Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation

TO DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH BUILDING ON LOCAL ASSETS AND STRATEGIC PARTNERING TO TARGET ATTRACTION AND RECRUITMENT OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYERS THAT PROVIDE ECONOMIC-BASE JOBS IN THE GALLUP-MCKINLEY COUNTY AREA.

GGEDC ACCOMPLISHMENTS (JULY 1, 2021 TO JUNE 30, 2022) GGEDC CONTINUED TO RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND BEYOND. IN AUGUST 2021, GGEDC CONTINUED ITS BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM INTERVIEWING ECONOMIC BASE EMPLOYERS ACROSS MCKINLEY COUNTY. BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION INTERVIEWS ALLOW GGEDC TO BE PROACTIVE WITH ENGAGEMENT TO IDENTIFY RED FLAGS. MANY OF THE EXPANSION STRATEGIES ARE BASED ON THE SURVEY RESULTS. THE ESCALANTE GENERATING STATION WENT OFF LINE AS A GENERATING ASSET. IN DECEMBER 2020, THE ESCALANTE GENERATING STATION OFFICIALLY CEASED OPERATIONS. IN EARLY 2021 THE ESCALANTE GENERATING STATION WAS DETERMINED A STRONG INDUSTRIAL ASSET FOR A NEW COMPANY (TALLGRASS) LOOKING FOR A LOCATION TO PRODUCE HYDROGEN. ANTICIPATING THE PROPOSED REUSE GGEDC LED THE LOCAL RESPONSE THROUGH LEVERAGING LEGISLATION, PARTNERING WITH THE STATE OF NM ON FEDERAL HYDROGEN HUB DESIGNATION, PROVIDING TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR INDUSTRIAL GROWTH AND PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HYDROGEN ECONOMY. GGEDC AND THE CITY OF GALLUP WERE AWARDED A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT OF 750,000 FROM THE US ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION TO DEVELOP THE GALLUP AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE (AV) PLAN. AS WELL AS AN AIRPORT PLAN AND FTZ DESIGNATION. THE PLANNING GRANT HELPED TO ESTABLISH AN AV SECTOR FOR THE GALLUP ECONOMY. MANY OF THE BENCHMARKS HAVE BEEN MET OVER THE LAST YEAR TO INCLUDE DEFINING THE TARGET MARKET OPPORTUNITIES OF AUTONOMOUS TESTING COMPANIES AND MANUFACTURERS AS IT RELATES TO R&D. THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOMPLISHMENT WAS OUR WORK IN RE ESTABLISHING AIR SERVICE TO THE CITY OF GALLUP AS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT DELIVERABLES. GGEDC APPLIED AND RECEIVED 25,000 FOR FY21-22 THROUGH THE LEADS GRANT PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY THE NM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. THE GRANT WILL FUND BUSINESS RECRUITMENT AND ATTRACTION EFFORTS INCLUDING ATTENDANCE BY GGEDC AT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE SHOWS. ATTENDANCE AT TRADE SHOWS CORRESPONDS WITH THE GALLUP TARGET INDUSTRY ANALYSIS, WHICH IDENTIFIED 'BEST-FIT' INDUSTRIES FOR RECRUITMENT. GGEDC CONTINUED PARTICIPATION IN THE CARBON COAL WORKING GROUP WHICH COMPRISED GGEDC, MCKINLEY COUNTY, NM DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION, NORTHWEST NM COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, GALLUP LAND PARTNERS, AND THE CITY OF GALLUP, AND WAS TASKED WITH COORDINATING LOCAL PARTICIPATION AND ENGAGEMENT AS NMDOT READIED THE 23M PROJECT FOR CONSTRUCTION. THE PROJECT IS 98% COMPLETE AS OF JUNE 30TH. GGEDC CONTINUED THE GREATER GALLUP INDUSTRIAL WORKFORCE PROGRAM (GGIWP) TAKING THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ADAPT TO THE THREATS POSED BY THE CORONAVIRUS IN TERMS OF THE NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT. BY JUNE 30TH GGEDC IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR SWIF CONTRACTOR SURPASSED THE ORIGINAL COHORT OF STUDENTS BY 50%. ON JUNE 3, 2021, GGEDC HELD ITS ANNUAL ECONOMIC ROUNDTABLE. FOR THIS YEAR, THE SUBJECT FOCUS WAS HYDROGEN ECONOMY OVER 50 PARTICIPANTS HELD IN GALLUP. THE ECONOMIC ROUNDTABLE SERVED AS THE KICK OFF FOR ESTABLISHING ESCALANTE AND MCKINLEY COUNTY AS THE MAJOR ASSET IN NM HYDROGEN HUB DEVELOPMENT. GGEDC HAS PARTICIPATED WEEKLY ON TRAININGS PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS ASSOCIATED WITH BUSINESS ATTRACTION AND RECRUITMENT. GGEDC WAS RECERTIFIED IN JULY 2021 BY THE TRANSATLANTIC BUSINESS INVESTMENT COUNCIL, OUR PARTNER WITH RECRUITMENT OF EUROPEAN COMPANIES LOOKING TO EXPAND TO THE UNITED STATES.