Local officials to meet with retail planners

By Forrest Hershberger, Journal Advocate Editor

An airline commercial once focused on a board room. The message was high-level business conducted by means of technology makes the client less important than his or her monetary value. In that commercial, that all changed when the CEO decided to get back to face-to-face transactions.

Local leaders are trying a similar approach, carrying the message of what the community has to offer to businesses that are considering expansion.

Next week, Logan County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Rich O’Connell, LCEDC President Rob Nichols, Sterling City Manager Joe Kiolbasa and Logan County Planner Jim Neblett will attend an international meeting of retailers in Las Vegas. The intent is to further present Sterling’s assets to businesses and business representatives.

“I see this as an opportunity to get Sterling’s name out there,” Kiolbasa said.

He said the current business climate requires a company to meet face-to-face with an interested community in order to expect success.

O’Connell said the convention is partly a result of the Buxton Study that was conducted last fall. In 2007, the Buxton Corp. contracted to do a study on the Sterling area. The study focused on spending habits from a specific point outward. The area affected went beyond Sterling by several miles. It showed what people typically purchase, as well as how many of those needs are met in the Sterling area, what type of homes are in the area and income ranges.

Additionally, the study shows what type of businesses might be interested in the Sterling and Logan County area. According to O’Connell, the Buxton people said it is best for a city and county to work together when trying to draw new businesses to an area.

The conference is an event that brings retailers, developers and communities together to discuss possibilities.

“They all come together,” O’Connell said.

He said community officials have already selected some businesses they want to meet with, and offer Sterling as a possible expansion location.

“What we’ve done is preschedule some appointments with businesses we want to meet with,” O’Connell said. However, O’Connell noted that this conference is not necessarily a place to finalize a deal. “Nothing will be done; no deals signed,” he said. What officials do anticipate is this event will open doors for further opportunities. This will be an opportunity for local officials to meet the people that make the deals. “There are a number (of businesses) interested in our area,” O’Connell said.

He noted that there has been a drag on retail activity lately, a result of the economy. However, most economic cycles run in two- to three-year cycles. Additionally, many of the business representatives at this conference will be planning as far as three years in the future, he said. “We’re optimistic. You have to be,” O’Connell said. “We have a lot to offer.”

The trip will, if nothing else, offer an opportunity for local business, county and city officials to meet face-to-face with people who make business expansion decisions. The community leaders will be leaving May 18 and are expected back on May 21.

Filed under: In The News by LCEDC
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By Carol Barrett - Journal-Advocate agriculture editor

Are there enough people in northeast Colorado to staff a local chicken processing plant and a feed mill? And are there enough farmers in the area who want to invest in building several large chicken houses on their land, as well as contracting to raise thousands of chickens?

Don Jackson, president of the chicken division of Foster Farms, the nation’s 10th-largest chicken processing facility, wants to find out. He is inviting Logan County farmers to attend either of two informational meetings next Tuesday, April 15, in Tennant Art Gallery at Northeastern Junior College. The first will be at noon and the second at 7 p.m. Both of the meetings will include meals.

All farmers who might be interested are encouraged to attend. They do not need to be ready to make a commitment, Jackson said

This Monday, Jackson and Rich O’Connell, executive director of the Logan County Development Corp., co-hosted two meetings at the Ramada Inn. They met first with area bankers and then held a press conference with local officials and media personnel.

Jackson reiterated much of what he told The Fort Morgan Times on Friday, concerning the size and scope of the proposed project. The company is interested in working with Logan, Morgan and Weld counties. So far, they have been favorably received in all three. Phillips and Sedgwick counties could be included in the mix too, Jackson said.

Foster Farms is a branded company, selling their fresh chicken chiefly on the West Coast. Poultry selling under the Foster Farms label is always locally grown, branded, and always fresh, Jackson said.

The company has been looking at northeast Colorado for several months, searching for a place to expand its branded market. Foster Farms sells chicken now in Colorado, mainly through Costco and King Soopers, but the chicken does not carry the Foster Farms brand, Jackson said. Foster Farms does have an egg facility in Colorado, at Delta, but all those eggs are shipped to California for hatching.

They would like to start selling Foster Farms fresh chicken on the Front Range as “Rocky Mountain Grown,” Jackson said. To do that, they need a nearby processing plant so the chicken can be truly fresh.

“Just to produce more chickens, we probably wouldn’t do it here, because of costs,” Jackson said. “But locally grown has come to mean a lot to consumers.”

Someone in the audience commented that northeast Colorado is not really in the Rocky Mountains. “I thought about that as I was driving out here from Greeley for one-and-three-quarters hours today,” Jackson said. The phrasing might have to be reworded, but chicken from here could certainly be sold fresh on the Front Range

Jackson said that since the company is still privately owned — much of it by the Foster family — they don’t have the added pressure of pleasing shareholders. Foster Farms also has a high degree of employee satisfaction, he said. The meat processing industry as a whole is known for its high turnover rate. In contrast, Foster Farms has many employees who have been with the company for 25 years or more, Jackson said.

O’Connell and four other local leaders went to Livingston, Calif., in March to visit the Foster Farms plant there.

“They’re a top-notch company,” O’Connell said, adding that they were the first chicken processors to invite the U.S. Department of Agriculture into their plant to help with problem-solving.

Jackson said that chicken processing plants have four main issues or needs.

• They must have an adequate water supply. Northeast Colorado has water, but it can be expensive.
• The operation’s feed mill needs to be located on a Class One railway site. Both Sterling and Greeley have such sites.
• There needs to be an adequate labor force to work in the processing plant and the feed mill.
• The contract grower arrangement requires from 50 to 75 farmers willing to spend a lot of money building chicken houses and to make a long-term commitment to raise thousands of chickens.

