Carson City mayor unveils 'CarsonProud' campaign

Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell announced Monday the launch of a citywide social media campaign called "CarsonProud" designed to act as a community catalyst and rally as it undergoes a transformation of public works projects slated for the downtown corridor and other areas of the capital city.

The campaign, which is identified with a Twitter hashtag, #CarsonProud, was launched before the first of two community workshops Monday aimed at getting public feedback on what it wants with its improvement plan downtown, including theming behind the Carson Street design project, one of the capital improvement projects approved by city leaders last year. The downtown plan is estimated to cost approximately $10 million to $11 million. The project is being funded from a 1/8th cent sales tax and Public Works money.

The second workshop is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center.

“This is an all encompassing effort to tie all of these enhancements together in a way that our entire community could rally around and show our pride in being the state capital,“ Crowell said. “Hopefully, this campaign will live on for future developments and even for future generations, and is a fantastic way to show our pride for this great city.”

Carson City made national headlines and earned bragging rights earlier this year through a USA Today readers poll who who ranked Carson City as the nation's best capital city travel destination.

The #CarsonProud campaign will not only serve as a source of pride for Carson City residents, but will also work to create a channel for two-way communication with the community. A new website is currently under construction, which will house all project information and updates as they get underway. #CarsonProud will also use social media and text notifications to help keep the public informed.

The mayor invited community members to “Like” #CarsonProud on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, to use the Hashtag #CarsonProud and to text CarsonProud to 31996 to sign up for text notifications about road closures, meetings and project updates.

“Carson is our City, our home, our Capital, and it’s time to share the pride we have for this great City with the rest of the Silver State and beyond,” said Crowell.

Following the press conference, community members in attendance were invited to weigh in on the three proposed themes for the downtown corridor. Instant polling was used, which allowed people to vote in real time about their feelings on the proposed themes: Historic, Capitol and Transportation.

The meeting was well attended, with both advocates of Carson City's downtown plan and those skeptical of the project. Many said they liked the instant polling. Lisa Helget, who ran unsuccessfully against Supervisor Karen Abowd last year, noted the approach is an honest, concise way to gather public opinion. Though there could have been more context for the choices offered at the workshop, she said it is a start.

"People who feel they haven't been heard can use this (instant polling) and have their opinions recorded as being heard," Helget said. "While I've been opposed to the project all along, this particular method to get people's opinions down is a good start."

Downtown businesswoman Doreen Mack, who helped launch the Carson City 20/20 campaign that backed the controversial decision by supervisors to approve spending plans, said she was impressed with Monday's unveiling of the Carson City pride campaign, and the overall energy of those community members who came to listen and participate.

"I'm looking forward to all the meetings. With this moving forward, we're all now on the same page," said Mack.

More community theming meetings are planned now through June 22. The Carson City Board of Supervisors will take information gleaned from the meetings and hold its first hearing July 16.

For questions about the campaign, please e-mail info@carsonproud.com or visit them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.