The Steamboat Pilot & Today

We are a region that has been engaged with one economic love at a time. We are loyal to our industries and often turn a blind eye to many things because the prudent response in this remote region was to embrace and be grateful to any economy that came and created jobs, even if low-paying and even if for a short time.

Each of our historical industries — agriculture, mining and tourism — were and are single-faceted, and all had their basis in nature. We are currently evolving into an economy that is multi-faceted, more complex and expanding beyond the reliance upon our natural resources. We are entering an era where we are faced with a new economic asset and it is known as being a “real town.”

The arrival of this new economy will create the need to approach how we view our community in a different way. With the arrival of the resort industry we struggled with the question of “are we a first-class community with a first-class ski hill in our backyard, or vice versa?” Quite frankly, we really did not need to determine which was the truer statement because we were mutually dependent on each other. Now, due to this economic evolution, it may be time to explore the premise that we have two very distinct economic districts — a district based upon resort assets, and a district based upon community assets.

The challenge for all of us will be how do we define “community assets,” and more importantly, should we do something to ensure that they endure? Right now, we have Vision 2030 and the creation of the Routt County Livability Index to address some of the assets we value. But at the same time that we are participating in these efforts, we have an economy that has the capacity to profoundly alter the way our downtowns and neighborhoods look and function. A key question is: How does the built environment affect the asset of community? What do you think of that?

The times and issues ahead of us will be messy and we will all make mistakes. Partners in Preservation took an interest in one aspect of our community — the preservation of historic structures. They brought forth that discussion to the City Council. The intentions of all involved were to deal with an issue that had been neglected. I realize that the impacts of the emergency moratorium created stress and understandable anger among members of the community. I regret that and hope that as PIP and the City Council continue this discussion that we can address the issues raised. The issue of historic preservation, scale and pace are but just some of the issues we will be facing, and regardless of how you or I may feel about each one, it is important that we participate in the discussion and familiarize ourselves with the outcomes that await us.

We will continue to have new residents. There may be some who are coming due to the investment opportunity but many are coming in a way to “come home” to the same place many of us call “home.” So this is not just about who has not shown up, but also about who is already here. We have all helped to create something special, and that is a place where we can get to know each other, be involved and feel safe.

What do you see in 20 years, and what do you think of that?

Noreen Moore

Steamboat Springs