Wellington chamber and town collaborate on projects
By Gary Raham
Wellington Correspondent
A year after a community assessment pegged communication as a key problem
between the town of Wellington and those it serves, Wellington Chamber
of Commerce President Wendell Nelson believes a great deal of progress
has been made and is looking forward to plans for the new year.
Upcoming projects include developing a plan for business growth along Cleveland
Avenue, setting up a series of seminars that will address various issues
related to growth and development and working on a master plan for long-term
economic development.
Nelson has been working with the town on developing architectural standards
for new businesses that would like to locate on Cleveland Avenue or existing
ones that plan to remodel. Nelson would like to see Cleveland Avenue become
a "destination shopping district" that would have a kind of historical
ambience not unlike Old Town in Fort Collins. He said several members of
the chamber are working with the town zoning and planning committees to
develop guidelines. Cleveland Avenue could become its own zoning entity.
Seminar dates have been set in January and February to discuss intergovernmental
agreements (IGAs), water resources in northern Colorado and economic development.
All will take place at the Leeper Community Center, 3800 Wilson Ave., in
Wellington.
"The seminars are open to any interested person and are presented to provide
educational material on these subjects which could be of assistance as
the future of Wellington is planned," said Nelson.
Seminars are planned for the following dates.
- Jan. 16, 7 p.m.: Larimer County Planning Director Larry Timm and Mike Spearnak
and Ed Holden from Poudre School District will discuss IGAs and how they
facilitate projects between the town and other governmental bodies. The
town had to forge an IGA with the school district, for example, to build
the new Edgar Rice Elementary School. One issue is whether that agreement
serves as a good template for building other schools in Wellington in the
future.
- Jan. 30, 7 p.m.: Dan Brown of Fischer, Brown, and Gunn Water Attorneys,
will discuss water resources in northern Colorado and how they will impact
Wellington's growth.
- Feb. 7, 7 p.m.: The speakers will include Sue Piatt, research manager in
the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and
Vincent Martinez, executive director of the Colorado Revitalization Association.
Nelson would like to see the chamber and town cooperatively rent a booth
at Bixpo, a business and industry exposition held at The Ranch in the fall.
It features various industry speakers, over 200 exhibit booths and a regional
business after hours with the various chambers of commerce.
Nelson also wants to work on projects for building and funding recreation
facilities that would give local youth and adults more reason to play as
well as work near Wellington.
To keep local businesses appraised of economic development opportunities
in the area, Nelson has set up an information exchange online. The e-mail
address is economicdevelopment@wellingtonchamber.com.
"The chamber wants to get some major themes in place for 2007," said Nelson.
Long-range planning for adequate water resources for Wellington is just
one of the important issues, he said, because this area will likely have
20,000 to 30,000 people in the next 25 to 30 years.
Working on a master plan with the town is one of the charges that grew
out of the community assessment held early this year, and that process
will soon get into full swing.
Nelson urges community members to step forward and share in whichever aspects
of Wellington's planning and development are dearest to their hearts.
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