Home |
“ Carrizozo Works” is the name of the newly-formed organization whose task will be to seek out various ways to improve the economic base of Carrizozo. It was formed by local business people and other interested citizens over the past couple of weeks. The basic premise of the group is that Carrizozo and our surrounding communities are going to grow over the next years as individuals and businesses leave the more traditional centers seeking less expensive land and taxes, more pleasant environments for employees, less pollution and a raft of other reasons. We have a choice of either organizing to try to gain some control over HOW we grow or remain at the mercy of chance. Carrizozo Works wants to opt for some pro-active choice in who we invite in as neighbors and business partners and in how we present ourselves to prospects. The immediate goal of the organization is to incorporate as a private, not-for-profit organization and then to complete the process of helping Carrizozo become a “certified community” with the State Economic Development Department. With this designation Carrizozo will be in line for assistance by the state in marketing our community to prospective businesses looking to re-locate to New Mexico, giving us an opportunity open negotiations with only those companies that would best fit our needs and resources. The other primary task of the organization will be to find out from existing businesses what they need to keep succeeding and how we can help. This is essential as it will be difficult to interest prospective business or industry to our town if our basic retail infrastructure is not solid and healthy. This is a long-term project that we hope will reverse the drain of businesses from our community. It will require a lot of work and organization from the members of the group and also a lot of input from the community as to what our specific needs are and what kinds of businesses and light industries we might want to try to attract – and which ones we would rather NOT have located here. Carrizozo Works will have regularly scheduled meetings that will primarily be work sessions but will always be open to interested parties and opportunities will be provided for the exchange of ideas and concerns. We want to encourage people who do have ideas – even the crazy ones – to let us hear of them. The economic world is changing out there it’s anybody’s guess what will be the key to success in the future. Moreover, if we are to be successful, Carrizozo will have to present and market itself as a whole, vibrant cooperating set of both physical and human resources, i.e., geography, buildings AND people. The only way this will be possible is for all of us to see our stake in the outcome and have a role in the process. You can see the minutes of our meetings and follow our progress by visiting our website - www.carrizozoworks.org. We will try to keep the local newspapers apprised of our progress as well with regular updates.
|