Trinidad Community Assessment
August 31 September 2, 2005
Final SWOT Analysis Assessment Report
September
23, 2005
Assessment Team
Darlene
Scott - Office of Economic Development & International Trade
Clarke
Becker
Lee
Merkel Department of Local Affairs
Steve
Eggleston Housing & Urban Development
Hazel
Hartbarter
Elaine
Mariner
Susan
Stanton DIA Partnership
Pete
Roskop - Office of Economic Development & International Trade
Meghan
Harris Russell Trinidad/Las Animas
County
Economic
Development Director
Sponsored By
Office of Economic Development &
International Trade
&
Economic Developers
Council of Colorado
Table of Contents
Community Assessment Schedule
Page
3
Session 1 Downtown Development
.
Page
5
Session 2 Community Development
..
. Page
7
Session 3 Infrastructure Development
. Page
8
Session 4 Business Development
Page 9
Recommendations
Page 10
Assessment TEAM Contact Information &
Biographies
.. Page 12
Tentative Date for Follow-Up Community Assessment
March 1, 2006
Trinidad-Las Animas County
Trinidad Community
Assessment Schedule
August 31
September 2, 2005
Wednesday
August 31st:
11:30
am TEAM Members Arrive in
1l:45
am Lunch: The
Home Front Restaurant
1:30
-5:30 pm Community Tour: TEAM members return to hotel following the
tour
7:00
pm Community
Leaders & Public Officials Dinner at Rinos Italian Restaurant
9:00
pm Return
to Hotel
Thursday
September 1st:
7:00
am Continental Breakfast
at hotel
7:45
am Transportation
provided to the
§
Preparation
for the focus groups
9:00
am Focus Session I: Downtown Development
TEAM Leaders: Hazel
Hartbarter & Elaine Mariner
§
Downtown
Revitalization (includes attracting businesses)
§
Inventory
of Resources/Assets and Marketing
§
Incentives
§
Historic
Preservation
o
Finances/Resources
§
Arts/Culture
§
Boutiques
§
Theatre/Music
10:30
am Break
11:00
am Focus Session II: Community Development
TEAM Leaders: Susan
Stanton & Darlene Scott
§
Vision
& Identity: Define the future
development of the community
§
Arts/Culture
§
Boutique
§
Tourism
§
Recreation
§
Retirement
Community
o
Health
Care
12:30
pm Lunch at
1:30
pm Focus Session III: Infrastructure
Development
TEAM Leader: Lee Merkel & Pete Roskop
-
Water
-
Planning
-
Telecommunications/High
Tech
-
Healthcare
-
Housing
-
Road
Improvements
-
Transportation
-
Resources/funding,
etc.
3:00
pm Break
3:30
pm Focus Session IV: Business Development
TEAM Leader: Clarke Becker & Steve Eggleston
-
Incentives/finances/resources
-
Workforce
Development
-
Education
(K-12 & Higher Ed)
-
Renewable
Energy
-
Community
Cooperation, Coordination, Partnerships
5:00
pm Public
Forum Adjourn
6:00
pm TEAM
Member Dinner & Work Session
Friday
September 2nd:
8:30
am
9:00
am Presentation of Community
Assessment
10:00
am Questions & Answers
10:30
am Public Meeting Adjourned
10:45
am TEAM Member Wrap Meeting &
Luncheon at
Trinidad-Las Animas County
Economic Development
Trinidad Community
Assessment Final SWOT Analysis
August 31
September 2, 2005
Focus Session I: Downtown Development Hazel Hartbarter & Elaine Mariner
Strengths (in no particular order):
§
Historic Downtown
§
Brick Streets
§
Access to/from I-25
§
Museums
§
Architecture
§
Movie
theatre
§
Artists
§
Great supply of professional artists
§
Chamber of Commerce
§
Hispanic Chamber
§
§
Capital investment, Street
fronts/landscaping/street furniture
§
§
County Fair
§
Sante Fe Trail
§
§
River walk Park
§
Amtrak Stop
§
History tour/Trolley
§
History Walking Tour
§
Arts Center/First Street Art Gallery/youth programs
§
Zoning for business/live and work
§
Collective recognition of downtown
§
Theatre Company
§
Art Galleries
§
Restaurants
Weaknesses (in no
particular order):
§
No city planner
§
Communication among various groups, organizations,
and elected officials
§
No design guidelines to preserve historic buildings
§
Maintenance and security concerns in downtown
§
Need one stop shopping for business development
(ombudsman)
§
Signage to main street
§
Highway curb appeal
§
Utilities costs are very high particularly downtown
because of large buildings and old boilers
§
Pedestrian/foot traffic safety concerns
§
Lack of parking or signage to public parking areas
Opportunities:
- Venues to display and sell fine arts
- Big buildings
- Celebrate multi-cultural/heritage including festivals
- More capital investors
- Develop partnerships with organizations
- Engage commissioners for county-wide support
Threats:
- No design guidelines
- No city planner
- Museum facing environmental and security risks
Focus Session II: Community Development Susan Stanton & Darlene Scott
Strengths
(in no particular order):
- Corazon de Trinidad Heart of Trinidad - a tagline
- Sante Fe Trail and Trade/Merchant Heritage
- Many tourism assets
- Welcoming of newcomers
- Nursing Program at TSJC
- River Walk project
- Unique hospital procedures
- Natural resource employment
- Tolerance of diverse lifestyle and cultures
Weaknesses (in no particular order):
- Not a lot of things to do, lots to see
- Limited public land and recreational opportunities
- Lack of skilled workforce
- Children arent here because the jobs are not here
- Promotion and availability of tourism marketing plan
- Lack of quality healthcare
- Housing is expensive
Opportunities:
- Improved coordination and trust
- Retirement Community
- Large number of retirees looking at
- To capture the drive-by market on I-25.
