MONTE VISTA- The Monte Vista Economic Development Corporation (MVEDC), lead by Charlie Spielman, held an economic development luncheon Saturday, Feb. 22. The EDC invited leaders from local businesses, nonprofits and government entities from around Rio Grande County to review projects and opportunities for business development as well as to create an open line of communication and develop a better system for economic development.
During the luncheon Karla Shriver and Kathy Rogers-Woods presented on behalf of the Friends of Ski-Hi and gave an update on the renovation project. Rogers-Woods emphasized the “urgency to act” on the project, explaining how her father’s construction company had built most of the structures at Ski-Hi in 1960 when construction standards were different, and parts of the building had been nearly condemned in 2018.
Shriver pointed out the renovation was not just beneficial for Monte Vista but is “truly a Valley project” when the scope of all of the events held there is taken into consideration, including Stampede, the Ag Conference, the Crane Festival and more.
Rogers-Woods explained the new building will have 30 more vendor spaces and will also have the capability to be an emergency shelter and a point of dispensing in the event of a situation where medication had to be dispersed quickly. Monte Vista City Manager Forrest Neuerburg explained the benefits the new facility will have for adult and youth recreation as well, including removable courts for multiple events, indoor batting cages and other possibilities that provide benefits for citizens of the Valley, recreation leagues from other towns, local schools and more. Shriver also pointed out the benefits the new conference center will have, turning the structurally unsalvageable pool into a plus for the community.
Shriver explained the entire project will cost approximately $8.6 million, most of which the Friends hope to raise through grants and pledges, like the Outcalt Foundation’s $2 million pledge. The Friends’ goal is to fundraise another $875,000 for matching grant funds, and thanks to donations from several local banks, a recent $25,000 from the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee plus an additional $25,000 matching pledge if the potato industry donate $25,000, has brought them to just under $600,000. However, a major deadline is looming with the application for the Gates Foundation requiring 30 percent of costs be raised by the end of March. Neuerburg explained the benefits of the tax credit and/or deduction for donors to the Enterprise Zone account (Ski-Hi Capital Account) the city has set up for the project at Rio Grande Savings & Loan.
Rogers-Woods explained they hope to begin demolition of the current facility right after the San Luis Valley Fair in August, with the new building starting in October or November of this year. The goal is to have the majority of the project completed by the 100th Ski-Hi Stampede in July 2021.
Spielman noted the importance of these projects but reminded attendees “they are essential for economic development but they are not enough.” Spielman pointed out how the area really needs a primary business track, including agriculture, manufacturing, recreation and tourism, and new, unfamiliar businesses we might not foresee right now. “We won’t develop or attract new business using present methods…we need to make the focus bigger,” Spielman stated before turning the meeting over to Langley, who he explained started the first business incubator in Colorado, and more locally, founded a school for immigrant children in Center and wrote some of the first grants that established La Puente. Spielman explained her academic and direct experience and history as a community organizer made her highly qualified to explain better methods for business development.