Missed goals, more transparency mark a shift year for jobs group

The Pueblo Economic Development Corp. set a tone of transparency this year after an era of wariness regarding job creating policy.

A company-branded road that leads to the Vestas Plant in Pueblo. (PULP file)

At the beginning of 2016, the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation made a move that came as a bit of a shock for an organization that is typically portrayed as steeped in secrecy — albeit for reasons officials say helps the job-recruiting group remain competitive while discussing deals with companies interested in moving or expanding into Pueblo.

PEDCO officials said they were going to be more transparent with the community. That promise came with a goal and a deadline: By the end of 2016, Jeff Shaw, CEO and president of PEDCO, said the organization could “realistically” add 500 primary jobs to Pueblo’s economy, even with creating less than half that number of jobs in 2015.

Specifically, PEDCO had its sights set on four sectors, rail, aerospace, outdoor recreation and hemp. In the year prior, rail, aerospace and hemp showed promise, with the announcement of United Launch Alliance’s Pueblo plant, UTC Aerospace and hemp oil manufacturer CBD Biosciences. CBD Biosciences, after some reservation but ultimate support from Pueblo City Council, was eventually put on the backburner due to federal regulation concerns.

2015’s four major PEDCO job announcements yielded 190 jobs — 46 from UTC Aerospace, 10 from TR Toppers and from ULA. Had CBD Biosciences panned out, the company would have added 163 more jobs, bringing the total to 353 jobs.

PEDCO also debuted a program for small businesses that can create primary jobs, jobs in sectors that produce material or products in Pueblo but sell mostly outside of city limits. That program, similar to the big deals PEDCO normally does, was tailored to small business. The new strategy yielded three jobs and one announcement.

2016 brought Pueblo four jobs announcements and 195 jobs. Five more than 2015, but 305 short of the 2016 goal PEDCO officials painted as sensible.

READ: Pueblo’s four 2016 job announcements explained in Notified

It’s unclear what goals, if any, existed before 2016 and whether the 2016 goal fell in step with city or PEDCO officials’ yearly targets and expectations.

Pueblo City Council allocated a total of $11.6 million to create the 195 jobs this year that were a result of four announcements. That dollar amount could have been much higher, as it was planned Pueblo’s Regional Tourism Project would receive $14.4 million from the half-cent sales tax, which can only be used to incentivize companies to create primary jobs in Pueblo. Pueblo Urban Renewal turned down that offer, even with Pueblo City Council recognizing tourism jobs as primary jobs.

Small-batch bath and body manufacturer Formulary 55 committed three jobs in 2016. This announcement was a part of PEDCO’s effort to grow small business. Formulary 55 is the second small businesses to receive a PEDCO “gift grant.” Lastleaf Printing was the first. The design and silkscreen printing shop, which also designs PULP’s monthly print covers, agreed to add three jobs in 2015 after receiving $25,000 for a new press.

Vestas announced in September that it is adding 108 jobs to its Pueblo plant to “remove bottlenecks” from the plant. Upon being pressed for further for information by PULP, Vestas revealed the jobs, which Vestas said would be in place by October, will implement technology that will complete tasks currently held by people.

The Vestas expansion contract doesn’t specify an average wage, and at the announcement vice president Tony Knopp said the company doesn’t really like to talk about wages, but the Pueblo plant pays its workers somewhere between $15 and $19 per hour.

Coronado Stone Products, which announced a Pueblo manufacturing plant over the summer, found itself at the low end of average wage, paying its 51 employees at the new site $36,000 — that’s below the average median income for the county.

The last announcement, Big R, will add 33 jobs at an average wage of $64,315.

PEDCO’s pledge of openness this year seemed to mark a new era for the corporation. Shaw took over the presidency from Jack Rink, who led PEDCO through a turbulent period in 2014. The previous Pueblo City Council was caught in a firestorm of accusations of illegal meetings over a city economic development plan.

The accusations quickly escalated into several other issues, which were all rolled into one large batch of emails requested through public record requests from the Pueblo Chieftain, which led the paper and its reporters to ask who was pulling the strings in city council and whether some of the emails were racist.

Three council members resigned over the debacle after it grew from an economic development issue to what some council members called a “smear campaign.”

During the townhall meetings regarding that economic development plan, which included renewing the half-cent sales tax through a vote of the people and using funds for infrastructure and public safety, it was clear Pueblo citizens wanted the half-cent fund to only be used for job creation incentives.

The plan, according to the white paper, would always leave $20 million in reserve for primary job creation.

Despite a lack of public support and council nixing the plan, a cloud of distrust remained. Throughout the daily newspaper coverage of the email scandal one thing was clear: Pueblo wanted half-cent money for jobs only.

But this year, when PEDCO took to its own townhalls on economic development, attendees didn’t speak of the scandal. The conversation was much different.

At an East Side town hall meeting one neighborhood resident said PEDCO should be investing in better education and job training. That, he said, would contribute to better jobs, especially for a poverty-stricken area of town. The East Side resident scolded PEDO saying “You guys all have nice salaries, right? I’m poor as dirt, so it must be nice.”

The half-cent sales tax, as it is now, can’t fund education or job training. And ballot questions that have aimed to fund infrastructure and public safety through additional taxes have failed.

PEDCO hasn’t announced a goal for next year yet, but it is expected that manufacturing will grow by 2,300 jobs across the state in 2017, according to economic projections.

Another 500-job goal from PEDCO would be 21 percent of expected state manufacturing growth.

In another leadership change, this time on the board, St. Mary Corwin Hospital CEO Brian Moore will take over as the new PEDCO board president.

Healthcare jobs normally aren’t considered primary jobs. Additionally, Moore has been a vocal opponent of the county’s marijuana industry, which has claimed to create 1,300 jobs since recreational sales began in 2014.