Threats:
- Local government history of political conflict
- Lack of diversity in the economic base
- Perception of unique hospital procedures
- General outside perception of the community
- Loss of TSJC if legislative funding is not passed or available
Focus Session III:
Infrastructure Development Lee
Merkel & Pete Roskop
Strengths (in no particular order):
- Secured water rights
- TSJC
- Hospital
- DSL and satellite in
- Distance education online and K-12
- Control of water resources
- Amtrak and rail lines
Weaknesses (in no particular order):
- Inferior telecommunications infrastructure including voice mail;
switch, etc.
- The community does not have the benefit of O.B. facility available
at the hospital.
- Difficulty in attracting physicians
- Not enough doctors
- Lack of outpatient facilities
- No landscaping guidelines
- Lack of affordable housing
- Lack of multi-family development in 10 years
- Water resources outside the city limits
Opportunities:
- TSJC intends to add wireless telecommunications
- City regulations for water conservation
- Leverage resources through partnerships and collaboration
- Build a community relationship with hospital management, including
credibility between board members and the community.
- Identify alternative solutions to provide medical services for
citizens
- Mill levy on the tax payers to support the hospital
Threats:
- Losing hospital and services
- Non-completion of I-25 interchange
- Mistrust among various organizations including hospital management
- Need of residential rental properties
- Unplanned school enrollment/decline
Focus Session IV:
Business Development, Clarke Becker & Steve Eggleston
Strengths (no particular order):
§
Strong and connected workforce development center
(extensive services)
§
Customized training through TSJC
§
Full employment
§
Network council meets monthly to coordinate and share information
§
TSJC pursuing OEDIT Colorado First training funds
as a business incentive
§
Hotel development projects
§
Enhanced Enterprise Zone
Weakness (no particular order):
- Under employment
- Workforce housing that is affordable for the people that work in
LAC
- Inability to maximize the tax benefits of the gas industry
Opportunities:
- Attract families through adequate
workforce housing
- Alternative energy
- Potential with the coal industry
- Resources available through Office of Energy Management
- Continue researching biomass development.
Threats:
- Gas industry primary employer
- Potential reduction in future workforce in gas drilling
- New industrial park businesses are related to gas industry
Recommendations
The
following recommendations should be considered for future strategic planning
purposes. It is recommended that a few
of the most immediately do-able recommendations be selected for action while
a more detailed strategic plan addresses longer term action items.
Focus Session I: Downtown Development
- Create a funding district for downtown improvements. City and
county need to develop financial incentives for building preservation.
- Create design guidelines to protect the integrity of downtown.
- Use the TSJC resources to facilitated discussions: invite and embrace everyone, build
trust; accountability, chart a course, take ownership with a goal to
identify the single entity to guide the downtown and county-wide partnerships. The single entity is recommended to be
the TLAC economic development organization.
- Celebrate and leverage your diverse cultural heritage and creative
assets.
- Improve website through linkages and website visibility.
Focus Session II: Community Development
- Identify steps to make attractions visitor-ready and establish a
creative marketing plan.
- Review the master plan for impacts from the new development
(infrastructure, schools, downtown businesses, police, fire, healthcare,
government services, etc.)
- Diversify and target the industry in the industrial park.
- Expand the trail system and the recreation center/tennis courts,
etc.
- Create partnerships with commercial real estate professionals
Focus
Session III: Infrastructure
Development
- Investigate and collaborate to create better ways to serve the
modern medical needs of the community.
- Develop official/efficient water landscaping guidelines.
- Support TSJC efforts to create the high speed wireless internet
system.
- If the local provider is not serving the telecommunications needs,
the elected officials should identify community solutions.
- Empower staff and fund the economic development organization to
implement the strategic plan for the community.
- Open the lines of communication between the community and the hospital. It is critical that both groups collaborate for the greater good.