SOUTHERN COLORADO ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT

History

The Southern Colorado Economic Development District (SCEDD) was formally established on February 16, 1968. In addition to the current region, the counties of the San Luis Valley were originally included in the district and represented all of the counties in southern Colorado that met the eligibility requirements to be designated as "Redevelopment Areas". In 1980, the counties of Costilla, Conejos, Alamosa, Rio Grande, Saguache and Mineral formed the San Luis Valley Regional Development and Planning Commission. SCEDD's boundaries remained unchanged for nearly thirty years until 2007 when Huerfano County withdrew from the District.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) was created under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 which, with amendments, remains the basic authorizing legislation for the agency today. The mission of EDA is "to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy."

EDA established Economic Development Districts (EDDs) all across the nation, including the district represented by SCEDD. These Districts serve as the framework for maintaining a current Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for their service areas, and to provide staff support and technical assistance to the member counties. EDA provides support through "Planning Grants", which are a major source of funding for SCEDD.

In order for a county to receive funding from EDA it must meet certain criteria. First, it must either have an unemployment rate at least one percent above the national average, or a per capita income of less than 80 percent of the national average. Second, it must have a current Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) on file with the EDA. The District CEDS is maintained to meet this second criterion, which relieves the counties of the need to perform this arduous task.

Nearly forty years later, the most basic function of SCEDD remains unchanged. The agency's staff and Board of Directors are still responsible for maintaining an up to date CEDS and the eligibility of counties for funding assistance from EDA. Over the years, the directors of SCEDD have changed the panoply of services that SCEDD provides to member counties and will continue to refine its services as needs and opportunities arise.

Organizational Structure

The Southern Colorado Economic Development District (SCEDD) is a non-profit corporation controlled by twelve member counties in southern Colorado. The Board of Directors is comprised of one director for each county, plus one director for every 25,000 residents (or fraction thereof) of the county. Based on the 2000 census, Pueblo County has seven directors, Fremont County has three directors and the remaining counties each have two directors. Directors are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and serve until replaced by their Commissioners.

Programs

SCEDD operates several programs as a service to local governments. With SCEDD's broad mandate to promote economic development, the services provided to counties are constrained only by the budget and the will of the board of directors. Over the years, new services have been added and obsolete programs have been dropped. The following list of services represents only current projects but new ventures may be considered at any time.

Technical Assistance

SCEDD's professional staff has decades of experience across a broad spectrum of economic and community development programs. Most counties now have at least one local person to oversee economic development but these individuals are often new to the field and desire assistance in implementing their local programs. SCEDD's executive director and professional staff have experience in business finance, developing incentive programs, industrial park management and can help communities "close the deal" with prospective businesses. Communities are encouraged to work closely with SCEDD staff as a partner in implementing local economic development projects.

Community Profile Preparation

SCEDD continues to work with local communities and economic developers to assist in preparing professional community profiles for use with prospective industries. The traditional approach to preparing these "fact books" is to gather the data, organize it in an attractive layout, and print and bind the copies for distribution by the community

Grant Preparation Assistance

SCEDD staff has broad experience in grant preparation and has made this expertise available to all local governments in SCEDD's service area. Assistance has been provided to obtain funds for planning, feasibility studies, infrastructure and industrial park development.

Southern Colorado Economic Development District (SCEDD)
1104 N. Main St.
Pueblo, CO  81003

(719) 545-8680 - (719) 545-9908 Fax

©SCEDD 2011