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Economic Development Corporation of Lea CountyAnnual Report2015-2016EnergyRetail

Inside This Report3Ongoing Business Development4Site Visits/Conferences6Business Retention andExpansion/New Websites/Improvements7Legislative Relations8Leadership Development/Power Hours9FlyHobbs1011Economic IndicatorsOur StaffSteve VierckPresident & CEOSally TomarDirector of Human Resources& Membership ServicesBarry RicksDirector of Marketing & BusinessDevelopmentElyce GobatCoordinator of Research & SpecialProjectsSarah BunchCoordinator of Digital MediaEDCLC MembersSandy WilkinsonExecutive AssistantBoard of Directors 2015-2016Tres Hicks, ChairPettigrew & AssociatesFinn Smith, Chair ElectWatson Truck SupplyLisa Hardison, SecretaryURENCO USADavid Shaw, TreasurerNor-Lea Hospital DistrictMonty Newman, Past ChairNewman & CompanyGary SchubertSchubert ConstructionJoshua GrasshamLea County State BankSteve LambertZia Park Hotel, Racetrack, & CasinoTate BranchTate Branch Auto GroupStuart RobertsTDS BroadbandMatthew MulliganHB ConstructionRobbie RobinsonRobinson & Associates Real EstateMiguel PerezWells Fargo BankTim ThornellLea Regional Medical CenterDavid PyeattElliott & WaldronGary Don ReaganGary Don Reagan PA2

Ongoing Business DevelopmentIn The EnergyPlexTfacility, has already created over 20 jobs and is expectedto be 3 million in capital expenditure. CIG was grantedLEDA funds from the New Mexico Economic DevelopmentDepartment (NMEDD) to assist in bringing their facility toLea County. Along with CIG, other logistic changes includeWatco purchasing the Texas-New Mexico Railroad (TXN).The EDCLC expects this acquisition to be a step in the rightdirection for rail usage in Lea County.he 2015-2016 year was a busy one for the EDCLC withmany changes occurring both internally and externally.The goal of diversification continued with expanded interestfrom companies in solar, logistics, nuclear, manufacturing,and more. Several new businesses expressed interest andhave entered into the process of selecting Lea County as thelocation for their projects.The energy industry continues to grow in Lea County withAkuo Energy and SunCorp in the beginning stages of theirprojects. Akuo Energy, a French-owned company,located a 30MW windfarm outside of Tatum. Thisproject has a projected capital expenditure of 55 million witha job creation of3 in phase 1. Apossiblephase2 could expandfrom 30 MW to150-200MW.WithAkuo’scommitment, LeaCounty’swindgeneration jumpsfrom20MW(fromWildCatWind) to 50MWtotal.This year, the EDCLC has brought more focus to increasingLea County’s retail opportunities. Along with the Cityof Hobbs and Catalyst Commercial, the EDCLChas generated interest in Lea County fromlargeretailersand developers.Severalretaildevelopmentshave expressedinterestandenteredintonegotiations withland-owners andotherofficialsto bring largescale retail tothe county. Inadditiontod e v e l o p m e nt s ,several smallerretailprojectshavelocatedin Lea Countyincluding Carl’s Jr., Jimmy Johns, Wingstop, and hotels suchas the Hilton Garden Inn.As wind expands,so does solarin Lea County.SunCorp Power (Infigen Energy) was awarded Xcel Energy’sRFP to bring more solar power to Xcel’s power grid. Thisproject could create 300 construction jobs and 5 full-timejobs. Solar in Lea County already consists of 40MW of powerand continues to grow with Xcel’s continued commitment toLea County and growing their power grid.The EDCLC continues to see interest in Lea County inmany sectors and is working on several projects intended todiversify the economy. As these projects come to fruition, theEDCLC is eager to see the progress made and the impact onLea County and surrounding communities.Lea County’s logistics sector continues to grow with theaddition of CIG Logistics near Jal. The project, a transload3

EDCLC HostsEconomic Development SummitIn July, the EDCLC hosted an Economic DevelopmentSummit intended to provide local and regional economicdevelopment groups with information regarding siteselection, marketing, BRE strategies, and more. The eventwas well-attended with many regional economic developersattending from both West Texas and Southeastern NewMexico.The event highlighted the Rockwind Community Linksgolf course with a day of golfing before the conference toallow EDCLC members to visit with Summit presenters.The conference included presentations from four siteselectors who discussed what they looked for in facilitiesand locations and how EDOs can help. Other presentationshighlighted marketing methods for EDOs, developingeffective BRE programs, and how to overcome negativityregarding certain types of projects and industries.The Economic Development Summit was a great success ineducating fellow Economic Development Organizations onproblems faced and how to overcome them. The EDCLCwas very pleased at the turnout and looks forward to hostingmore events like this in the future.4

