a84acc86b6b8ef47e7e411bb6a8b205d
10 Things we can all do to help Lake County prosper!
- If you’re a business owner, join the Leadville/ Lake County Economic Development Corporation! For a small contribution, you will have access to information and resources to help your business grow. You will also be contributing to a fund meant to assist new business owners establish themselves in our community!
- Buy Local. Instead of purchasing online or driving over the pass, keep your tax dollars local and support local business owners. Statistics show that local business owners reinvest profits into the community and provide jobs for local workers who in turn spend money in the community.
- Get an Energy Assessment from Cloud City Conservation Center. For $50, you can have your property evaluated for energy efficiency and be given a detailed report about things you can do. C4 will even help you with rebates (up to $400 per year), financing, and contractors to do the work! If you are a family living in a rental unit, there are even programs that can provide this service for free!
- Invest in the Lake County Community Solar Garden. You can get information from Cloud City Conservation Center. Essentially you become a “subscriber” and purchase a solar panel in the garden. The clean energy collective takes care of maintenance and operations. Energy produced by the panel gets sent to the “grid.” Excel energy uses a net metering system to credit you for solar power produced. This energy can then be used in your home and you are credited for any kWhs produced in excess of use.
- Support the Advocates of Lake County. They are a family crisis center/ shelter that assists any victim of crime, violence, or other traumatic event, primarily domestic violence and assault. This is a program near and dear to me.
- Support the Lake County Animal Shelter. Feeding stranded cats and dogs isn’t cheap. They can use all sorts of donations from money to food to kitty litter. You can also volunteer your time!
- Support Full Circle of Lake County. Full Circle provides opportunities, education and caring relationships to help Lake County become a place where children make healthy choices, families thrive and the community is united. Once again, you can support financially or volunteer your time!
- Get involved with Lake County Build a Generation. They have job opportunities and action team opportunities. Their mission is to build a healthier community for youth and families. They do this through community organizing, prevention, and community level change.
- Volunteer. Lake County is in dire need of Red Cross Disaster Volunteers in case we have an emergency. Contact Mike McHargue at 719.486.1249. Also, the Lions club is active in putting together 37 events per year that benefit the community in one way or another. Contact Carol Glenn at 719.486.1409 for more information and an invite!
- If you’re a business owner, join the Chamber of Commerce. Not only is it good for your business, but supporting the local Chamber supports events like the upcoming BBQ and Brews festival. They hold monthly Chamber mixers that allow you to meet other business owners in the community and establish important networking relationships.
Above all else, just get involved. Supporting Lake County will help make the place we call home a better one, and will encourage others to choose Lake County as well!
Top 10 Apps for Home Buyers
Wal Mart Neighborhood Market coming to Leadville?
Interesting thought. The local Alco store location would be a great spot, and Safeway needs a competitor.
During the summer, the Leadville Community Market attempts to fill the gap in organic fruit, produce and baked goods for our small town. Sherrie Randall from Cookies with Altitude has been a tremendous help ordering and selling unique and hard to find organic vegetables from her suppliers. As a member of the board that puts on the market, I have struggled to find regional farmers willing to deliver to our small mountain town even though we are surrounded by successful farmers markets like Edwards, Vail and Frisco. Drving over the pass would put a higher premium on these already expensive items, and make it even more difficult for locals to afford. Safeway is attempting to bring in higher quality produce, and is rotating stock better than they ever have before thanks to new manager, Kelvin Henry. If you already live here, you also know that you can purchase fruit and vegetables at the local stand on the North side of town, but these are definitely not organic.
The Wal-Mart Neighborhood market idea began in 1998, and the company announced plans in 2008 to aggressively target smaller markets, even those close to big box Wal Mart stores. These stores are meant to offer similar pricing, smaller lines, and easier parking than regular Wal Marts. It is part of Wal-Marts plan to expand it’s store base, even in communities not able to support their traditional stores. These stores also reflect a new focus on healthful foods.
