Investor Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, February 9th, 2016
LPC Fairgrounds Extension Building, 7:30-9:00 AM
Attendance: Doug Fuller, Russ Gartner, Jack Llewellyn, Ariel Wishkovsky, Tomas German-Palacios, Laurie Sigillito, Mike Dreyspring,
Heather Erb, Patti Zink, Rich Bechtolt, Brad Blake, Kristi Streiffert, Paul McGurr, Christi Zeller, Pam Miles, Kayla Patterson, Chelsea
Jones, Suzanne Harrison, Jasper Welch, Jon Betz, Susan Alvillar, Claire Attkisson, Terryl Peterson, Bruce Petty, Trent Porter, Tracy
Barnes, Peter Schertz, Christine Larsen, Karen Iverson, Laura McKinney, Mary Shepherd, Arlene Longfellow, Julie Westendorff, Bern
Heath, Jason Austin, Jameson Bobbin, Mike Baty, Gigi Baty, Allison Morrissey, Skip Thomas, John Mahoney, John Gilleland, Tim Zink,
Brad Cook, Britt Barton, Jen Simon, Mike Foutz, Candy Heide, Matt Carnahan, Lynn Urban, Laura Marchino, Teri Hansen, Susan
Alvillar.
Alliance Board Members: Christina Rinderle, Mitch Dye, Mike Russell, Emily Meisner, Brad Blake, Brad Tafoya, Chris McCroskey
Call to Order: Emily Meisner called the meeting to order at 7:49 AM.
Guests in Attendance: Rich Bechtolt, John Gilleland, Chelsea Jones
Alliance Board Update: Emily Meisner – Annual Report Distributed
Membership Update: Mitch Dye - We would like to thank Fast Signs for providing the coffee and snacks this morning.
Durango TV is broadcast on channel 15 here in Durango reaching 1500 households. Last May we expanded and our news show is
shown on KRTN in Albuquerque. In 2012 $24,000,000 were spent by Albuquerque residents, which equates to $720,000 in City Taxes
collected. 12,000 people per week are watching the news.
Thank you to the following businesses who have joined or renewed their membership with the Alliance this month: Town of Ignacio,
Friends: La Plata Energy Council, Four Corners Records Management. Investors: Chevron. Chairman’s Circle: First National Bank of
Durango, and Mercury Payment Systems.
Executive Director Report: Roger Zalneraitis
Annual Report: Being mailed out this week. Thank you to Lisa for getting this done. Great summary of what we did last year. Great
year due to strategic initiatives. So far, over $100,000 has been committed to these initiatives in the first year. This has leveraged
$400,000 in additional funding towards these initiatives. In the packet, we send out a summary of our activity report for 2015. It
shows how we spend our hours as an organization towards, admin & service oriented activities. This year we will have an increase of
about 240 hours that will be allocated better. This year we will really be amping up time spent on the initiatives and less time on
admin expenses.
Membership Renewals – We sent out renewal invoices last Thursday. It took a bit longer because Amber (our part time admin) set
up an online payment portal. You now have 3 options for membership: Pay by cc via phone, pay by cc via stripe on our web site, mail
a check to the alliance.
Bayfield Business Expansion- 3 new businesses in Bayfield that are not related to Gas & Oil: Tailwind Nutrition moved from Dolores
to Bayfield. Mexican tile out moved from Durango to Bayfield. In addition, a new commercial laundry has started. All are expanding
faster than anticipated.
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Alliance Programs Update: Alliance Project Manager, Lisa Schwantes- Thursday February 11 co-hosting movers and shakers event
with Mercy Hospital. Inviting new residents of La Plata County to give them a chance to meet the chamber director, hospital CEO,
etc. Focus is on healthcare, education, recreation, non-profits-all sectors of the community to show them what the Durango
community has to offer and to welcome them to the area. Have 28 RSVP’s so far. CEO Network will be hosting an executive
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reception at the Double Tree Hotel next Thursday February 17 @ 4 pm. The Steering Committee will be present and they would like
to know what would you like to see scheduled for the remaining 2016 CEO meetings, and hear what challenges/successes you are
having.
Initiatives:
Airport: Brad Tafoya – Attended joint city/county commission meeting a few weeks ago and listened in. Talked quite a bit about the
expansion and financing sources. Roger and I went down to Farmington last week also and they are being supportive. Farmington is
open to continuing our discussion. We have a meeting next week with city council and Kip, the commissioners, etc. to get this on the
ballot for a public vote. It is very important that we educate the public on how important the terminal expansion is to our local
economic development. However we do this, it’s going to cost the community through sales tax increase/property tax increase,
however, this is vital for the future of our community. If you have ideas, comments or questions, let us know. Also, there will be a
direct flight to LAX on Saturdays this summer.
