Courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin, by Richard Coltharp
A job a day. That was the goal of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance for Fiscal Year 2012, to add a job a day to Doña Ana County, or 365 over 12 months.
So how about 504? That’s the number of jobs MVEDA was able to bring to the area from July 2011 through June 2012. That follows on the heels of Fiscal Year 2011, in which MVEDA brought 580 jobs to the area. These numbers were reported Friday, Oct. 12, at MVEDA’s Annual Report breakfast, hosted by La Posta de Mesilla and sponsored by Doña Ana Community College.
“So far in Fiscal Year 2013, we’re well on our way to our next targets,” said MVEDA Executive Director Davin Lopez at the breakfast. “We’ve already got 248 jobs created, again with a target of 365.”
This year, MVEDA is ahead of pace on four of its six targets, which are prospects created, completed projects, jobs created, payroll generated, capital investment and retention and expansion. Lopez expressed appreciation to the assembled MVEDA partners, board members and community representatives, saying MVEDA relies on everyone in the community.
“We work for you and we’re proud of what we do,” Lopez said. “The cabinet secretary for economic development, Jon Barela, has been down here often, announcing jobs. And he’s impressed with the way we do things as a community. He said, ‘You guys know how to work together.’” In the spirit of working together, Lopez implored the audience of about 100 for assistance in finding companies that might be a fit for the Mesilla Valley. “If you know of companies we need to be in front of,” Lopez said, “please let us know.”
Kiel Hoffman, market president at Pioneer Bank, who will be the incoming board chair of MVEDA, echoed those sentiments as he listed the names of the MVEDA community partners. “This organization would not be as successful as it is without your support,” Hoffman said. “All of us benefit.”
Profiling some of the companies recently coming to the area, Lopez discussed Vangent, Interceramic, L&M Radiator, TE Connectivity and one he termed only as “Project Special K,” whose name is withheld until the deal is fully completed.
Vangent is a call center located in Las Cruces, and L&M Radiator, also in Las Cruces, produces supersized radiators and cooling systems for large construction vehicles. Interceramic, a tile company; TE Connectivity, an electronic connector company; and Project Special K are located in the Santa Teresa area.
Two-thirds of the jobs represented by the five companies are in Las Cruces.
TE Connectivity’s decision to locate in Santa Teresa saved 100 jobs from going to El Paso, Lopez said. Perhaps as striking as the 504 jobs created is MVEDA’s figure of 100 direct jobs retained. “Most of our efforts do not lead to job creation, that’s retention of jobs,” Lopez said.
One number that was down from last year is capital investment, which was $8 million in FY12. That looks slim compared to the gargantuan figure of $540 million in FY11, but Lopez said most of the 2011 figure comprised the massive Union Pacific expansion near Santa Teresa.
In addition, many companies in FY12 built out existing buildings rather than building new ones. More than 440,000 square feet of vacant facility space is now occupied and in use.
Also worth mentioning, Lopez said, was the arrival of three small companies in Chaparral, N.M., the community to the south of Las Cruces that is partially in Doña Ana County and partially in Otero County. Though the new companies landed on the Otero side of the community, Lopez said the continuing growth of Chaparral will also benefit Doña Ana County.
DACC President Margie Huerta, who has received some criticism for the college’s loss of its nursing school accreditation, addressed the crowd and said the school is now eligible for candidacy for accreditation and she is working diligently to regain the status. “I want to thank you in the community for continuing to believe in Doña Ana Community College and we will live up to your challenge,” Huerta said.
Board member George Ruth and Lopez also addressed the audience about MVEDA’s return on investment. MVEDA’s annual budget of around $550,000 is about one third that of El Paso’s primary economic development organization. And compare that with $14 million for the economic development group in Abilene, Texas, which is not that unusual, Lopez said, for some mid-size Texas communities.
With that investment, MVEDA has brought back a three year economic impact of $57 million in supported household spending, $36 million in direct payroll and $17 million in indirect payroll.
The jobs also create significant tax revenues in the area. Over three years, DACC has received $60,822 in additional tax revenue; Gadsden Independent School District, $208,440; Las Cruces Public Schools, $400,929; City of Las Cruces, $655,396; and Doña Ana County, $1.2 million.
