What Are We?

The Treasure Valley Partnership is a group of mayors and commissioners from Ada and Canyon Counties in Southwest (Treasure Valley) Idaho who became concerned with the change in their communities because of rapid growth in the 1990's.

In 1997, the mayor of Boise, Brent Coles, realized that if something wasn't done to proactively manage the number of people and jobs flowing into the region, the communities of the Treasure Valley would lose their character and many of the traditional western ways. He organized a two day meeting called the "Treasure Valley Institute" to see what the other mayors and commissioners were thinking.

After two days of listening to national speakers talk about the economics of growth, city planning, urban design and transportation, the elected officials realized they had more in common than they thought. They knew their citizens wanted good recreational opportunities, good job opportunities, housing and a quiet, "small-town" feel to their communities.

They wanted to provide these without sacrificing the traditional agricultural base that has supported the area for many years.

After the two day meeting, a document was signed, called the "Treasure Valley Partnership Agreement" in which all members of the meeting agreed to work together on 4 areas (see Partnership Agreement 2000) and to meeting monthly to keep communication open and learn more about how to be proactive and use the area's growth in a beneficial manner.

In 1998, the Partnership formed a 501-C3 non-profit organization. The organization is funded by annual dues the members pay and there is one part-time staff person, Executive Director Elizabeth Conner.

The agenda topics for the monthly meetings follow the goals of the Partnership Agreement. These meetings also provide a forum for groups and individuals with information on growth related issues to meet with leaders from all the communities in the two county area. The Partnership does outreach to other groups such as highway districts and local planning organizations to help build ties between elected officials and staff.

The most unique aspect of the Partnership is that the Partnership has no legally binding decision making authority. That is, the mayors and commissioners who sit on the Partnership boards cannot bind their represented communities to any issues. The Partnership Agreement is purely a "gentleman's agreement" and it is up to the members to inform, educate, and guide their city councils and commissions in any issues that may legally commit their communities. While this may be seen as potentially ineffective, the result has been outstanding. The mayors and commissioners work with their council and commissions to further the goals of the Partnership in many unique ways (see Accomplishments).

Many of the Partnership's original members have left office since 1997, but because of the camaraderie of the group and the dedication to proactive growth management, the new members have come on board with great attitudes and support for the Partnership.


Past Members

Frank McKeever, Middleton
Dean Obray, Kuna
Nancy Merrill, Eagle
Matt Beebe, Canyon County
Dean Obray, Mayor of Kuna
Bob Flowers, Mayor of Parma
Ted Ellis, Mayor of Garden City
Rick Yzaguirre, Ada County Commission
Brent Coles, Mayor of Boise
Winston Goering, Mayor, City of Nampa
Maxine Horn, Mayor, City of Nampa
Dick Winder, Mayor City of Caldwell
Laurle Neal, Council Member, City of Kuna
Vern Bisterfeldt, Ada County Commission
Abe Vasquez, Canyon County Commission
Todd Lakey, Canyon County Commission
Elizabeth Conner, staff
Kristi Nygard, staff

Staff

The Treasure Valley Partnership has one part-time staff person, Project Manager Bill Larsen .

Mr. Larsen has been with the Partnership since June of 2005. He acts as a facilitator on project activities the Partnership decides to work on. Early on in his employment with the Partnership, Bill coordinated with officials in law enforcement, the State Pharmacy Board and numerous State legislators to develop language for City/County ordinances to restrict the sale of Pseudo ephedrine. The purpose behind these ordinances was an attempt to restrict the supply of pseudo ephedrine being used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Bill holds a Masters' in Business Administration and has professional experience in developing and managing projects covering a wide variety of disciplines. He has held positions such as Project Coordinator for the University of Idaho, Resource Development Specialist for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Marketing Manager for two different businesses and has been the owner and manager of his own business providing Medicaid related services to clients in the Treasure Valley. He has also been a member of several state-wide boards and commissions beginning in the early 80's.


Lastly, the Partnership is very privileged to have worked with leading individuals such as:

Hank Dittmar, Great American Station Foundation
Shelley Poticha, Congress for the New Urbanism
Christine Saum, Mayor's Institute on City Design
Gianni Longo, ACP Visioning & Planning
Rolf Pendall, Professor, City Planning, Cornell University
Jim Weatherby, Profession, Political Science, Boise State

in the pursuit of finding the right solutions to the pressures of rapid growth in our valley.

 

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