Internet: Roger Zalneraitis – We made a loan to a local high-speed internet company to expand their service, mostly in South
Central La Plata County. I believe their first 2 towers are up and will be providing internet service to Ignacio within the next few
months. After that, the plan is to go up the ridge and will beam east to Allison, Arboles, and Navajo Lake. Broadband study is moving
forward with a finish date of May I believe. This will help open up some additional funding opportunities, which could total into the
millions. Headed to Montrose today to see what their model is.
Business Park: Mike Russell – Gruen and Gruen were here last month interviewing local business owners. There was a survey that
was sent to a select group of businesses and we are awaiting the results. More to report next month. Thank you to the City of
Durango for letting us use their survey software!
Public and Business Sector Updates:
Town of Bayfield: Matt Salka – Mesa water line replacement project in progress. Look in the Herald under the public notice section
for more information. Proposals are being accepted for a land use planner for review of development. Planning effort is underway
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and anyone interested in participating can come to the next meeting held Thursday, February 18 at the Pine River Senior Center.
City of Durango: - Important study session tonight regarding housing. Could lead to policy changes. Water main breaks have been
happening and crews are working very hard to repair them and remove the snow.
La Plata County: Brad Blake–I often get calls from people who want to meet with me about these initiatives or county issues. If you
would like to as well, please give me a call. The city and county will be talking all things airport next week. I personally am in favor of
the terminal expansion because it is a huge economic engine for our area. I would like to give a shout out to our road and bridge
department in La Plata County. They have done an excellent job clearing the 650-700 miles of road during these recent storms.
Please take note of how well they have taken care of our roads with a shoestring budget. Roads are very vital to our community so
we must do a better job of our messaging and education about the roads and bridges.
Region 9: Laura Lewis-Marchino – We got a renewal of our CDBG contract and got additional money of $680,000 to use for business
loans in the 5 county region. 60% of that loan fund is typically used in La Plata County. Total contract is $1,160,000. New businesses
are not usually very bankable so we are becoming known as a first resort for small startups. We have a new board member, Mike
Fitzgerald from Ecosphere Environmental Services. Welcome Mike. SCAPE is starting their new class this month. Please contact us if
you would like to become an investor. We are involved with the Four Corners film office and if you would like to be updated on
inquiries for new movies to be filmed here, you can get that info off our Facebook page or contact me. We are also starting to track
our data and grant inquiries that we get monthly. We can get a deeper level of data than most other facilities. So please know that
we do offer that service. La Plata County added the new Enterprise Zones to the county GIS map, so feel free to look and see where
your business lies. CDAP plan should be approved next month, after meeting with the county commissioners, and it will be
distributed soon.
SBDC: Liz is currently in Denver working on our initiatives for 2016. While there, she is also meeting with the head of the SBDC
Native American small business programs. We have had a strong start to the year with many inquiries from all 5 counties. 3
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workshops have been held already this year and are planning many more. The leading edge series begins in March. July 22 will be
our Women’s business conference at the Sky Ute Casino. 8 am – 5 pm. Sign up for our newsletter at www.sbdcfortlewis.org and find
our contact info. Business consulting is free and not just for new startups.
Ignacio Chamber of Commerce: Emily Meisner/Skip Thomas – Cathy Calderwood accepted a position at the state level as
agriculture leadership program. Working on the governor’s ad quorum. Skip Thomas has been brought on to fill Cathy’s position. He
is our new designated chamber rep.
Durango Chamber of Commerce: Jack Llewellyn – Thank you to everyone who came out for Durango Rocks, it was a great event.
We are currently in the process of doing the building expansion for our office. Region 9 signed a letter of intent that they will be
moving in with us. We will be doing a capital campaign for funding the project. We have received about $5,000 so far in donations.
Governmental Affairs 18 policies and position statements, we can take a position and advocate for or against anything that comes
up. For example, we will be supporting the Good Samaritan legislation coming up. If you are a YPOD individual (under 40) and are
looking for a mentor, they are collaborating with Leadership La Plata to provide mentorship for YPOD members. Go to
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durangobusiness.org for upcoming events. Feb 25 we have a retired general coming to speak about the “US energy revolution:
what does it mean for our security?”
Non Profits:
United Way of SW CO: Lynn Urban – Nonprofits are becoming more careful about how they invest in our community. Here is an
example of the direction we are trying to go. United Way of Salt Lake City manages a collaborative of many, many organizations.
There is one program focusing on education called Cradle to Career. This program recorded key points of support services to help
children become successful in their careers. One thing they are measuring is the impact of high quality pre-school. They are looking
at 3-4 year olds (low income) who were given the opportunity to attend a high quality pre-school experience. The data followed 595
kids, and at the beginning of the 2 year study, 110 tested as likely for needing special-ed when they started kindergarten. After these
children attended the high quality pre-school, only 1 needed special-ed. What this means is they invested money into this program
(Goldman Sachs-social bonds) and determined that $281,000 was saved in special-ed costs by doing that pre-school program.