The chickens remain the property of Foster Farms, and the company provides the feed to raise the chickens to a 5.5-pound size.

The meetings planned for next Tuesday with local farmers should help give Jackson a better idea of how many of them may be interested.

Meetings for farmers with Foster Farms

What: Foster Farms will hold two informational meetings for farmers interested in finding out more about raising chickens for the company.

When: Noon or 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 15

Where: Tennant Art Gallery at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling

Filed under: In The News by LCEDC
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By Marilee Johnson - News Editor

The Logan County Economic Development Corporation (LCEDC) held it’s annual meeting last week, highlighting new projects underway in 2007 and electing new board members for 2008.

According to President Steve Meier, the LCEDC is supported by the City of Sterling, Logan County, Sterling Urban Renewal Authority and the membership contributions of private business and individuals. He said during 2007, the membership grew by 37% with members increasing from 27 to 36.

Rich O’Connell, executive director, presented a summary of economic development in Logan County last year, which included 14 new businesses opened representing 529 new jobs and over $600,000,000 in capital investment. The majority of this development, O’Connell said, was the Peetz Wind Center project of Florida Power and Light Energy (FP&LE).

“Many of the construction jobs associated with the wind turbines will be temporary, but it is expected that FP&LE will employ up to 30 permanent wind technicians in the future,” O’Connell. “Another positive sign is the increase in retail sales in Logan County over the past three years.”

Sales have increased 60.5%, from $365 million in 2004 to an estimated $587 million in 2007.

Other significant projects, O’Connell noted, included the Buxton CommunityID retail site assessment, responses to six State of Colorado prospect inquiries and involvement in over a dozen specific development projects.

New board members elected to three-year terms were Michelle Joy and Mike Lauer. Rob Nichols, currently board vice president, was re-elected to a three-year term.

According to Joy, in her application, the top three economic development issues she believes need addressed in the community are attraction and growth of retail businesses, a trained workforce with the needed skill set for current and new employers and continued residential housing development. Lauer identified the need to develop a healthy and viable community that is ready for economic business, to be progressive and develop a strategic niche and to improve the LCEDC marketing strategy.

Nichols was also on the same track with the issues he identified: helping existing business expand and flourish through grants, marketing information and workforce training, attracting primary industry with higher income job opportunities and to revitalize downtown to be economically vibrant as well as visually attractive.

Joy was recently named CEO of Sterling Regional MedCenter, relocating to Sterling from Susanville, Calif. She feels she can best serve the LCEDC membership and the Logan County community through ensuring that the goals of the MedCenter and the LCEDC are aligned and continue to develop in a manner which provides measurable value to the community.

Lauer is a certified public accountant and partner in Lauer, Szabo & Associates and is a board member of the Sterling Federal Credit Union, the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen Athletic Group, the SRM finance committee and the Baptist Foundation of Colorado. He said he intends to best serve the LCEDC by his commitment and attendance at the meetings and functions of the LCEDC and actively participating in that capacity, as well as remain actively involved in other communityu events and activities.

Executive vice president of Nichols Tillage Tools Inc., Nichols is currently a member of the Logan County Historical Society and the Sterling Rotary Club. He feels he will best serve the LCEDC membership and the Logan County community by providing an industrial business perspective and leadership experience.

The LCEDC board also includes: Treasurer Loretta Davidson, Secretary Leroy Whipkey, Lance Bolton, Daryl Harriman and Dan Long. Appointed members are Larry Fetzer and Lee Roth, representing the Sterling City Council, and Jim Neblett, representing Logan County.

Logan County Economic Development Corporation - Meeting Details

New businesses in Logan County in 2007
LCEDC relies upon new businesses to report, therefore this list may not be complete.

• CDP Investigative Group
• Cecilia’s Kitchen
• Dun-Right Janitorial
• Emergency Electric, LLC
• Erin Waitley Insurance Agency
• Florida Power & Light Energy-Peetz Wind Center
• G&S Sales and Pawn
• Northeast Nonprofit Computers
• Overland Pass Pipeline
• Papa Murphy’s Pizza
• Rockies Xpress Pipeline
• SOS Staffing
• Sunrise Recovery Center
• Summit Treatment Center

Totals: 14 new businesses with 529 employees and $652,664,000 of new capital invested. There may be additional business development not reported to the LCEDC.

Although the majority of new employees were temporary construction workers associated with the Florida Power & Light wind project, the Company projects up to 30 new permanent wind technician jobs

Cameron Butcher, a commercial real estate developer based in Colorado Springs, is developing a 42 acre tract northeast of the I-76 and US Highway 6 Interchange near Sterling. They are negotiating with potential tenants to provide travel and destination business development in Buffalo Hills Marketplace.

The Bank of Colorado is nearing completion of their plans to build a new office in the Gateway Business Park on West Main Street in Sterling. Construction is scheduled to begin early in 2008. Land Leasing, LLC, is developing the area and Sterling Urban Renewal Authority is providing some of the funding for public improvements along North Railway Avenue.

The New Energy Economy supported by the State of Colorado has benefited Logan County through the success of Sterling Ethanol and the Peetz Wind Center project. Oil and gas production and transportation is continuing to be a major contributor to economic growth.

Perhaps most important, local farmers and ranchers are benefiting from favorable world-wide prices for most agricultural products raised in Logan County. High prices combined with above-average crop production are improving economic conditions throughout the County.

Filed under: In The News by LCEDC
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