Elbert County Celebrates National Economic Development Week
May 8, 2024 (Kiowa, CO) – Elbert County celebrated National Economic Development Week today with a proclamation by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and presentations by two businesses lauding the opportunities they’ve found in the county. This annual recognition of the importance of economic development to local government was started in 2016 by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and is also celebrated at the state level by our partners at the Economic Development Council of Colorado (EDCC).
The week highlights and recognizes local entrepreneurs and businesses, along with efforts by the county economic development team to build and support a healthy economic climate in the county. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 858 businesses in Elbert County, 169 of those have five or more employees and 24 of them have 20 or more employees. This year, Elbert County is starting to see real progress on getting businesses into our designated Economic Development Zones (EDZ) created in 2018, including the opening of BurnCo along CO86 and Brakes Plus in Elizabeth last year. This year, Drilltech has started prepping their site pad along CO86 and another concrete operation is in the application process. Presenting to the BOCC in support of the Proclamation was Dave Prezkuta, Colorado Area Manager for Drilltech, a site engineering and construction firm. He noted their new facility two miles west of Kiowa is likely to support up to 20 employees at completion.
Elbert County has additional economic development tools to assist businesses, including and Enterprise Zone (EZ) and Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) for qualified businesses. During his comments to the Board, Elbert County Community and Economic Development Director said businesses, farms, ranches, and others in the EZ are eligible for certain state income tax credits. Most of the incentives in the EZ pertain to businesses that are new or expanding, with 44 qualified tax credits claimed last year for a total of $108,000. He also remarked Elbert County’s association with the FTZ offers companies doing business abroad as either importers or exporters the chance to defer, reduce, or eliminate Customs and Border Protection duties.
The Board also heard from Dave Muscianisi of Rattler Racing about the success of the Mad Gravel bike race that is now in its fourth year, using McNeil Scout Ranch south of Elbert as the hub for a weekend of events. “We hope to attract up to 750 participants this year across all our Memorial Day weekend races. Some people avoid gravel roads; we seek them out and Elbert County has the best views during the rides. We like the coordination and support from the Elbert County team we get out here. The event now attracts international attention and we think it can get bigger and better.”
In closing, Dettenrieder also mentioned businesses and residents can find more about economic development in the county by going to the dedicated website (elbertcountyworks.com) and see an active map of development projects on the county’s website (elbertcounty-co.gov) and following this path: Government > Community and Development Services > Project Pipeline Report and Development Map > Development Projects Map. All three Commissioners expressed their support for the continuing efforts of the department and passed the proclamation unanimously.
Photo: (from right to left) Elbert County Government Economic Development Specialist Eric Larson, Elbert County Commissioner Grant Thayer, Elbert County Commissioner Dallas Schroeder, Drilltech Colorado Area Manager Jacob Prezkuta, Rattler Racing Dave Muscianisi, Elbert County Commissioner Chris Richardson, and Elbert County Government Director of Community and Economic Development Marc Dettenrieder