Oil & Gas: Christi Zeller – Outlook for 2016. We will not have our numbers for a bit but we estimate a small decrease in production
this year. There has been a 41% price drop in natural gas from YTD. That will be hitting La Plata County’s budgets along with special
districts. We are still going through regulatory changes since 2008. 2 state changes and 3 local changes that have increased the cost
of doing business here. New legislation has been introduced that put pressure on our operators. Some companies are moving their
operations to other states. DOLA will have a 72.3% drop in severance tax. So far, 6000 people have lost their jobs in 2 quarters. Good
news is we have pulled more permits and have one rig in La Plata County and may see some more activity and may stabilize the
decline in production.
Real Estate:
Doug Fuller – Glacier Realty – New position as director of Real Estate at the Glacier Club. We employ 100 people on average
throughout the year and it increases to around 140 during the summer months. We have some new construction going on and we
support local trades here such as construction, etc. We are building a new clubhouse and are working to entice business groups from
around the region to utilize it as a facility for business purposes. It will help introduce more people to what we can offer.
RHA: Karen Iverson – I wanted to emphasize the city councils work session re: housing. The city is really trying to grapple with the
density issue in Durango. There is a need to create more housing density within Durango and it is important to show them our
support. The La Plata homes fund is happy to have Laura Lewis on our board. We just received a 1.4 million dollar grant to expand
our homebuyer assistance program to the 5 county region. We are hiring more staff and continuing to expand our business model.
Roger – The number of people who work in La Plata County and live outside the county has doubled in the last 8 years. Is this
sustainable? Why workforce housing (density) is important.
Three Springs: Tim Zink – The cities project, Wilson Gulch Dr., that connects Three Springs with the bridges, should be complete
early June. We also have an infrastructure project underway. We are building the next residential lots and just let out the over lot
grading contract on the 37 acres that will be known as Three Springs Crossing behind South Fork storage units. This will be
developed as a regional retail center. There will also be apartments there and the delivery for that would be July 1.
Education:
Southwest Colorado Community College: Tomas German-Palacios – Moving along our training through our existing industry grant.
3 companies in the region obtained: Four Corners Records & Data Management, Ska Brewing, and Stone Age. I just hired a new
manufacturing instructor and found another highly decorated individual. I just hired with a large background in 3D modeling, C & C
programing, metal manufacturing quality control processes, architectural drafting, among many other things. He will be providing
training for Stone Age. I have also hired a part time instructor to provide training to our 5 county area. I also have 2 other individuals
who have put in teaching applications; one woman has a background in leadership and supervision and the other will be teaching
accounting and QuickBooks classes. I have been working on putting together a kids college to be held this summer, partnering with
the Durango Maker lab, Durango Arts Center and the Powerhouse, to offer classes from the Arts to Robotics.
Durango 9-R: Jason Austin CFO - $42M is the size of our budget, $23M is what we get from the state, 1042 is the number of W-2’s
issued. A pretty big local impact. New employees coming from outside the area ask about healthcare, education, and housing. These
are very important considerations for folks coming from outside the area. We have a budget session at 6 pm Tuesday and Thursday
and are inviting all of the community members to attend. We want your feedback.
School of Business Administration: Dean. Paul McGurr – Good news for Fort Lewis: the GPS building, which is being constructed at a
cost of $42 M, has come in under budget and saved $4M. The state approved for us to spend that $4M on equipment. Will be a
delay in starting, likely complete mid to late fall. Chelsea was here last month and she is the president of the student alumni
networking club at FLC. They are having another event on Tuesday March 1 at DAC. It is a graduate networking forum where
students and recent alumni learn networking techniques. They also invite companies looking for employees to come and mingle with
the students/alumni.
Southwest Council of Governments: Julie Westendorff – (La Plata County Commissioner) We have solicited info and comments
from our regional local government to find out what the airport means to them. Our biggest obstacle is public educations. There are
many misconceptions at the moment about what the airport means. I have talked to pilots and regular users, and they do not realize
that we would have to do this expansion now instead of wasting $ on the current facility now. We are also continuing to work on the
broadband expansion. WE are also currently working on 2 pieces of legislation with Sen Roberts both related to intergovernmental
cooperation. Right now counties are not allowed to make agreements with counties in other states. Gold King highlighted that we
need to have emergency management agreements in place with San Juan County/Farmington. The other bill has to do with having
airport authorities across state lines so that we will be able to help each other with future airport expansions.
Healthcare:
Axis Health System: Bern Heath Axis health will be setting up in Archuleta county soon as we are in process of purchasing property
there. We hope to have that completed within the year. We just submitted a major oral health expansion grant for La Plata County
and we will hear back on that in July. If Axis gets the grant, we will be able to take on the program from the Health Department and
expand it.
Meeting adjourned 9:02 AM