Over the coming weeks, State of the Valley News will include short summaries from presentations at the event.

Thanks to all the presenters, sponsors, and participants for making the symposium possible.

HMC and the study consultant team presented the findings of the Regional Travel Patterns Study to Garfield County, Pitkin County, City of Aspen, and Town of Snowmass Village elected officials recently. A powerpoint presentation summarizing the key points of the Travel Patterns Study is now available online at www.hmccolorado.org/travelpatterns.htm.

A PDF version of the full report is also available online.

Aspen voters endorsed the Burlingame Ranch worker housing project by roughly an 18 percent margin in the May municipal election.

You can view the application at the Roaring Fork Club's website

The system will produce an average of about 15 kilowatt hours per day, and up to about 6,500 kilowatt hours per year. Any amount of electricity the PV panels generate that Town Hall doesn't need will be sold back to Xcel.

As Target's unfinished concrete walls stood next door, participant heard from a range of speakers about how locally-owned businesses and downtowns can thrive despite pressure from big chains. Speakers included:

Rick Segel
Rick Segel, a seasoned retailer of 25 years and the author of over seven books, including How to Become a Preferred Vendor, Laugh & Get Rich, and the best-selling Retail Business Kit for Dummies, presented his view that this is the greatest time to be a small, independent retailer. Despite big boxes popping up all over the country, small independent retailers have never had more tools (like the internet) to succeed.

Bob Phibbs
Bob Phibbs, a Long Beach-based consultant and author of You Can Compete!), spoke to the internal staffing, training, advertising, and store layout changes necessary for small businesses to give chains a run for their money.

Ford Frick
Ford Frick, a Managing Director of BBC Research in Denver, shared information on economic trends in mountain communities and how the design of downtowns (between the stores) is becoming a key part of their economic development. In his view, downtowns are the "anti-big box." They embody everything (history, places to dwell and discover, human scale) that big boxes can't be.

Chip Steiner
Chip Steiner, the Director of the Downtown Development Authority in Ft. Collins discussed the critical role downtown development authorities (DDAs) can play in the economic success of communities. He highlighted the importance of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), which can spur downtown development and ultimately increase revenues to all local agencies.

Christine Hamilton- Pennell
Christine Hamilton-Pennell is the Economic Intelligence Specialist for the Business/Industry Affairs department of the City of Littleton, Colorado. She shared how Littleton is an active agent of economic development, not in terms of tax incentives but in terms of market analysis, GIS, and business consulting to build the capacities of all Littleton businesses.

The Summit was sponsored by the City of Glenwood Springs.

During the late 1970s, with oil shale driving the Garfield County economy, Exxon planned Battlement Mesa to one day house 25,000. Then came Black Sunday and overnight the growth prospects were gone.

Over the last 25 years, Battlement Mesa (population 3,500) has emerged as an attractive retirement community. But, the region has begun to change as Garfield County finds itself again in an energy boom - this time with natural gas.

With schools filling up with students and roads getting busier by the day, some residents want this Planned Unit Development (PUD) to incorporate as a town to better plan its future. (photo by Glenn Asakawa)

Socio-Economic Impacts Study (SEIS) is a two-year study effort to identify and quantify all the factors that will drive Garfield County's growth over the next 10-20 years.

The County is conducting the SEIS because it is one of the fastest growing counties in Colorado and has been called the US natural gas equivalent of Persian Gulf. The County and municipalities need accurate data in order to continue to provide a solid level of services efficiently to residents and industries alike.

To learn more and or participate in this effort, contact Doug Dennison, Garfield County Oil & Gas Liaison at ddennison@garfield-county.com / 970-625-5691.

Affordable Housing Rational Nexus Study seeks to update the housing rational nexus analysis included in the Regional Affordable Housing Initiative Final Report in 2000.

This efforts grows out of Garfield County's re-write and update of its Zoning and Subdivision Regulations and incorporating those into a unified Development Code.

The recent formation of the Roaring Fork Community Housing Fund (RFCHF), covering the area from Basalt in Eagle County to Glenwood Springs, has also created a mechanism to allow for alternative contributions to affordable housing in the region. Opportunities now exist for a payment of fee, or dedication of land, in lieu of built housing on site or off site.

For more information on the housing nexus study, contact Randy Russell at rrussell@garfield-county.com / 970-876-2093.

The study will be conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business. For more information about the study of Eagle County's future, call Don Cohen at 926-7899 or via e- mail: dcohen@vvec.org.

One of the key bills that could be carried in the 2006 session includes at least one to address the issue of recreational in-channel water rights. The legislation could have significant impact on the development of kayak water parks in Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, New Castle and other Colorado communities.

This issue is a classic conundrum about development and its local and regional impacts. Since there are no concrete plants in Pitkin County, concrete has to come in from Garfield County with hundreds of trucks adding to traffic on Hwy 82 and Brush Creek Road. Creating a temporary plant in Snowmass Village might reduce costs and road impacts but will Snowmass residents accept the dust and noise?

The idea for Field Notes comes from Stephen Denning's book The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations. He shares an impressive "story" of how storytelling can serve as a tool for organizational change and knowledge management.

"By a springboard story, I mean a story which enables a leap in understanding by the audience so as to grasp how an organization or community or complex system may change."
- Stephen Denning

Hopefully, some of field notes (stories) in HMC's blog act as a springboard for progress in your community.