Wal Mart’s new strategy to enter the organic food market may seem strange to some, considering their focus on mass produced items brought to the consumer at prices undercutting competition, but the new CEO describes their venture into the high end food market like this: “A win, win, win. Customers will get lower prices on something they want, suppliers will have the assurance of consistent demand, and Wal Mart itself will benefit from the halo effect of being associated with healthful foods.” He sees “massive inefficiencies in the organic supply chain and believes that by skipping out the industry’s middlemen and placing direct orders with suppliers of the raw goods, Wal-Mart can score the trifecta of advantageous outcomes.” The Verge
Rather than drive over Fremont pass to pick up your items at the Whole Foods in Frisco, and support Summit County businesses and sales taxes, wouldn’t it be nice to find them in the city limits, supporting city services?
The idea of providing healthy food and lifestyles in Lake County is not a new one. Lake County Build a Generation, led by Katie Baldassar, has the following mission: “to create an environment in Leadville and surrounding Lake County that will encourage healthy, active lifestyles and increase population-level health.” LiveWell Leadville
Whether you think this is a good idea or not, make your voice known. Get involved. Do you support a Wal Mart neighborhood market in Leadville? Do you want fresh, organic food made more available by local businesses?
Historic Colorado Grant funds to transform Harrison Avenue?
Word has it that the area between 9th and 10th Street on Harrison Avenue may be considered for Historic Colorado grant funds. These funds would be used to help design a park like setting in which visitors could enjoy the spectacular views of Downtown Harrison from benches and walkways that connect the three historical buildings surrounding it. Imagine a steppe system of treed landscaping, sitting areas, benches, picnic tables and walkways that would allow for events and connect weddings at the Healy house with receptions at the mining museum.
The History Colorado State Historical Fund is a program established by the 1990 constitutional amendment that legalized gambling in Central City, Blackhawk and Cripple Creek. The amendment mandates that a portion of gaming tax revenue goes to the History Colorado State Historic Fund to fund historic preservation projects throughout the state.
One controversial project that benefitted from these funds is Skyline Park in downtown Denver. Built in 1973, “neglect, lack of maintenance….., bad lighting and overgrown vegetation” caused the park to become a blight in an otherwise modern cityscape. (Denver Post, October 4th, 2012) The new design took into account the heritage of Colorado. Colors reflected nearby Red Rocks amphitheatre with walkways of red brick patterned after Native American Beadwork. Nowadays, the park has become a mecca for events, hosting 35 to 50 events per year and includes a popular ice skating rink.
City Council member Greg Labbe and County Commissioner Bruce Hix met with representatives of History Colorado last week to discuss the application.
Local Alco Store shutting doors. What does this mean to the community?
The impending closure of the Leadville Alco store may add more trepidation in the minds of many as to the future of Leadville but it is actually an opportunity to reevaluate our community direction and the core ideals and goals that we cherish.
SOME HISTORY
Alco is a national chain of discount retail stores that targets communities without other direct competition such as Target and Wal-Mart. On October 12th, 2014, Alco Stores Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing “increased competition” and “declining consumer and business confidence, which has led to decreased customer traffic and reduced levels of consumer spending, particularly on discretionary items.” (Bloomberg.com, October 13th, 2014)
The Leadville Alco opened for business in March of 2008, and indicated at that time that they would employ approximately 25 associates. (Leadville Herald, December 6th, 2007)
An Alco manager has an average salary of $49,272 and sales associates make approximately $8.10 per hour nationally. The building that the Alco was in, is a 26,669 square foot facility that was purchased in 2011 by Leadville Holdings LLC for $1,795,000. This company is owned/ managed by Genesis Investment Properties which is located in Hamilton, New Jersey.
So what does the closing mean to the community of Leadville?
