport business that has been based in the city since 1995. With 32 employees across the country, she said the company used to be much larger before the floor fell out of the economy. She said she does not plan to expand the company again but has never run into issues with getting permits from the city.

Of the nine businesses reached in two hours, the majority of the managers and owners Wagner spoke with said they did not have any complaints for the city. However, Garden Farms owner Bryan Vellinga said he found the permit process prohibitive when he applied in January.

Vellinga used to run a landscaping business but said he had to shift to vegetable farming with the recession. His company sets up vegetable gardens for people, schools and communities and will teach them how to maintain the gardens. He still does some landscaping business, but it is the minority of his business for roughly 100 clients, he said.

With his new company, Vellinga needed to register again with the city for a business license, he said.

"I'm licensed in Clark County, Henderson, Las Vegas, and it's nothing like North Las Vegas," he added. He said he was able to fill out the application online in most cases, but the process with North Las Vegas required that he visit City Hall five times for assistance.

"It's really beyond ridiculous, and I'm a pretty patient guy," he said. "I think businesses are deterred."

Wagner said he was shocked that the process was so involved and said he would look into streamlining the process.

"I'm telling you, the other entities have it pretty simple. It seems to me like they'd want to make it as easy as possible," Vellinga said about North Las Vegas' process.

Wagner responded, "And that's exactly what we want to do. We're really trying to make sure we're business-friendly."

On the survey, Vellinga rated his business 2½ out of 5. He said that while business is steady, and he is grateful, the profits are nothing like they were four years ago.

"Four years ago, I could have said five. We were growing money on trees back then," Vellinga said. But he said he is optimistic for the next two years.

He said he appreciated the councilman's visit to the storefront.

"I'm impressed," he said. "The fact that you're working out here and not behind a desk means a lot."

Vellinga, whom Wagner knows through church, was not the only business owner Wagner spoke with on the tour that he knew personally. Wagner ran into his childhood friend Jeffrey Whittle, president of Recreation Development Management Corp.

Whittle said his business designs major projects, such as the Statue of Liberty for the New York-New York Hotel & Casino, and that it has been growing for the last two years. He said he hopes next year the business can earn the rights to develop the Speedway Casino, its largest project in North Las Vegas.

"Truth is, we're proud to be a North Las Vegas company," he said of the business that has been on Losee Road for 14 years. "We have never thought of being anywhere else." He added that the business has been broken into twice, and police officers intervened from the McDonald's next door. He said he appreciates that the officers continued to check on the property.

"They know us all by name," he said. "I really like that. I wouldn't change it for anything."

After the walk, Wagner met with other teams to discuss common issues. Some businesses complained about crime and permit issues, but many said they were satisfied with the city's role in business. The city's business license manager, Lana Hammond, discussed the process of moving to an online permit application and said meetings are scheduled to discuss a streamlined application with other valley cities.

City spokeswoman Juliet Casey said Wagner and his teams reached 57 businesses on Nov. 27. She estimated that 300 businesses were approached during the entire series in all wards.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Laura Phelps at lphelps@viewnews.com or 702-477-3839.