County economic group looking for members and results

“When people start seeing results, they’ll let go of the past”

In a valley where economic development groups have formed and disbanded and formed again, members of the Economic Development Summit know there is one clear way for a new economic development organization to move beyond the past: get results.

“The biggest goal is going to be results,” said Gunnison Chamber of Commerce executive director Tammy Scott. “When people start seeing results, then they’ll let go of the past.”
This summer, Scott and Crested-Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce executive director Richard Bond will spearhead an economic development working group. Their charge is to identify the organizational and funding structures necessary to create a nonprofit organization focused on meeting the economic goals established by the Summit: encourage growth among existing businesses and industries, diversify the economic base, increase tourism, create a more business-friendly climate and create new, high-paying jobs.
On May 25, Scott, Bond and five other members of a subcommittee presented the framework for the working group at the third meeting of the Economic Development Summit. They proposed that the group be comprised of eight local business leaders—four members from each chamber—sparking debate over the merit of limiting participants to chamber members.
“We felt like we needed to go through a business organization or an organization that would have businesses as the bulk of their membership,” Scott said. “Any interested and qualified business is welcome to be part of the group, but they would have to join the chamber.”
“We didn’t want this to be a government-driven board, so we wanted to make sure government entities were not the board,” said Swenson. “The chambers seemed to be the most logical avenue of getting that.”
“This was intended to be transitional, a way to start the process,” added Dave Clayton, subcommittee member and mayor pro tem of Mt. Crested Butte.
But Tourism Association director Jane Chaney cautioned that the “pay to play” way of doing things might too closely resemble the past Economic Development Council (EDC).
“The EDC in the previous world seemed clubby and you had to belong or pay, and I would caution us to say that if you’re not a chamber member you are excluded,” said Chaney. “We might be limiting the interested pool. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, just that it’s the last impression people had of the old EDC.”
“One of the things we discussed was a different name. We didn’t want to carry that baggage into this,” said subcommittee member Greg Larson of Gunnison.
But the ghosts of economic development past continued to color the discussion as the Summit turned toward potential funding and naming of the new group.
“Funding was the heartburn subject,” Scott said.
Current funding suggestions include the addition of $20 or some set amount to the Gunnison City sales tax licenses and the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte business licenses, exploring a contribution from the county government and other sources from the municipalities. The goal, according to subcommittee organizers, is to capture the majority of the businesses without placing an unfair burden on some or limiting smaller businesses from participating.
“One of our goals was to make sure 95 percent of the group’s time isn’t spent trying to find funding,” said Larson. “We’re looking for a revenue stream that could be there year after year.”
“We also want to give small businesses buy-in even if they can’t afford larger fees,” said Swenson, indicating that past economic development groups might have priced out some of the smaller businesses.
But just how much funding needs to be identified and what it would be used for is being left to the working group to determine.
“We won’t even know what our goals and strategies are going to be for a few months, or even a year,” Swenson said.
But the hope is that in meeting at least once a month and reporting quarterly to a guiding economic development group—for now, the Summit—business leaders can identify the best strategies for economic growth in the Gunnison Valley. Eventually, the goal is to remove the group from the auspices of the chambers, with the possible addition of a paid director.
“The business community will be driving it, pulling all this together to bring it to this group to say, ‘What do you think?’ This group will still oversee it,” said long-time Gunnison resident and businessman Galen Houston.
But Summit participants wondered if giving economic development a clean slate meant giving the organization a new name. Ideas included the Gunnison Business Council, the Gunnison Economic Development Council, and from Bond, the Gunnison Area Development Association.
“I’m addressing the notion that economic development is a dirty word,” he said.
“The development part would freak people out. Without the word economic in there, they’ll see sky scrapers and smokestacks,” said Chaney.
“And if some of the money is going to be coming from some of the bigger pockets, like the Agricultural Department or Housing and Urban Development, it’s for economic development. So if that’s a dirty word, I hope millions of dollars help you get over it,” said KT Gazunis, executive director of the Gunnison Housing Authority.
In the end, the group seemed to agree that changing the name is not going to free the group of past associations.
“Everybody’s going to call it the EDC at some point, and it’s results that matter,” said Pat Montgomery of Gunnison.
So it is with results in mind that Bond and Scott will begin to assemble the working group, reporting back to the Summit in the fall. According to Bond, he has already heard from several businesses interested in participating.
“[We have] a lot to accomplish, but we have a momentum going that I haven’t seen at this level as long as I’ve been in the valley,” Bond said, optimistic that the group will rise above any sentiments of the past. “I don’t know how real that ghost is. People have talked about it an awful lot. I’ve been around for 11, 12 years now and I hear about it. But I’ve never met somebody who’s really angry… I was very pleased last week that the group said it should be called economic development.”
Interested business owners may contact Bond or Scott at the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte and Gunnison Chambers of Commerce. In the meantime, a new Summit subcommittee will put together a road show to share the plan with the municipalities, the chambers, the Rotary Clubs and other groups.
“There’s a lot of interest out there, so we have to get the information out there to say this is who we are,” said Gunnison county commissioner Phil Chamberland. “I have been approached by a lot of the public wondering what’s going on behind closed doors. We need to get out there and let folk know what’s going on, and then we need to get their input.”