In short, Moffat County – and Craig in particular – is in trouble.  Although it is a beautiful place, with a great deal to offer, its historical economical base is withering.  Whereas the front range in Colorado is booming, with population increase and standard of living increase, Craig is not.  

 

Craig has natural resources, water, open space, wildlife, access to an airport, a ski area, and public lands.  But, people are leaving, jobs are going away and without some infusion of capital, some new economic development, Craig’s future is in trouble.

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The trend of towns dying after manufacturing facilities and coal plants close is not a new phenomenon. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology identified 150 towns in America that have suffered a similar fate  and noted that in almost every case, the reason the town "died" is because the tax base disappeared, which has undermined the ability of local governments to spend money on revitalization.  

 

Adams County, Ohio is a good case study to examine to fully grasp the grave impact of a coal plant closing has on a small community. The coal power plant in Adams County once provided about 700 jobs but after all coal operations were shut down in 2019, the millions of dollars in salaries and tax revenue vanished and will never come back. The county commission was forced to slashed the budget two years in a row in anticipation of lean times ahead. 

 

As alternative energy sources such as natural gas overcome coal (as outlined in the graph below), the disappearance of the coal industry seems somewhat unavoidable. Therefore, the loss of tax revenue is inevitable but also predictable. Craig knows further tax loses are coming. By 2025, the coal fired power plant at the Craig power station will be closed, likely resulting in further decline in employment but more importantly, a loss of property tax revenue. As mentioned earlier, the Craig station comprises about 40% of all taxable property value in the county and this will drop to 30% after Unit 1’s closing which amounts to a nearly $100 million loss in property taxes. 

As evident from the steady decline in Craig, no action is an extremely risky decision for the fate of the town and county. Instead, action should be taken to not only bring additional tax revenue to the community but also proactive revitalization plans should be implemented. Opportunity zone investment would bring additional capital and spur population growth. Ramping up tourist attraction such as a glamping sites, dude ranches, hunting outfitters, or full-service ski weekend excursions to Steamboat are all actionable paths to drive revitalization. Additionally, Craig can benefit from proactive plans to increase tax revenue from other means, such as legalizing recreation marijuana sales, which has brought nearly $2million of tax revenue of 2018 to boarding communities such as Steamboat Springs. 

 

Small towns in Colorado such as  Montrose, Colorado have benefited from local leaders mobilizing quickly. Local investment firms such as Montrose Development Advisors proactively advertises an Opportunity Zone investment one-stop-shop, which can be found at https://montrosedevadvisors.com/opportunity-zone-one-stop-center/. This resource provides all details needed for successful investment including infographics, fact sheets, services and regulations. As of September 2019, The Montrose Press reported that "a sizeable piece of property within Montrose city limits is under contract with opportunity zone dollars that could result in the construction of a large number of homes in the city." Montrose has also applied for and won grants to further stimulate opportunity zone investment. Furthermore, Grand Junction and Montrose secured an investment from a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund to fund a software company headquartered in the area called Proximity Space. Proximity will is the first Colorado-based company to receive funding under new federal guidelines issued in April. 

 

Smaller towns such as Garden City, Colorado, which has only 300 residents, have capitalized on legalizing marijuana and could afford to spend $3 million dollars on downtown revitalization due to tax revenue from marijuana. The below graph outlines the potential dollar value implications to date, which can be used to extrapolate the potential tax revenue that will be earned in the communities with legalized marijuana.