Rennels wants Colorado ready for economic recovery

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Larimer County lost one of its key image-makers at the end of 2009 when Kathay Rennels of Livermore left her job as county commissioner.

The state, however, on Jan. 11 inherited the combined energy of politician, rancher and businesswoman as Rennels took on the new role of director of economic development at Colorado State University.

In this new job, Rennels' goal is to bring business, government and educational forces together to efficiently respond to the challenges of an economy coming out of recession.

"The opportunities are going to be there," Rennels said in an interview with the North Forty News. "Communities, counties and the university will miss opportunities if they can't move quickly."

Rennels, 63, has 15 years of experience in county government, first as a volunteer on the Larimer County Planning Commission and then as an elected county commissioner for 11 years. She left the latter post one year short of completing her third term.

Rennels' influence has been more than local, however. She recently finished a term as president of Colorado Counties Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps member counties work together on common issues, including state and national legislation.

"Leading 64 counties was an amazing honor," she said.

Her longtime association with the group puts her in good standing as CSU's envoy to the rest of the state. Specifically, Rennels is working in the Office of Outreach and Strategic Partnerships with CSU Extension and Continuing Education.

According to CSU President Tony Frank, she will work closely with the state's rural communities to promote statewide economic health and job creation.

"This is an obligation we have as the state's land-grant university, and we believe she will provide strong leadership in support of CSU and all Colorado communities," Frank said in an announcement about the newly created position with an annual salary of $110,000.

Given her many years in government, Rennels knows that new ideas for economic growth can get bogged down in the process.

"As we come out of the economic downturn, counties have to be flexible and ready," she said.

A business that has been stagnant for two years, she explained, will go to the community that's ready when capital markets begin to move.

If she has her way, Colorado's rural communities will be ready.

Different counties have different political climates, she noted, so it is key to get people connected with the right process and resources.

"This is just what I've been doing for 11 years – putting people together," Rennels said.

Nor can the university be a slouch. The university is a source of valuable information for local governments, she said, and delivering that information is more important now than ever.

"Much of what will happen in the next five to 10 years is something you and I've never thought of," she said. "And the majority of what's going to happen will happen in rural areas."

First on her agenda is to visit with all county commissioners and economic development groups in the state to begin to form partnerships around the political and educational assets already in place.

For example, Rennels said, the state has the tools to train workers for new business enterprises.

"Colorado has 18 work force centers, Extension has training capacity, Front Range Community College or Continuing Education have the ability to educate for whatever you need," she said. "We should be working together at a high rate of speed."

Rennels demonstrated her own energetic abilities as one of three county commissioners. During her years in the courthouse, Rennels and her colleagues presided over construction of multiple new county buildings including the sheriff's administration building, justice center and courthouse offices building in Fort Collins and the fairgrounds and police and courts building in Loveland. Red Feather Lakes wrote a plan to guide future development, and the county amended its land-use code on many occasions in response to a rapidly growing population.

Rennels said she believes the county now needs to focus on what the future holds for rural lands outside of the growth management areas designated by the towns and cities.

She leaves behind a county that will be struggling to balance its next budget, but she said, "We have a budget with some savings. Even given the horrible things that have happened, Larimer County is in a good position to weather out the storm."

Her concern is that various local governments are simultaneously expecting to ask citizens to increase taxes, and too many requests are sure to fail.

"Cities, the school district and the county have to look at it together," she said. "They can't do it all this year."

During her tenure, Rennels also spent time outside the cities in many small-group meetings with citizens in her district, which encompasses the northern third of the county. Most months of the year, those meetings took place in Red Feather Lakes and Wellington.

"You could tell the hunger people had to come out and talk with somebody managing their money," she said.