New Los Alamos County Planning Manager Bryce Ternet in his office where he began work March 8. Courtesy/LAC

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

When the Los Alamos County Planning Manager position opened, Bryce Ternet seized the chance to live and work in Los Alamos.

“This just seemed like a perfect opportunity,” Ternet said.

He started as the Community Development Department’s (CDD) Planning Manager March 8. Ternet took over the position from Ryan Foster.

Ternet said he was introduced to Los Alamos after he and his wife traveled to the area while on vacation.

At the time he was interviewing to be the Community Development Director for Sun Valley, Idaho.

He ended up working as the Community Development Director for three-and-a-half years but Ternet said they always had their eyes on moving to Los Alamos.

He explained that he and his wife have two young children and Los Alamos seemed like “a great place to raise a family and is overall a really attractive place.”

Plus, as the County Planning Manager, he can help improve Los Alamos for everyone, Ternet said.

“I like building and developing communities to just become better places for all of us … as a planner I really get to work with policy makers and the private sector to find solutions to make improvements …,” he said.

Ternet added, “I enjoy helping the members of the public achieve their goals … and working on new developments with the private sector.”

Having a national laboratory in town makes the job even more exciting, Ternet said. He explained he likes the challenges that it presents, and he enjoys the town’s history.

Ternet is joining the Community Development Department team at an interesting time. He noted there are a lot of “big ticket items” underway including several housing projects, the new Marriott Town Place Suites and Conference Center, the downtown master plans for Los Alamos and White Rock as well as the work to revise chapter 16 of the development code. All these projects come with challenges, but Ternet said he thinks they also are exciting. He added that he enjoys working on development codes, zoning requirements and design standards.

“There is a real opportunity to make it a much better and more comprehensible code,” Ternet said.

While Los Alamos is ripe with opportunity there also are obstacles to overcome, and one of the main obstacles is addressing the vacant buildings in Los Alamos, he said.

This is something he and the rest of the CDD are addressing through the development code and marketing, Ternet said.

He added that unlike Sun Valley, which is a resort town, Los Alamos does have a base population; however, it also has a lot of commuters.

“Maybe we need to have just a little more opportunities to have those lab workers stick around a little longer,” Ternet said.

Filling those vacant storefronts could be a solution, he said.

“I look forward to trying to address those issues and hopefully the Economic Development Administrator position will be filled in the future and they will try and figure out ways to provide even more incentives for businesses up here,” Ternet said.

He added that he enjoys working with his colleagues to address these issues.

“This department is a very engaging, smart and capable department and it is really great to be a part of that team,” Ternet said.

Another important part in improving the County is the public, he said.

“It is really important for individuals and business owners to participate in public comment … the meetings are open to the public … (and that) is really the time to make sure those voices are heard,” Ternet said.
When not working, Ternet said he loves to hike, adding that he is pleased to have so many trails available. He said he and his wife are snow sports enthusiasts and are eager to utilize the local and surrounding ski areas in the winter. He added that he appreciates all the local cultural amenities including Bandelier National Monument.

Besides being a County planner, Ternet also is a published author. He wrote a novel titled, The Cibola Treasure Hunt, which was inspired by the real-life treasure hunt started by Forrest Fenn in the Rocky Mountains.

His book can be found on Amazon.com.

Ternet joked he would love to write another book if his two young children give him the time.