COUNTY News:Community input is requested at a community/economic development training and strategic planning session for the Mid-Central Rural Corridor and South-Eastern New Mexico regions.
Breakfast is 8:30 a.m. and the session is 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 19 at the Jemez Pueblo Community Center.
The purpose is to provide feedback on what is important to the community of Los Alamos and surrounding areas; how to partner together within the SET region with the other communities to leverage assets and set goals; and how the SET proposal should be drafted.
Background: In May USDA Rural Development Acting State Director Eric Vigil announced the selection of the Mid-Central Rural Corridor and South-Eastern New Mexico regions to participate in the Stronger Economies Together (SET) program.
The SET program is a joint initiative between the Western Regional Rural Development Center at Utah State University, New Mexico State University (NMSU) Cooperative Extension and USDA Rural Development (RD) to provide assistance in community and economic development planning.
For the next year the technical assistance and educational support will be provided by the NMSU Cooperative Extension educators, RD staff, and other regional RD Centers.
The Mid-Central Rural Corridor project includes the counties of Los Alamos, Sandoval and Bernalillo.
The SET program helps each region to examine and create a strategic plan, which includes public feedback, to determine if the area holds a competitive edge in the domestic and/or international marketplace. The plan will then be implemented in six to seven months, and is designed to:
- Develop a model for action and accountability
- Design leadership structure appropriate for regional plan implementation
- Identify technical assistance needs for success
- Secure resources needed for success
Examples of the other New Mexico SET regions’ identified economic development goals to expand upon. Those goals include:
- Tourism by developing regional tourism opportunities
- Arts and entertainment by expanding opportunities for the movie industry
- Broadband and technology by upgrading the infrastructure to help grow solo employment, telehealth, and distance learning in rural areas.
- Renewable energy and forest products.
- Agriculture and agribusiness by building on what we have and grow more organic produce.
- Health care and social assistance services to attract retirees and take care of an aging population.
- Develop a skilled workforce/education, which is one of the biggest issues with many site selection experts.
For more information on the SET program, contact USDA RD Community Development Coordinator Terry McDermott at terrence.mcdermott@nm.usda.gov. For more information regarding the Community Input Meeting contact Los Alamos County Economic Development Administrator Joan Ahlers at Joanie.ahlers@lacnm.us.