Press Release
This is the fourth article in a series introducing the Community Economic Council, its purpose and the next steps open to all in Carbon County. The Community Economic Council was organized by the Carbon County Commission following the study done by Lewis Young Robertson and Burningham and the restructuring of the Carbon County Economic Development office with Rita Vigor as Economic Development Specialist. There are four subcommittees under the umbrella of the CEC: Quality of Life, Employee Development and Recruitment, New Business Development, and Local Business Expansion. Each subcommittee has co-chairs, who also serve on the council, and members from both the private and public sector.
The Local Business Development Committee is one of the keys to creating a healthy business environment by connecting local businesses to the information and resources needed for potential growth. The committee’s main goal is to identify those needs as well as challenges local businesses face when considering potential growth of a current product or service or expansion into a new product or service. The focus of the committee is to work closely with local businesses in the area and assist in identifying those interested in expansion within Carbon County. The Local Business Development Committee is striving to both enhance and broaden career opportunities to Carbon County community members with a family living wage of $50,000 per year, which aligns with the overall mission of the Community Economic Council.
The co-chairs of this committee are Spencer Loveless, president of Dustless Technologies, and Mark Jespersen, owner of Bicyclewerks. The committee has a mix of both public and private members, which makes finding available resources easier.
“As a local business owner, I wanted to work with other businesses owners to find the resources available to help grow our business community,” Loveless said.
Jespersen agreed. “As business owners, we will have more success working to help each other rather than working against each other,” he said.
The number one priority of the committee is identifying and recruiting local businesses that have a desire to grow and connect them with any available resources. The committee plans to work closely with other entities that are currently working with local businesses, such as the BEAR Outreach Team, Carbon County Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center and local municipalities, to get referrals of businesses that have expressed an interest in expansion.
In closing, the Local Business Development Committee is focused on providing support to local businesses in Carbon County and plans to work collaboratively with multiple groups to accomplish their goal. They invite all interested citizens to join and make their voices and opinions heard as they develop strategic plans to strengthen the local business community.
Join the council for any scheduled town hall meetings in your area: Monday, Jan. 21 in Helper, Tuesday, Jan. 22 in Price, Wednesday, Jan. 23 in Wellington and Thursday, Jan. 24 in East Carbon. Details regarding locations and times will be provided but the council encourages you to reserve the date(s) and plan to make your voices heard.