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EDP, CNCC promote buying local

Andy Bockelman

If you go

Members of the Craig/Moffat Economic Development Partnership will host a get-together for potential EDP members at 2 p.m. Feb. 4 at Yampa Valley Bank, 435 Mack Lane.

For more information, call Bryce Jacobson at 875-1788.

— With the assistance of other agencies, the Craig/Moffat Economic Development Part­nership is attempting to do its part to enhance the local community.

At Wednesday’s EDP board meeting, members discussed the local efforts of Colorado Northwestern Community Col­­lege in its upcoming construction project.

EDP and the Craig Chamber of Commerce aided CNCC with its planned construction of a new academic building and a career/technical building in Craig.



CNCC and EDP each hosted events Jan. 12 to garner interest from local contractors in the project and to meet and greet other general contractors from across the state.

EDP Director Darcy Trask said Wednesday that she was pleased with the results of both efforts, referring to them as an “out-of-the-park home run.”



Trask said the response from the community at large was good, a sentiment echoed by those in attendance Wednesday.

“Just knowing that the college cares makes all the difference,” said Jay Oxley, an EDP board member and local businessman.

Moffat County commissioner Audrey Danner, a fellow EDP board member, also praised the organizations for their promotion of “shopping locally.”

CNCC will select from the general contract bids — all of which remain in sealed envelopes — Feb. 12.

Gene Bilodeau, EDP board member and CNCC vice president of administration, said the contractors have different costs figured in.

Costs vary company to company because some firms are prepared to handle 60 percent of the construction themselves, while others can complete 20 percent of the work, and hire out the rest to subcontractors.

Bilodeau said local contractors have liked CNCC’s promotion.

“People appreciate the effort,” he said.

Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-to-late April, once the selected general contractor signs the project contract.

Trask said EDP’s efforts in the construction are an example of “economic gardening,” which helps local companies grow rather than seeking out-of-town workers, a term known as “economic hunting.”

“We do both here, but with limited resources we focus on the gardening,” she said. “That’s where the ‘buy local’ strategy comes from.”

Trask also encouraged community members to attend EDP meetings for input on “how to use precious resources.”

The next EDP meeting is scheduled for Feb. 17 at the Moffat County Courthouse.


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