Over the past 2 months it has been good to see construction remain active. Our members have continued to work through the COVID-19 shutdowns. According to Craig Griesbach, Nevada County Director of Building “Our building permit submittals increased by 25% during March and April compared to 2019.” Over the past 2 weeks with neighboring counties moving to soft opening, stage 2, we are seeing significant increase in local business with our retailers and professionals jump starting after weeks of closure and navigating new requirements. Our realtors are reporting rising real estate demand in the Tahoe region and national economist Elliot Eisenberg reports this week that housing is rebounding surprisingly well. In the CATT office we are seeing a significant uptick in our Jobs to Bid program from homeowners. Requested jobs have been going out to members up to 3 times per day.
The busy season is upon us and we are all learning to adopt to a new business environment that in some case has provided a unique opportunity to thrive. In partnership with the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) for Career Technical Education (CTE) mentoring, I am hearing that more kids are interested in going into the trades as their schooling and other job options are uncertain. CATT recently participated in the newly formatted Virtual CTE & STEAM Fair highlighting career opportunities in the trades.
In the office, we have had to say goodbye to our long-time office manager Val Vilbig. Val retired in May and is heading to greener pastures in Oregon with her husband Rick. During COVID shutdowns, Val was able to complete production of our 2020-2021 Building & Remodeling Guide, taking the publication to a new level like many of the programs she was involved with over the past 4 years. She will be deeply missed. We welcome in June, our new South Shore Government Affairs Manager Natalie Yanish. We also welcome newly appointed Matt Jones, Matt Jones Custom Construction Inc. to our Board of Directors as our South Lake Tahoe representative. See press release here.
I look forward to checking in with you in July with a CATT Events update. We are working with venues to prepare for our first event on August 1. See revised events schedule here. In the meantime, feel free to contact me directly.
My best,
Kellie Cutler, Executive Director
kellie@ca-tt.com
530.550.9999