JOBS
A topic of discussion at several business meetings and economic development seminars recently has been the lack of able and willing workers in the community. Many local restaurants and retail stores have difficulty finding quality employees, and find it hard to compete with “over the hill” jobs at ski area hotels and restaurants that are able to pay higher wages. Since these Alco store jobs were low paying positions, besides the one management position, perhaps this will lead to compression and induce these workers to find jobs in other local businesses. One gap in our local infrastructure that has been discussed is transportation. Lake County and the City of Leadville need to at some point address the lack of a shuttle or bus system linking residential areas with the retail core and Colorado Mountain College. This will increase both retail activity and the ability for workers to commute locally.
TAXES
There is no doubt that the closure will have an effect on municipal retail tax revenues. Grocery sales will inevitably increase at the Safeway store, which is located outside of the city limits, which will impact the City in a time that they are already cutting jobs and tightening their purse strings. Our local population will likely make the trip over the hill to Target and Wal-Mart, just 35-40 minutes away to purchase items they cannot find locally. A bright note on the economic horizon is the scheduled opening of several new restaurants and commercial businesses in 2015. Local residents should be encouraged to “shop locally”, and main street businesses will likely benefit from the closure of box store competition.
BEDROOM COMMUNITY
Many of the issues that Lake County and the City of Leadville face are directly caused by being a bedroom community to the resorts close by. Commuter towns are attractive because of the lower cost of housing, but these municipalities struggle because of a lack of an economic industry. The lack of sales tax usually causes property taxes to rise, and the brunt of the impact is on local property owners. Another potential impact is that bedroom communities raise housing prices and attract upscale service businesses leading to a process similar to Gentrification. (This will be discussed in a subsequent blog.)
SUMMARY
The closing of the Alco store is not another indication of the impending economic doom and gloom of Leadville, it is a sign post on the road to community identity, and a reshaping of what is important for the City and County. Personally, I was never attracted to the consumer goods sold at the Alco store, and instead of buying a sweatshirt or hat made in China, I would rather purchase a Melanzana product made right here in Leadville. The “as seen on TV” product offerings were just a way to siphon off the hard earned dollars from our local population, and send them to the chains headquarters in Texas.
In a perfect economic world, our local businesses will benefit from the closure and increased sales due to less competition. When local business owners benefit, ideally they will spend their profits within the community, and enhance the values that we as neighbors strive to obtain for ourselves and our families.
With the pursuit of the Main Street program, and the goal of revitalizing our downtown core as the heart of the County, this closure actually aligns quite well with our current direction.
We as a community need to band together and pursue economic development goals that strengthen and enhance our ability to establish better infrastructure. By shopping with local merchants, we align ourselves together to provide improvements to our quality of life. Only we can provide better schools, parks, community programs, and emergency services. The opportunity is now to make the community we live in one that we are proud of!
Leadville Approves “Common Consumption Area” Downtown!
In December, 2013, an ordinance went into affect allowing the creation of an entertainment district within the downtown area of Leadville. In this designated district, the common consumption of alcohol is allowed to be operated by promotional associations. This is in congruence with Senate Bill 11-273, and provides a physically sanctioned space within which patrons are authorized to purchase alcoholic beverages from a participating establishment on designated evenings and take that beverage outside in a clearly marked cup.
PUBLIC NOTICE – CITY OF LEADVILLE, COLORADO – The Herald Democrat_ Legals
Greeley and Mountain Village in Telluride have both created these districts. Greeley is calling their program the “Go Cup” area, and promotes Friday night downtown bar hopping. Telluride Mountain Village uses this district to promote an outdoor atmosphere during events.
This is forward thinking for our small town. The designated area has been created to include established restaurants within the downtown core. When special events are planned, patrons can order a drink and wander outside, creating a “beer tent” atmosphere. Grab a margarita at Casa Blanca or a Beer at Pastimes and stoll along Harrison Avenue listening to live music or checking out artwork!
Obviously, regulations will be in effect, such as using clearly marked cups and showing id’s for each purchase.
