EXECUTIVE UPDATE / February 1, 2006

EDC has named David L. White as their new Vice President of Business Attraction and Marketing. After a two month national search David White was selected, from a very strong field of candidates, to lead EDC's business attraction effort. Dave is currently the Business Attraction Manager of the City of Riverside, California and will be joining the EDC team in mid-March. For more information, see the EDC press release.
Incentives are key to retaining and attracting quality jobs. Colorado Springs may be losing another important part of our community, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Headquarters and ProRodeo Hall of Fame & Museum, to New Mexico due entirely to that state’s willingness to provide incentives. This recent announcement is the continuation of a trend by states like New Mexico to use public dollars to attract and retain the kinds of businesses that provide quality jobs for their citizens and provide a return on their investment in the form of increased tax revenue. The PRCA is the latest in a string of losses that includes the Professional Bull Riders Association's move to Pueblo and Excel Jet that recently moved to Oklahoma because of incentives. EDC is currently working on three other significant prospects where incentives are likely to make the difference in the final decision and there are many other companies with quality jobs that do not even consider Colorado because of our general lack of incentives. Local economist Dave Bamberger has determined that we need about 3,500 new primary jobs a year to meet the needs of our community, 93% of which will be filled by existing residents. It may be time for our community to consider incentives as we fight to retain and attract the quality jobs we need to maintain our economic vitality and our quality of life.www.coloradosprings.org/Doc/DBamberger12_05_05.pdf
SkyWest Inc., the nation’s largest regional airline and a contractor for United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, recently began building a $20 million, 100,000 square foot regional overnight maintenance facility at the Colorado Springs airport. EDC estimates this project will generate 200 additional employees over one year. www.skywest.com. (Source: The Gazette/EDC.)
Phase I of the Fort Carson encroachment agreement is complete. The protection of Fort Carson from residential encroachment is extremely important to the long term economic future of this region. EDC, working in concert with the Chamber’s Defense Mission Task Force, the Board of County Commissioners, the local Congressional delegation, the Legal and Planning offices of the County, the Nature Conservancy and Fort Carson, developed a plan to stop further residential development in the Pioneer Village area and to permanently preclude the use of water in the El Rancho villages adjacent to Fort Carson. Parties involved signed the contract and CASA Builders was paid $500,000 of federal funds for the first 15 lots to be acquired. Phase II of this plan will provide for the purchase of the remainder of the CASA land (40 to 50 lots) in the buffer zone and will prohibit any additional CASA water use in the buffer zone. Phase II is expected to be complete by January of 2007. Residential encroachment has been a problem that has threatened Fort Carson for over 30 years and this agreement provides for the protection of a military installation in a way that has never been done before. For additional information on this issue contact Mike Kazmierski at mjkazmierski@csedc.org
City sales- and use-tax revenue for 2005 was just 1.87 percent for the year, well below initial projections of 3 percent. The city relies on sales-tax collections to pay for basic services such as police and fire protection, parks and roads. Sales-tax collections account for about 54 percent of the city’s general fund. Internet and regional shopping outside the city limits are likely to be among factors contributing to the decline, according to economists Dave Bamberger and Fred Crowley. (Source: The Gazette.)
The Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has customized a new two-year MBA For Working Professionals program for students interested in completing their MBA in a two-year program. The program is open to all interested students and is structured to provide maximum convenience. Students complete their degree over four academic semesters by taking courses from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Courses are offered at the T. Rowe Price Building in the Briargate area of Colorado Springs. An information meeting will be hosted by T. Rowe Price on Tuesday, February 28, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 2260 Briargate Parkway. More information is available at (719) 262-3408 or MBA@UCCS.edu.
More small firms will qualify for financial aid from the Small Business Administration. Small companies will generally be redefined as ones with $6.5 million or less in annual receipts, up from $6 million. 11,600 firms will be eligible in 2006 for SBA-backed funding and for federal contracts open only to small firms. (Source: The Kiplinger Washington Editors.)
Community Intersections, a local non-profit agency that provides computer/electronics recycling services to the community and is staffed by people with disabilities, is seeking donations of obsolete computers, printers, etc. A small tax-deductible donation is required to cover the cost of the recycling operation. For more information you may call Community Intersections at (719) 219-3996.
The Center for Creative Leadership will offer the Community Leadership Program for the 15th year in an effort to give back to the community. The focus of this three and a half day program is to develop and enhance the leadership capabilities in recognized and emerging leaders within the Colorado Springs community. This year's program will take place May 30 - June 2, 2006 at our Colorado Springs campus. As in years past, there are only twenty-four (24) seats available. Upon completion of the program, participants are expected to continue their commitment to the community and "pay forward" their learning in creating a better future for Colorado Springs. Please email RomeroM@leaders.ccl.org for details and an application.
For questions or comments regarding the Executive Update, please contact Julie Boswell at jboswell@csedc.org