KSUT Regional
(2008-11-05)
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I'm Victor Locke.
The small store front factory of Venture Snowboards in Silverton is a busy place these days.
The staff of four and two owners are busy churning out the 600 snowboards they hope to sell this season through 30-retail outlets stretching from California to Ohio.
BRANNER: WE GOT QUITE A SIGNIFICANT LOAN FROM SAN JUAN 2000.
And co-owner Lisa Branner says they probably wouldn't be as busy if it wasn't for the San Juan 2000 Economic Development association.
BRANNER: THEY GAVE US A SHORT TERM LOAN THIS YEAR TO COMPLETE OUR MANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR THE WINTER SEASON THAT'S COMING UP. ESSENTIALLY THOSE FUNDS HAVE HELPED US PURCHASE THE RAW MATERIALS.
San Juan 2000's roots in Silverton and San Juan County go back 17 years.
Executive Director Karen Hoskin says it came to life shortly after the Speedskating championships in Velocity Basin.
HOSKIN: WHICH BROUGHT A LOT OF PEOPLE TO TOWN TO WATCH THESE NATIONAL CHAMPION SPEEDSKATERS AND ALL OF A SUDDEN A LITTLE LIGHT BULB WENT OFF AND PEOPLE SAID "OH MY GOSH, SILVERTON COULD DRAW PEOPLE FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN MINING AND THE HISTORIC TRAIN. AND THEN IT BECAME QUITE CLEAR THE WAY TO DO THAT WAS TO ACTUALLY HAVE A LOAN PROGRAM, TO HAVE A STAFF PERSON WHO WAS KEEPING THAT ENGINE CHURNING.
The not for profit was formally created in 1996 when it started making loans to small businesses.
San Juan County Commissioner Pete McKay is chairman of San Juan 2000's loan committee.
MCKAY: 500-DOLLAR MICROLOANS, GIVEN TO SOMEBODY THAT NEEDED SOME TOOLS OR SOME WOOD, OR WHATEVER IT WAS.
Early recipients included a liquor store and coffee shop.
The microloan program has grown, McKay says, to include a community lending program.
MCCKAY: AND THESE ARE FOR HIGHER DOLLAR AMOUNTS. WE CAN GO TO TEN, TWENTY, THIRTY THOUSAND. WE HAVE IN THE LAST YEAR DONE A FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR LOAN AMOUNT. WE WILL ENTERTAIN A LOAN FROM ANY BUSINESS PERSON WHETHER THEY HAVE A CURRENT BUSINESS IN SAN JUAN COUNTY OR THEY WANT TO START A BUSINESS. SO WE WILL LOOK AT THAT REQUEST AND SEE HOW IT FITS IN WITH OUR GENERAL PHILOSOPHY. WE ARE TRYING TO MOVE INTO LOANS THAT GENERATE EMPLOYEE EXPANSION, GENERATE MONEY FOR THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE WILL NOT OVERLOOK A SINGLE PERSON BUSINESS. WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS REPAYMENT RATE WITH ONLY ONE OR TWO LOANS OVER THE LAST 8 OR 9 YEARS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO REPAY.
Venture Snowboards and Silverton Ski area have been recent beneficiaries of the larger loans.
And sometimes, those loans come with some strings attached.
MCKAY: WE HELP THEM WITH THEIR OVERALL BUSINESS PLANS. WE HAVE ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS THAT WE HELP PEOPLE WITH. WE WILL ALSO SOMETIMES MAKE THAT A STIPULATION OF THE LOAN.
With assistance from the Region 9 Economic Development District, USDA and others, San Juan 2000's loan fund has swollen to 117-thousand dollars.
Hoskin says Silverton is poised to benefit from a changing business environment nationally, people wanting to flee urban business settings.
HOSKIN: THEY'RE JUST TIRED OF ALWAYS BEING INSIDE AND ON CONCRETE SO PEOPLE WANT TO BE IN THESE MOUNTAIN TOWNS, BUT ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY THE TECHNOLOGY IS SUPPORTING THEM IN A HUGE WAY. WE HAVE HIGH SPEED DSL, WE HAVE DAILY FED EX, WE HAVE DAILY UPS.
But, she says, their first priority is to help encourage growth from within the small town of just over 500 year round residents.
HOSKIN: OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO ACTUALLY TAKE PEOPLE WE KNOW WANT TO LIVE IN SILVERTON AND MAKE SURE THEY HAVE THE KINDS OF JOBS THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO DO THAT, ALLOW THEM TO RAISE THEIR FAMILIES HERE. AND THAT REALLY COMES DOWN TO ENCOURAGING BUSINESS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AMONG PEOPLE WHO ALREADY LIVE HERE.
San Juan 2000 is also doing more to improve the business climate.
They are working for affordable housing, in cooperation with the county, which has been landbanking.
HOSKIN: THEY'RE PURCHASING PROPERTY SO WE ARE DEVELOPING PROJECTS THAT WILL OFFER HOMES TO A VARIETY OF PEOPLE IN OUR WORKFORCE, NOT JUST PEOPLE AT THE LOWEST END OF THE INCOME SCALE BUT ALSO OUR TOWN MANAGER, AND OUR SHERIFF DEPUTIES, AND OUR COUNTY PLANNER.
Their goal is to build 53 affordable homes in Silverton over the next 7 years.
Over at Venture where snowboards are being cut, baked, formed and packaged for shipping, plans of a 4-thousand foot factory co-owner Lisa Branner says they hope to break ground for next spring are taped to a wall.
Branner, who is on San Juan 2000's board, says their goal is to be churning out perhaps 2000 snowboards per year in a few years, and hire a few more employees.
BRANNER: WITH SAN JUAN 2000 STEPPING IN AND HELPING US OUT THIS YEAR, THEY REALLY HAVE HELPED US GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
You can learn more about San Juan 2000 by going online to sanjuan2000.org.
For KSUT's Community Voices, I'm Victor Locke.
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