The Archuleta County Economic Development Association (AEDA) board was left with a temporary power gap when Executive Director Bart Mitchell tendered his resignation at a Sept. 29 board meeting.
“It really caught us by surprise,” said AEDA board member and Archuleta County Commissioner John Ranson. “The rest of the board meeting was designated to what to do after October 16 (Mitchell’s last day), where to put people and how to fill in the gaps.”
Mitchell has been with the AEDA as its executive director since 2005. Composed of local business and government leaders, the AEDA has helped shape town and county policy; recent economic development plans proposed by both the county and town (primarily tax waiver incentives for developers and growth incentives involving sales tax waivers for local businesses) were largely authored by the AEDA.
Aside from bringing community leaders together for the sake of shaping local economic policy, the AEDA has also been involved in business mentoring, and offering classes to local business owners and entrepreneurs willing to pay for the courses. Those courses have been, in part, integrated into the town of Pagosa Spring’s so-called “portfolio of incentives,” in that local business owners who take AEDA courses can receive sales tax rebates on increased sales tax receipts after taking one or more of the courses.
The AEDA has mentored prospective business owners by advising and assisting on various local, state and federal grants as well as tax credits. According to the AEDA Web site (www.archuletaeconomicdevelopment.org), AEDA partners with Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado, Inc. to secure financing for local businesses through grants or loans. The AEDA does not directly fund businesses, but assists business owners with securing Region 9 loans of other government money.
Recently, the AEDA received $12,750 from the Pagosa Springs Town Council, with $2,100 allocated for an “Economic Gardening” Web site and $10,000 to commission a study on the personality traits of so-called “Lone Eagle” entrepreneurs. In the preliminary budget presented to council on Tuesday, the AEDA was provided with two budget line items (in the “Services Organizations” section), with $12,750 budgeted to fund the AEDA and another $3,600 set aside for AEDA dues.
“He’s done a lot for the community, the last few years,” said AEDA board president Mike Alley of Mitchell. “Whoever takes over has some big shoes to fill. He’s helped a lot of businesses since he’s been here.”
Asked how AEDA would proceed in Mitchell’s absence, Pagosa Water and Sanitation District Manager and AEDA Board Treasurer Carrie Weiss said, “I feel quite confident that the search is on for a replacement for Bart,” adding, “if it’s something better for Bart, I’m happy for him.”
Regarding a decision to replace Mitchell, Alley said, “Probably here in five to six weeks we’ll have an idea of what we’re going to do, how we’re going to get the funding.”
For his part, Mitchell remains tight-lipped about what he plans to do next, but maintains he will stay in the area. “I am not leaving this community that I love,” Mitchell said, in a recent AEDA press release, “but instead charging towards local private business pursuits.
“It’s been an honor to serve this community these past few years,” Mitchell said, in a phone interview, adding that he hoped the AEDA, “would continue to pursue the Lone Eagle vision.”
jim@pagosasun.com
