City government has positive impact on business community

MONTE VISTA—MONTE VISTA— In January Monte Vista seated a new city council who ran for office with the intention of stimulating business activity in the downtown area and in greater Monte Vista.
To that end the city has hired a professional business coach and recruiter. Ron Douglas, a new Valley resident and owner of Business Assist.Com, entered into a contract with the city to provide this unique and specialized service for Monte Vista. Douglas has already held initial public outreach meetings for current businesses and forward-looking entrepreneurs. He is providing one-on-one coaching and marketing information to existing businesses that have signed up.
The City of Monte Vista is also looking at its assets, both real-estate and urban renewal authority, to see how they can bring additional impact to this re-invigoration of the downtown area. By carefully and strategically combining the city’s assets with the skills that Douglas is providing to Monte Vista, many possibilities are already in the pipeline that did not exist before.
One example is the transformation of the former police department on U.S. Highway 160 from an empty building into an active roving business incubator that will immediately start benefiting multiple start-up companies.
Other seriously interested parties are now looking at Adams Street locations. One of the Adams Street locations would be the renovation and repurposing of the empty, old Valley Publishing building into a facility open to and benefitting the public. There is also new interest potential for more restaurant activity in downtown.
While not visible yet, the opportunities and impacts of these first six months are positive and reversing a long period of decline in Monte Vista’s core area.
To that end the city has hired a professional business coach and recruiter. Ron Douglas, a new Valley resident and owner of Business Assist.Com, entered into a contract with the city to provide this unique and specialized service for Monte Vista. Douglas has already held initial public outreach meetings for current businesses and forward-looking entrepreneurs.  He is providing one-on-one coaching and marketing information to existing businesses that have signed up.
The City of Monte Vista is also looking at its assets, both real-estate and urban renewal authority, to see how they can bring additional impact to this re-invigoration of the downtown area. By carefully and strategically combining the city’s assets with the skills that Douglas is providing to Monte Vista, many possibilities are already in the pipeline that did not exist before.  
One example is the transformation of the former police department on U.S. Highway 160 from an empty building into an active roving business incubator that will immediately start benefiting multiple start-up companies.
Other seriously interested parties are now looking at Adams Street locations. One of the Adams Street locations would be the renovation and repurposing of the empty, old Valley Publishing building into a facility open to and benefitting the public. There is also new interest potential for more restaurant activity in downtown.
While not visible yet, the opportunities and impacts of these first six months are positive and reversing a long period of decline in Monte Vista’s core area.