Last Thursday I attended the annual general membership meeting for the Montrose Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). I have been an investor of MEDC for several years, but that is about as active as I've been, other than reading its newsletters. I think that is going to change.
The first part of the program included the report of MEDC's president, Sandy Head. Her obvious dedication and enthusiasm for the accomplishments, projects, and goals of MEDC were very apparent. Click here to get MEDC's 2010 Annual Report, which is a great summary of MEDC's efforts and accomplishments in 2009 and its ongoing projects and goals for the future.
The keynote speaker was Don Marostica, Director of the State of Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Mr. Marostica was a dynamic speaker and a proclaimed optimist, although much of what he had to relay was rather disconcerting, if not downright depressing, regarding the state of the economy in Colorado and nationally. Regarding economic development, as Sandy Head confirmed with respect to Montrose on a local level, it is a very competitive proposition to attract companies to Colorado. We do not have the funds to offer huge, million-dollar incentives to the larger companies. Therefore, we need to focus on companies that are smaller, unique, and who would relocate to Colorado mostly because they just want to be here.
Mr. Marostica used Nucla and Naturita on the west side of Montrose County as examples of what happens when a primary industry leaves the area and which does not have a diverse economic/commercial base. While the rest of Montrose County has enjoyed an increase in population over the past 2 decades, the population in Nucla and Naturita of declined, along with jobs.
Mr. Marostica pointed out that, in his experience, as long as a town has a major hospital and an institution of higher education, it will survive. That was positive news, since Montrose does have a good hospital and ancillary medical facilities, and because MEDC is leading the efforts to bring a higher education campus to Montrose on land dedicated last year by the City of Montrose. Currently, Montrose does have a satellite campus for Grand Junction-based Mesa State University.
On the economic side, Mr. Marostica shared with us that the State of Colorado has no economic strategic plan for the next year or 5 years out, well, actually, no plan whatsoever. His intention is to put the feet of the new governor to the fire to come up with such a plan, which Mr. Marostica sees as crucial in light of the very difficult economic decisions that have to be made in the face of little to no funding for other than federally-mandated programs. He warned that counties and municipalities should not to count on much financial assistance from either the State or the Federal government. The loss and lack of employment will continue to be a huge concern, which is causing a drain on the Unemployment Fund. He said employers should expect to see an increase in their UI rate of 300% to 600%. Yikes!
Despite this doom and gloom, Mr. Marostica is optimistic that Colorado will survive and is poised to do quite well on the economic development front, with many exciting prospects on the horizon. The same can be said about Montrose. The key he said, both locally and state-wide is retention, i.e., helping existing businesses to thrive in order to provide jobs and infuse more money into the local economies. Raising money within local EDC's will also be crucial, since state and federal assistance will be scarce, if non-existent. One way that MEDC raises money is through its members or "investors," who pledge a certain amount annually.
I learned a lot about MEDC and what any formal economic development organization or focus can do for a community. This came on the heels of an EDC presentation in Ridgway by Deanna Sheriff of the Delta County Economic Development Corporation (DCED) a week earlier. Ouray County does not have an EDC but is exploring the possibility, which I believe would be hugely beneficial to this very small, rural region. My support for MEDC and a proposed EDC for Ouray County was certainly reinforced at the MEDC annual meeting. As we continue to see business struggle and close down, leaving empty store fronts and lost jobs, all of which adversely affects the real estate industry, we need more than ever for businesses and community members to get more involved, educated, active, and financially invested in perserving and promoting our local economic health and development.
Comments(0)