This is yet another tool for the City of Leadville to use in it’s pursuit to reinvigorate the downtown core. Get involved. Show your support. Leadville is changing, and you can be a part of it!
Downtown Colorado Inc and Leadville’s downtown future.
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!
What is the Lake County Economic Development Corporation?
In December of 2013, the Lake County Economic Development Corporation was formed. It is a private, membership based organization with 14 Board members and a Director. Tonight, they will be holding a community meeting at Colorado Mountain College in the Climax building, room 401 at 5:30. They will be discussing ideas for the downtown core of Leadville.
Do they have the answers to what Leadville needs as a community?
The following excerpt is from Leadville Today in December 2013, written by the Director, Nicole Thompson:
“Economic development is all about building a strong and diverse economy which leads to a stronger and healthier community for its residents and businesses. Typically when one hears “economic development” phrases like “business retention”, “business development”, “business attraction”’ “business expansion” immediately pop to mind. The LCEDC will play a key role in creating an environment where these phrases become reality-where entrepeneurs feel comfortable and confident in opening a new business and where existing businesses see viable opportunities to expand. As with any location there are challenges but there are also amazing opportunities.
LCEDC will provide assistance and services to facilitate the success of the new start up business, the struggling entrepreneur, and the existing business. This could include helping to develop an effective business plan, assisting in securing financing, monitoring and, where appropriate, suggesting modifications to existing economic policies and procedures to encourage business growth while keeping the quality of life in our community. The LCEDC will seek out creative partnerships and relationships with organizations, investors, and neighboring communities to create economic synergies that might not otherwise exist.”
What is Responsible Growth and why is it important?
Responsible Growth is defined as economic, social and environmental development that incorporates land use and resources in ways that enhance the long-term quality of life for current and future generations of Leadville residents. Responsible Growth supports a vibrant and resilient economy, preserves natural resources, and maximizes previous investments in existing infrastructure while preserving distinctive landscapes, historic structures, landmarks, and villages.
In the past, Leadville has seen it’s share of Economic Development consultants, and the skepticism of the community is shown by the passage below from Steve Voynick of the High Country News in 2003:
“I’m waiting for a consultant to come to Leadville and, before collecting his or her check and riding into the sunset, look everyone squarely in the eye and say: “Folks, you’ve got some real problems up here that building an industrial park won’t cure. You’re relatively isolated, you’ve got no railroad and lousy highways, and you’re 30 miles and two snowy passes off the interstate. You’ve got a 10,000-foot elevation, seven months of winter and a little airport that closes a lot with winter blizzards and thin, summer air.
“Frankly, it seems unlikely that you will again become what you once were. That’s not necessarily a fault of your own. It’s just that not every town is destined for successful economic transition. And if it makes you feel better, there is no shame in being smaller, or in adapting to a lower economic level.
“But don’t spend money that you don’t have chasing dreams of jetports and industrial parks. Look around you, see what you do have and what works. Build from there.”
Wow. That’s straight to the point. Is this time around different? It seems so. New businesses are arriving in town and old business are getting facelifts. Want to know what’s going on? Get involved. Go to the meeting tonight! Be a part of the solution!
New indoor water park, 9 hole par 3 golf course and convention center coming to Leadville?
GSBS Architects of Fort Worth has been chosen to design Alta Colorado Lodge and Resort near Leadville, Colo. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2014, with grand opening slated for early 2016.
The upscale resort will feature 170 guest rooms, several restaurants, a spa facility and fitness room. An indoor water park will provide year-round family entertainment and 15,000 square feet of banquet and conference rooms for corporate meetings and other events.
Among outdoor amenities will be a “Learn to Ski” school, 9-hole par-3 golf course, golf driving range, hike-bike trails, fishing-ice skating pond and amphitheater.
Serving as project developer is EverGreen Land Co., which owns the property.
The project is just the latest for GSBS, which also boasts Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine among its projects.