Conferences and Trade ShowsMarket Lea County To The WorldAAsset Management Council, Permian Basin Oiland Gas Conference, Design & ManufacturingConference, New Mexico Association of Counties,Infrastructure conference, and NM MunicipalLeague. These trade shows help introduce LeaCounty and the EDCLC to new industries andcompanies that may not have considered LeaCounty previously.ttracting business to Lea County is an ongoingprocess that combines attending trade showsand conferences in order to reach out to industriesand companies that might be a good fit for thecommunity. The EDCLC attends many conferenceson a yearly basis to generate interest and spread theword about Lea County and its amenities.This year, the EDCLC attended severalconferences and trade shows targetedtoward both specific and generalindustries including GainesCounty Ag & Oil AppreciationDay, Interational Council ofShopping Centers, RECON,GlobalPetroleumShow,Southwest NM Energy Summit,Xcel Energy Forums, IndustrialAt these trade shows, the EDCLCmade many contacts that couldpotentially lead to projects in manyindustry sectors. The EDCLCcontinues to attend conferencesin order to generate leads andprojects for Lea County.5

Business Retention and Expansion Efforts IncreaseBThe BRE program includes visiting EDCLC members as wellas other economic-based companies within Lea County.The improved program includes follow-up on any issuesa company may experience as well as gathering data andfeedback from the community. The EDCLC will continueto meet with companies in Lea County over the next year.Expect to hear from us to schedule your BRE visit over thenext year.usiness Retention efforts are the backbone of a healthycommunity and the EDCLC is committed to helpinglocal businesses reach their full potential and providingsupport for any needs that come up. With the BusinessRetention and Expansion (BRE) program, the EDCLCvisits many businesses in the community—at least 80 peryear—to visit and understand their requirements and anystruggles they may experience to determine how/if we canassist.The EDCLC welcomed 4 new members in 2015-2016Chevron CorporationIntrepid PotashDevon EnergyConoco PhillipsWebsite Improvements Draw in VisitorsAwebsite is the social face of a company these days and theEDCLC continues to invest time and resources into itswebsites. This year saw a complete redesign of the FlyHobbswebsite to make it more user-friendly and provide easieraccess to information and the ability to become a Friendof FlyHobbs online. The Live. Work. Play. section of theEDCLC’s website was also revamped to include a plethoraof information regarding Lea County housing, restaurants,a calendar of events, education, job services, hotels, andmore. It is now more of a one-stop-shop for people lookingfor information on what there is to do in Lea County.These websites continue to generate traffic and provideinformation to the public about EDCLC, FlyHobbs, and LeaCounty as a whole. Website improvement and enhancementis an important part of the EDCLC’s efforts to market andattract business, so be sure to check them out online!The EDCLC created two entirely new websites in 20152016: EnergyPlexPark.com and FlyHobbsAviationDay.com. The EnergyPlex Park website features a comprehensivegathering of data regarding the industrial park includingtechnical data and nearby amenities. The website alsoprovides a way to schedule a site visit online for potentialcompanies. FlyHobbs Aviation Day website is the newlanding page for Aviation Day and includes informationabout the event as well as online registration for sponsors,booths, and food vendors, as well as a section featuringpictures from prior years.6

Industry Newsletter Broadens ReachAs part of the EDCLC’s continuingefforts to market and shareinformation with members, publicofficials, site selectors, and other industrycontacts, a new quarterly newsletterwas created: “EDC Visions.” This newnewsletter provides updates for the publicat-large and highlights new industry inLea County, FlyHobbs updates, economic indicators,member highlights, and much more. With this newsletter,the EDCLC aims to broaden its reach to a wider audienceand showcase growth in Lea County.Collaboration with the State of New MexicoMutually BeneficialThe EDCLC is glad to work with the state of New Mexicoin many different areas of economic development andwas fortunate this year to host several events with staterepresentatives including Secretary Jon Barela and SecretaryRebecca Latham.As a part of the EDCLC’s community engagement efforts,the Secretary of Tourism, Rebecca Latham, came to LeaCounty for a tour and to discuss tourism potential in LeaCounty. The EDCLC, along with “New Mexico True,” hosteda session for the public to voice their opinions about LeaCounty’s tourism potential as well as understand the NewMexico True brand. The EDCLC also hosted the CabinetSecretary of Economic Development Department, JonBarela, who came to Jal to announce CIG Logistics’ LEDAfund grant.In addition to legislative events, the EDCLC Board ofDirectors passed a resolution in support of lifting the OilExport Ban, which was lifted by the US government thiswinter. The EDCLC participated in planning sessions withboth the New Mexico Partnership and the SoutheasternNew Mexico Economic Development District to discussfuture plans and regional development.7

Professional Development in the EDCLCPersonal and professional development is an important strategies, and included a case study of a fictional townpart of EDCLC training and this year, staff members attracting a business.attended and participated in several leadership developmentStaff also participated in several webinars concerning datacourses regarding data, marketing, and customer service.collection, website management, and mapping. In addition,Several staff members attended the International Economic the EDCLC partnered with Lea County to present aDevelopment Council’s (IEDC) “Introduction to Economic Customer Service Seminar to help local businesses improveDevelopment” course. The week-long course held in Silver customer service within their companies.City covered a variety of topics including data collection,marketing an EDO, business attraction and retentionPowerful Power Hourswith the EDCLCThe EDCLC values its members and puts on quarterlyPower Hours as a way of staying connected andconnecting members to each other. This year, the EDCLChosted several Power Hours including an update of countyand city projects for the coming year, a meet and greetwith Secretary of Tourism, Rebecca Latham, and a meetand greet with Steve Vierck, the new President/CEO of theEDCLC. These meetings allow members time to meet withlocal leaders and explore potential business expansion andpartnering opportunities. The EDCLC will continue to hostPower Hours in the coming year for our members.8