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Greetings!
With the many recent wildfires raging across Colorado,our state has experienced an unprecedented loss. Our hearts go out to the many residents who have lost so much and need to rebuild their lives. But, it's not just those whose belongings burned to the ground that have been affected--hundreds of businesses across Colorado, though sustaining no physical damage, have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in business. In fact, in a recent Denver Post article, Fred Crowley, an economics professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs estimated an economic impact of "millions upon millions of dollars."
These businesses will not receive donations from the Red Cross and they can't make an insurance claim as they endured no physical loss. Yet the impact is just as great and many will have to close their doors permanently.
DCI has learned the Colorado Small Business Development Center is compiling a list of businesses in need of patronage and we will be posting this to our site. We encourage you to visit these businesses to help support the local economies of Colorado. Please visit our site for this list (to be posted when available) as well as resources for Colorado businesses in need of recovery help.
Katherine Correll
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Disaster Recovery Tips
for Downtowns & Commercial Districts
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A natural disaster can catch a community and their businesses off guard. Below are some tips for community leaders to help businesses rebuild in the aftermath of the Colorado wildfires.
1. Acknowledge the emotional loss as a community. The stages of disaster recovery are very similar to the stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. It is important to take time to recognize and cope with the deeply emotional parts of the loss that come along with the obvious financial impact of the disaster. If possible, coordinate with local faith-based and community service organizations to make counseling services easily available to disaster-impacted residents and business owners.
2. Invite participation and feedback from all community members. In addition to elected officials, business and community leaders, it is important to invite residents, citizens, neighbors and other non-governmental thought leaders into the recovery triage and redevelopment processes early. Key neighborhood association leaders and active citizens often have valuable information about how recovery program processes are really working, where dollars are (or are not) actually flowing and where financial and support service provision could be improved.
3. Delegate a single spokesperson to avoid confusion and conflicting messages. Streamline your legislative priorities and have one consistent spokesperson making asks to your state and federal legislative delegations. It is much more impactful to ask for funding, support or whatever recovery resources your community needs with one unified voice than to have legislators hear multiple and often conflicting stories. (READ MORE)
Vanessa Rogers is an associate of Centro Inc. who specializes in helping communities develop, market, and implement downtown revitalization initiatives with a special focus on strategic plan implementation, communications, marketing and stakeholder engagement. |
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Economic Recovery Resources
for Colorado Businesses
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Do you know a business that has been impacted by the wildfires? Numerous agencies and organizations are working to help Colorado businesses in their journey toward economic recovery. DCI will continue to update this information regarding disaster recovery on the Economic Recovery Resources page on the DCI website.
The Colorado SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Network: The SBDC centers can help businesses through every step of their economic recovery. SBDC resources include:
page.
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Victor DREAM Team:
A Main Street Candidate's Story | |
The Victor DREAM (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Acceleration Movement) Team was activated in November of 2010. Since then, community members, businesses and elected officials have worked together to strengthen and revitalize the community using the Main Street Four-Point Approach.
Victor is the heart of the world's greatest gold camp, and is one of the last true historic mining towns remaining in the west. The blast-from-the-past museum quality that fills the air in Victor is a result of the local desire to not only preserve the historic town, but also the historic culture as well. The Colorado Main Street Program has provided a framework that also allows community leaders to identify areas for improvement and intentional steps that will improve our town while preserving our indigenous qualities. These qualities create the foundation that makes Victor a unique place to live, work and play. (READ MORE)
Please visit the City of Victor website to learn more, and follow the DREAM Team's Progress on Facebook.
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Profile: Colorado Brick Council
| Over the next few months, DCI will be featuring a short profile on various Colorado partner organizations and agencies that can help support you in your community revitalization work.
 The Colorado Brick Council provides free technical assistance to
communities wanting to achieve high quality development, redevelopment, and preservation. We believe in the strong correlation between the quality of design and quality of life and support the implementation of policy solutions that generate good design and durable construction. Since we understand that every community is unique, our services are tailored to fit the economic, political, and historical realities of each place.
The Colorado Brick Council has a full time Community Planning
Consultant, who is a member of the American Institute of Certified
Planners (AICP), assisting Colorado communities in achieving their
design goals. Our planner has experience in local government,
specifically the development review process, and is keenly aware of the opportunities and challenges local governments face when enacting policy solutions that regulate development. For planners interested in affordable, local training, our staff can provide educational sessions for Continuing Maintenance (CM) credit for the AICP certification on a variety of topics free of charge. (READ MORE)
For more information on the Colorado Brick Council, please visit
brickcolorado.com
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2012 DCI
Calendar | |
Save the Date!
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Community
Bulletin Board | |
October 3-6:
October 7-8:
October 15-19: 2012
Urban Land Institute Fall Meeting
Denver
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Jobs & RFPs E-Notice
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Submit all job openings and RFPs by next Monday, July 16, to ensure your notice will be included.
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