Here’s the 1st annual State of Pueblo report
February 12, 2006
Now that the president has delivered his State of the Union address, assessing the condition of our nation, maybe it’s time for someone to offer the 1st annual State of Pueblo report.
I’m glad you asked.
You may be sorry you did.
The best thing about Pueblo remains its untapped potential. Once the state’s second largest city with a thriving industrial economy, the city stagnated during Colorado’s boom years and became the Centennial State’s forgotten orphan.
There are some hopeful signs that Pueblo is reawakening, however.
Seven developments in the past year have provided optimism that the city’s potential might be on the cusp of emergence.
- The Professional Bull Riders organization has decided to move its headquarters into a new building on the city’s scenic downtown Riverwalk.
- Another company has received a 10-year, $178-million contract to train Air Force pilots at the city’s under-used airport.
- Xcel Energy has gotten final approval for a giant, clean-burning power plant whose construction will provide several years of good labor jobs.
- Congress has agreed to fund the next big step of demilitarizing the Pueblo Chemical Depot.
- Express Scripts has opened for business with more than 400 new jobs.
- The new big-box shopping center at Pueblo Crossing brought several new shopping retail opportunities to town.
- Oregon Steel has shown signs of gaining strength against the world steel market.
That’s not a bad year – by far the best in recent times.
In addition, St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center just completed its huge expansion project, Wal-Mart is about to open its largest Colorado store in Pueblo West, homebuilding continues at a healthy pace, and Dist. Atty. Bill Thiebaut has filed a federal lawsuit to force Colorado Springs to stop polluting Fountain Creek.
Those encouraging signs certainly bolster confidence that Pueblo might be on the rebound. But the momentum is fragile.
The Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO), under the new chairmanship of Marv Stein, seems to have reawakened from a weary slumber, new blood has been voted onto the City Council, and the county commissioners – stung by their mishandling of the Wal-Mart distribution center issue – might be coming to its senses.
Pueblo certainly faces formidable challenges, however. With the April opening of the new Wal-Mart in Pueblo West, the city will lose as much as $4 million in annual sales-tax revenue, and its budget already is strained.
Problems of teen pregnancy, school dropouts, alcohol and drug addiction, high unemployment, low vaccination rates and other social ills still plague the city. And ugly urban blight continues to offer an unattractive face to a city that has invested millions in its appearance.
Actor and scholar Clay Jenkinson, who brought his portrayal of Thomas Jefferson here last week, even mentioned the unattractive I-25 corridor in his presentation at CSU-Pueblo, commenting on how pleasant the city is once you get away from that disfigured stretch of highway – which few people do.
Friday’s Chieftain reported the danger of deterioration in the city’s historic Union Avenue district, an urban tragedy in the making. Many of the town’s quaint residential districts also are in jeopardy of dilapidation.
So while it has been a relatively good year for Pueblo is some respect, the city still has found no comprehensive remedy for its most serious maladies.
And while some of its assets are in peril, its most valuable resources – the people, the climate, the cost of living, and the rich culture – remain in place. That continues to provide some hope for progress and prosperity.
