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February 2, 2002
By Janelle Holden The past president and former CEO of Community Bank in Dove Creek has been picked as Cortez’s first economic-development specialist. The city of Cortez and the Montezuma Economic Devel-opment Advisory Committee announced Thursday that they had chosen Dove Creek resident Bruce Johnson to fill the newly-developed city position. Johnson will report to work on Monday at the Welcome Center, and plans to move to Cortez. "I’m very happy to have Bruce on board, and I think he brings a wealth of experience to the position," said City Manager Hal Shepherd on Friday. Johnson will report to Shepherd and the Cortez City Council, which is providing most of the funds for the position. The city is taking over where the now-defunct Montezuma County Economic Development Council left off this fall. The council withered away after its director, Bill Argo, resigned and the businesses that backed it said they had little money left to fund the project. Later, the city decided to funnel the $60,000 it normally contributed to the council to a city position, and is hoping the county keeps up its annual contribution of $5,000. "The city has stepped up to the plate to provide the funding for this position, even though it’s county-wide," said Shepherd. The advisory committee, which has representatives from Mancos, Dolores, Montezuma County, and other interested entities will continue to meet and provide support, said Shepherd. In the past, economic-development directors under the MCEDC’s purview had relatively little success in pulling in new businesses, which is why the city wants to refocus the position and concentrate on helping existing businesses expand and retain employees. Shepherd said 75 percent of Johnson’s time will be spent on helping area businesses and 25 percent on bringing new businesses to the area. Johnson hopes his banking experience will help him earn business owners’ trust, and provide them with financial expertise. He also has experience as a member of the Region 9 Economic Development Loan Committee, which can help struggling businesses who can’t qualify for regular bank loans. Johnson thinks the ailing economy and the events of Sept. 11 could actually be a boon for the area. "Individuals and businesses both are looking more at rural areas, lower-cost areas, and we have a lot to offer," said Johnson. "I think there are areas in the service-information business, both from the production of product and the production of services, that could make it a particularly attractive place, " he said. "I think we’ll see more of that just as we’re seeing more and more individuals who can live anywhere who are choosing this as a place to live. "I think by the same token it’s an opportunity to find those businesses that are relatively small that can choose to function most anywhere as long as they have telecommunication. If they are looking for a good place for their staff to live, they could find this a good place," said Johnson. The city has two empty buildings in its industrial park, and eight acres of business park for office space ready for businesses interested in relocating to Cortez. "We still want to be able to have good job opportunities, family-income jobs for those year-round residents in Montezuma County, so they don’t have to go to Colorado Springs or Denver to find a job," Shepherd said. "That’s not going to happen overnight, that’s a long-term goal." |
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Copyright © 2002 the Cortez Journal.
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