EXECUTIVE UPDATE / October 5, 2005

Barclays US Credit Card Operation announced 450 new jobs for Colorado Springs at a press conference hosted by EDC on September 27. Local officials, including Mayor Lionel Rivera, Chairman of the Board of El Paso County Commissioners, Jim Bensberg, Councilman Jerry Heimlicher and Commissioner Dennis Hisey, were on hand to congratulate members of the Barclays management team. Colorado’s Attorney General, John Suthers, Brian Vogt, Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and British Vice-Consul Barrett Stillings joined in the celebration. Barclays, a major global financial services provider, has leased 69,000 square feet of space at 5725 Mark Dabling Boulevard for its new operations center. Barclays plans to commence hiring in October for bank operations, credit, collections, customer care, human resources and technology, with the full complement of employees to be in place by Spring 2006. Click here for full press release or go to www.coloradosprings.org/Doc/Publications/Barclays.pdf.
Fort Carson’s “buffer zone” received support from the Board of El Paso County Commissioners through their unanimous vote to support a real estate agreement to acquire, at no cost to the County, vacant land adjacent to the eastern boundary of Fort Carson. The agreement is the first phase of a larger project to protect the southern and eastern boundaries of Fort Carson from the encroachment of residential development. This measure will remove what would be viewed as a negative factor in the evaluation of Fort Carson and its relationship to Colorado Springs by the BRAC. Click here for full press release.
Defense continues to play a major role in Colorado’s economy. The state received $3.2 billion in Department of Defense contracts in fiscal 2004, ranking 20th among the 50 states. Colorado is slated to receive $33.2 million in Homeland Defense funding in 2005, $4 million less than in 2004. (Source: Tucker Hart Adams/US Bank 2006 Economic Forecast, www.coloradoeconomy.com/downloads/USBank2006.pdf.)
A Colorado Springs division of Northrop Grumman Corporation recently landed a government contract worth as much as $2.5 billion over ten years to continue work on a broad range of Missile Defense Agency projects. Almost all of the money will be spent in Colorado Springs. Local economist Dave Bamberger estimates the contract could generate 2,000 jobs and an additional 2,100 indirect jobs over a ten-year period. He estimates there are 8,000 to 9,000 employees in the local aerospace and defense sectors. (Source: The Gazette.).
City Manager Lorne Kramer delivered a compelling speech to EDC investors and community leaders at an EDC luncheon on September 22. He challenged residents to think about the costs of maintaining City services and the obligation to future generations to maintain current standards and look to the needs ahead. For full text of the speech, go to www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=5882
Southern Delivery Dispatch, an electronic update by Colorado Springs Utilities about the progress of the Southern Delivery System project, is available at http://www.csu.org/files/newsletter/8175.html.
Citing a “critical situation” in science and math, a business roundtable of the Institute of International Education is calling for a plan to double science, technology, engineering and math graduates. For more details go to http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=65971
U.S. home builders face a few months of squeezed profits before they can pass on their mounting costs to buyers. Prices of cement, gypsum, plastic pipe and other items are being driven higher by damage on the Gulf Coast oil refineries, chemical plants and ports. A surge in post-hurricane rebuilding will keep costs high in 2006 but strong housing demand will let builders raise their prices. (Source: The Kiplinger Letter.)
Make e-mails clearer to boost productivity. Employees lose up to an hour a day deciphering confusing messages from bosses and colleagues. Employees, especially managers, are encouraged to be as careful writing e-mails as they would be writing formal memos. (Source: The Kiplinger Letter.)
The Southern Colorado Economic Forum will be held Thursday, November 3, at the Antlers Hilton. The Forum provides a snapshot of local economic activity and provides forecasts to help businesses plan for the upcoming year. Register online at http://web.uccs.edu/scef/2005Forum.