$1.65M in COVID relief going to rural Nevada

Rural tourism entities blistered by the coronavirus pandemic will receive some financial relief after the Nevada Commission on Tourism voted to distribute $1.65 million in grants Wednesday.

But it wasn’t without the challenge of disclosing potential conflicts of interest since many of the commissioners were grant applicants.

The COVID-19 Rural Recovery Grant program was established through the CARES Act received by the state in September. A committee established guidelines for applications from rural tourism entities statewide.

The grants are considered marketing supplements and most of the funds are dedicated to advertising campaigns with an emphasis on Nevada being a safe destination and open for business. Some grants were devoted to physical improvements, including signs at tourism welcome centers.

All the grants were approved, but commissioners were required to recuse themselves and not vote on grants affecting their territories.

Southern Nevada tourism entities within the “Las Vegas Territories,” received $256,415 in grants. Among the recipients: chambers of commerce of Boulder City, Mesquite and Moapa Valley and the Laughlin Tourism Commission.

Jill Lagan, CEO of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, participating in her first meeting as a commissioner, declared a conflict since the Boulder chamber was one of the entities chosen to receive grants.

Shari Bombard, rural programs manager for the commission, said 169 tourism entities applied for grants and her committee worked for several weeks to sift through applications and make determinations on return on investment and to provide an equitable dissemination of funds statewide.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.