Communities and counties around Northern New Mexico gathered in the State Capitol rotunda on Tuesday, Feb. 3rd for a special celebration marking the completion of a multi-faceted economic development plan. Los Alamos County funded the $250,000 plan—more commonly known as REDI (northern NM Regional Economic Development Initiative)—in 2008. Tuesday’s celebration marks the plan’s completion as well as the official roll out of its implementation. Representative Jim Trujillo read a special “REDI for Action” proclamation to kick off the celebration.
"I am very excited to be taking the next step to implement this plan," remarked Council Chairman Mike Wheeler to the audience as he accepted the proclamation, adding that he expected to be seeing many of those in the audience in the near future, as the REDI plan is funded and plan objectives are put into action in 2009. Wheeler explained that the charter for this unique team of regional partners, including Taos, Taos County, Espanola, Rio Arriba County, Santa Fe and Santa Fe County, was to develop an economic development plan that would capitalize on the strengths, resources and talents of Northern New Mexico in order to benefit all of the region’s residents by creating new jobs, which would then create new revenue sources, and new opportunities for growth.
Representative Jeannette Wallace offered her congratulations to the REDI partners, adding how pleased and excited she was to see the REDI plan move to the next step.
On hand to receive special plaques denoting the completion of the REDI plan were Mayor Joe Maestas, Espanola; Mayor David Coss, Santa Fe; and Duncan Sill, Santa Fe County Economic Funding and Development Department. Each one spoke briefly and highlighted their hopes and dreams for the future of Northern New Mexico to be united in the REDI team's efforts for diversifying their communities' economic future.
The team’s creation of the REDI plan was facilitated by two local New Mexico firms: the Regional Development Corporation and the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District. Dozens of stakeholder meetings were held across several months in 2008. The result was a written plan with a clear focus and selection of regional priorities for implementation over five, ten and twenty-five year periods. Four target industry clusters were identified which will set the pace for the REDI plan to become a reality: 1) Renewable Energy and Green Industry; 2) Technology; 3) Value-Added Agriculture; and 4) Entertainment.
The Los Alamos County Council hosted Tuesday’s celebration event. The next step for REDI in 2009—called “REDI for Action”—involves each county or municipality adapting and funding the recommended actions to meet the goals and objectives outlined in the plan. A copy of the REDI plan is available to download at www.rdcnm.org.
Background on Progress Through Partnering:
REDI is part of a larger, multi-year old project called “Progress Through Partnering” which was officially launched by Los Alamos County in 2007. All of the northern New Mexico partners involved in REDI signed cooperative agreements in 2007 to join the project. The partnership focuses not only on economic development, but includes projects related to regional transportation and indigent health care, as well.
To date, the County has spent over $2.7 million on “Progress through Partnering” initiatives. Funds have helped the Espanola Basin Regional Planning Issues Forum (EBRPIF) by supporting administration and operations of the group, along with providing a facilitator for regional issues development. In the last two years, funds have also been allocated to the North Central Regional Transit District, as well as designated “sole community providers” in northern NM who provide indigent health care.