Economic Development - My Passion for Ouray

There are so many issues at play in the long term economic health of our small mountain town. Like many modern mountain towns, our economy is dominated by the tourism sector. We are faced with a staggering growth in the cost-of housing fueled by second home ownership. But our community is very strong and we are determined not to become another Telluride, Colorado.

As chair of Ouray's Community Development Committee I had the opportunity to work with some exceptional community members as we drafted a long term economic development plan. The plan has just been released.

Read some of the press summarizing this work:

By Samantha Tisdel Wright - Ouray Plaindealer

The city's Community Development Committee presents its official "Economic Development Plan" to the Ouray City Council on Monday, Apr. 7.

The document is, as described by the CDC members who crafted it, "... a comprehensive plan with the goal of sustaining and improving the economic well-being of Ouray."

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The Ouray Plaindealer was kind enough to print the entire plan in a pullout section of the paper on April 11, 2008. Thank You David Mullings!

The Ouray Community Development Committee (CDC) is pleased to present this comprehensive plan with the goal of sustaining and improving the economic well-being of Ouray. The plan is based upon extensive research, conducted both through the community-wide Ouray 2020 survey and interviews with Ouray's stakeholders and experts in a variety of economic sectors. The plan is also congruent with the goals of the 2004 Ouray Community Plan [1].

The plan is based on the philosophy of preserving our resources and enhancing the potential of our economic strengths. We seek to preserve the combination of natural resources and community spirit that have served us so well in the past. We seek to enhance the scope of our tourism offerings and promotion, while creating economic diversity and vitality in the areas of business entrepreneurship and renewable energy.

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Ouray County Watch
Ouray 2020 Economic Development Plan Unveiled
by Christopher Pike

OURAY – It was high praise for members of a citizens committee tasked with formulating a comprehensive plan for Ouray’s economic future through the year 2020.

“It is nothing short of phenomenal,” said Councilmember Janet Armstrong of the 24-page document formally presented to city council on Monday, April 7.

The plan contains a two-pronged approach to the economic development of the town: preserve the city’s “natural beauty, historical structures, small-town character, and community organizations,” and enhance the “market range and year-round quantity of our tourists, the arts and culture/heritage experience for tourists as well as residents and the entrepreneurial and small business environment.”

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For the Love of Movies, Mountains and Music

Credit: OC Watch

Thanks again, this time to the Ouray County Watch for helping me to sum up my life in Ouray recently.

For the Love of Movies, Mountains and Music - by Christina Callicott

"OURAY – Eric Funk is bound to be one of Ouray’s busiest people, but he doesn’t give off a harried, hurried vibe. Just the opposite.

The name Funk originated, ironically, in the staid lineage of the Pennsylvania Dutch. “It wasn’t an easy name to grow up with, but it quickly became OK,” he said. The name brings to mind the cool, the hip, the musically inclined. Funk lives up to his name – and more.

For his day job, Funk works with his brother Ethan. Together they own Red Mountain Radio, a specialized electrical engineering firm that builds components for electrical systems such as cell phones, radars and cable and radio communications. In a development lab above Khristopher’s Culinaire in Ouray, the Funk brothers build prototypes of circuit boards and other electronic components that are eventually integrated into their clients’ products. "

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