September 12, 2011
America's Ski Town becomes America's Boom Town!
6,000 new jobs came to Penna. as a result of the booming Marcellus Shale gas drilling and pipeline development. Local people aren't hired, understandable because this is a specialized business. Teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Louisiana even Alaska workers are here, basically all imports. These workers have taken over the lodging, supply and demand kicked in, driving up prices on house rentals and hotels. It's "ski season" prices all year long, projected for a 15 year run or longer. There, Ski Co. that should boost your "occupancy rate!" Steamboat could survive this with just a few more Grand Hotels, but build enough Employee Housing and Tourist hotels into the Master Plan so you can still accomodate Skiers and Summer Vacationers! Come for the winter stay for the summer, right?
Bring your tent and come visit Bradford County, Pa. Do your own research and determine rather you want this same type of an "economic shift" in Routt County.
You may decide you want to remain Ski Town USA. Either way keep your eyes wide open, do an impact study on how you are re-branding Steamboat and Routt Co. (water, tourism, ranching, hunting, fishing) and Plan, Plan, Plan to deal with the impacts.
In response to:
Our View: Getting ready for boom or bust
The oil and gas industry is gearing up for what could be a substantial power play here in Routt County. No matter what you think of domestic energy exploration and production, there are important factors that must be carefully weighed and considered.
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