Officials in Yuma County want telecommunications providers to invest in upgrades for high-speed Internet service. Kiowa County residents want more Web-based distance learning classes.
Those are two of the results from the first technology assessments in rural communities throughout the state. The assessments are sponsored by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
In the past, rural communities were often left out of discussions about economic development and technology, said Darlene Scott, eastern Colorado’s business-development representative for the Office of Economic Development. A rural assessment program was designed in 2001 to fill that void, with 14 communities participating.
The assessment was done again last year, and up to eight counties have participated in economic-development assessments. Only Yuma and Kiowa counties have completed the technology portion of the study.
“This has been one of the most successful tracking tools,” Scott said. “An important piece and critical element of economic development is technology, whether it is for entrepreneurs, schools or the workforce.”
Kiowa County participated in a general assessment in 2001, with the state doing a follow-up in February of this year. The county requested the two- day technology study, which included executives from industry lending expertise and recommendations based on conversations with county officials, residents and students. Nearly 25 county residents out of 1,600 participated in the November meetings.
“One of the things we got out of the assessment was how to better utilize (the infrastructure we already have in place),” said Janet Frederick, executive director of the Kiowa County Economic Development Foundation. “Several steps we decided to take involve how kids can have better access and get more knowledge on what technology careers are out there.”
Frederick said the county will also focus on how to attract businesses to the area by marketing the technology access they already have in place.
Before technology recommendations are made, counties are asked to provide information about existing telecommunication, Internet, cable and energy access, said Clarke Becker, executive director of the Colorado Rural Development Council in Woodland Park. The council is spearheading the technology assessments, which begin with a “Tech 101” seminar.
“In so many places, there’s an education factor. If they’re not using technology, they don’t know what they’re missing,” Becker said. “We have an obligation to educate so they become aware of the opportunities, so they can raise the bar relative to making economic development productive.”
Yuma County learned that it is limited in offering high-speed Internet access uniformly to its 8,000 to 10,000 residents.
“They’re going to explore the current power access and infrastructure to determine the possibility for things such as broadband access over power lines, or installation of new fiber-optic lines,” Becker said. “We have to be more creative in rural Colorado than in downtown Denver and look at other forms of communication.”
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
