Last night, Downtown Colorado Inc held a business leaders input session at Colorado Mountain College.
DCI is a nonprofit, membership organization working toward revitalizing the downtowns, commercial districts, and town centers across the state to rebuild the local economy, promote sense of communty, and advance a higher quality of life for Colorado residents, businesses and property owners.
http://www.downtowncoloradoinc.org/
There were a good mix of business leaders present, most just curious about what this could mean for the future of Leadville. Interestingly enough, there was only one representative owner from the restaurant community (Manuelitas) and one from the lodging community (The Delaware).
A local business owner brought up the concern that Leadville falls short of consumers expectations when they visit. Aging infrastructure, unattractive signage, lack of public restrooms, lack of public parking lots, and crumbling sidewalks were all mentioned.
It was also brought up that Leadville is a business community that must survive on three months of business a year, Jun, Jul, and August, to support the remaining 9 months. One business leader expressed concerns that during those 3 months. most of the weekends are taken up by special events which crowd the hotels and streets and reduce her core customer base. Several other people stressed that any business success in the town of Leadville trickles down to other sectors of the economy, whether it may be retail, restaurant, or real estate services.
There seems to be difficulty among local businesses to find long term quality employees. The inability to match pay levels offered in resort towns within an hours drive and the seasonality of the business cycle were addressed as causes.
The idea of an in town bus system was brought up. Moving residents from the college, to downtown, to Safeway and back would be good for businesses throughout town. Where the funding would come from is a challenge.
An interesting idea was brought up at the end of the meeting by a visitor to town that is considering investing in a local lodging establishment. She referenced a small town called Sisters, Oregon. Years ago, this small town was facing some of the same challenges that Leadville is. Their response was to find funding sources such as state grants and loans to enhance the desireabilty of the community. This small community that has very similiar demographics to Leadville, hosts a multitude of events that cater to a wide variety of tourists throughout the year. Of course, they host races, but they also host a folk festival, an outdoor quilt show, wine and brew festival, antique show, artist marketplace, arts and crafts, and the annual lighting of the Christmas tree. These events draw families throughout the year to enjoy the wonderful small town community and it’s beautiful surroundings.
http://www.sistersoregonguide.com/events-fairs.html
What I like best about this, is that Sisters, Oregon has found a balance between these different events, and caters to a wide variety of audiences. We should find ways to fund a variety of ideas, from races to quilt shows and knitting contests, and make a collaborative effort to cross market them. Leadville is searching for the future, and ideas from communities like these are the key to it’s success. By working together as business owners, residents, and town leaders, we can successfully find the keys to unlock Leadville’s bright future!
Get involved! Tonight, April 29th, 2014, the DCI will be unveiling their findings and giving sugestions to our community at 6 PM at CMC in the Climax building Room 401. The more people that get involved, the better the chances of improving our future!