<\/p>\n
The town of Mancos has a few new members on its team, including one who will focus on helping businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
Josh Martin has been retained as the town\u2019s new building inspector, and Rachael Marchbanks will be the economic development coordinator. The latter position was approved by the board last year, and Town Administrator Heather Alvarez said staff moved forward with the part-time position because of its immediate need.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel it\u2019s an essential service,\u201d she said. \u201cOur businesses especially in Mancos are going to need some extra guidance and hand-holding to wade through the volumes of information that are being released so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both positions are contractual.<\/p>\n
The job description for the economic position originally focused on growing the local economy, but now the coordinator will focus on business recovery, Alvarez said.<\/p>\n
Marchbanks previously served as mayor of Mancos and publisher of the Tribal College Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very lucky to have her combination of private business knowledge and government knowledge,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n Marchbanks said she \u201chit the ground running\u201d when she started the job about a week ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been starting to reach out to local businesses by phone to see how they are doing and what their needs may be in order to keep running,\u201d she said. \u201cOr, if they are currently shut down, what information and resources do they need so that they can safely open back up for business.\u201d<\/p>\n Marchbanks also is working with Region 9 Economic Development District and the Tri-City Chambers of Commerce, which includes the Mancos, Dolores and Cortez chambers and is creating a small business \u201ctoolkit\u201d with resources and links.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d also like to help connect businesses with some additional online networking, education and training opportunities,\u201d Marchbanks said. \u201cWe are encouraging folks to please continue patronizing local businesses as much as possible. That money will stay in the community longer than if it\u2019s spent online.\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019re looking to create an outdoor marketplace to allow businesses to sell wares in a socially distanced way, along with supporting local agriculture and reinstituting \u201ccash mobs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEventually, I hope to help businesses expand day-to-day shopping opportunities and services for area residents, build on Mancos\u2019s business clusters and encourage opportunities that will allow businesses to make products locally that can be sold or exported,\u201d Marchbanks said.<\/p>\n Because Mancos is a statutory town, its sales tax is collected by the state, and staff won\u2019t have data from April\u2019s sales tax revenue \u2013 and an idea of the pandemic\u2019s impact \u2013 until June. But it will be significant, Alvarez said: As a line item in the town\u2019s budget, sales tax revenue makes up over 60% of the town\u2019s general fund revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are definitely going to need to help those businesses,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cNot just because the businesses are the lifeblood.\u201d Local businesses have been stepping up to the plate in handling the COVID-19 situation, she said.<\/p>\n The building inspector job opened up in November after Holly Rankin retired. The town advertised a few months for the job and received a bid from a company in Arizona, but it was too high, Alvarez said.<\/p>\n Martin has owned a construction business for the past eight years.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be an awesome fit, because he\u2019s done business in Mancos for eight years,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n The town is helping him to get certified as a building official in coming months.<\/p>\n