By Hannah Grover
Torrance County is considering joining the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA).
The County Commission discussed this possibility during its Feb. 12 meeting.
AREA is a nonprofit organization with about 143 members that is focused on economic development initiatives in the region. The Town of Edgewood is one of the members.
County Manager Jordan Barela said joining AREA will provide Torrance County with a tool in the toolbox, but he also suggested the county consider hiring someone to oversee economic development.
Should Torrance County choose to join AREA, it will pay about $5,600. The membership fees are determined on a per-capita basis.
“What this would also do for the county is give you the ability to serve on a public sector advisory council that then has one collective seat on our board to help inform what we do in economic development regionally,” Danielle Casey, AREA’s president and CEO, told commissioners.
She said membership would also give the county access to datasets and resources that would otherwise cost $50,000 or more. Those resources include economic impact analysis, labor analytics and information about demographics.
Casey said AREA serves as a regional marketer, bringing site selection consultants and developers to examine regional markets. She said if Torrance County joins AREA, it will also have access to information about which businesses are looking to move into the area and what opportunities exist for economic growth. She said joining will also allow Torrance County to “be part of the voice on what we are trying to attract to the region.”
Commissioner Kevin McCall said he believes having access to AREA’s resources outweighs the costs of joining and expressed interest in having a seat at the table.
“Economic development is a tough beast just to tackle,” he said.
McCall said Torrance County lags behind in site readiness or having properties with infrastructure and utilities present and are ready for a company to move in.
“We’re missing the bus on a lot of things,” Commission Chairman Ryan Schwebach said about economic development in Torrance County.
Like McCall, Schwebach expressed interest in joining AREA.
He said the county does have several things going for it including affordable natural gas and access to railroad.
“We have so many pieces of the puzzle,” he said.