After a request from the Elbert Board of County Commissioners in
August, a new intergovernmental office was formed to be in charge
of economic development in the county.
The Elbert County Enterprise Authority, ECEA, is the new office
addition and the core group heading up the office will be
responsible for promoting economic development in the county.
At the Nov. 25 commissioner meeting, Richard Miller from
Community and Development Services for Elbert County, presented
information on ECEA to the board explaining the goals and resources
the office has to implement the functions of the office. Miller,
Tyler Beebout and Curtis Carlson, all from Community Development
Services, are members of the core group along with Donna Martin,
the new Employee Relations Assistant for the county and Elbert
County business owner Craig Curl.
Currently, the group is working to find grants available to the
county through the federal and state governments to promote more
economic growth in the county. ECEA is also looking to increase the
wind and solar industry within the county. Because of the county’s
location in the state, there is a great amount of wind and solar
opportunities the county can benefit from, said Beebout.
“We have some of the best winds in the state and over 300 days
of sunshine,” he said. “Plus, we already have had some wind farms
established in the county already without any of our
assistance.”
Miller said ECEA is also looking to expand the county’s
commercial growth and have found some locations that could be
successful in the future. He said these areas are called
“Enterprise Zones” and include the Singing Hills corridor, Simla,
the Highway 86 corridor and the towns of Elizabeth, Kiowa, Elbert
and Matheson.
In order to expand the economic growth in Elbert County, ECEA is
working to apply for and manage relevant grants and endowments,
assist local businesses in permitting, acquiring real estate and
applying for state and federal grants and projects, communicate
with inter-county, interstate and international business interests
and sponsor growth of the agricultural and commercial markets in
Elbert County by building a directory of ranchers farmers,
businesses and their prospective clients.
For more information on ECEA call Community and Development
Services department at 303-621-3136.
