Recently Breann Buxkemper, Levelland's Main Street Coordinator, emailed out the September issue of Main Street Matters, a monthly publication of the Texas Main Street Program. Inside I was pleasantly surprised to find a blurb about Levelland Main Street’s successful fund raising during the Sounds of Texas in June and the Early Settlers Day event in July.
Started in 1998, the Levelland Main Street program has been actively involved in bringing awareness to Levelland’s downtown area by organizing and hosting various events that drive traffic to the heart of the community. With each event downtown retailers are offered the opportunity to capitalize on the increased traffic in the area.
The Texas Main Street officials report that since the state wide program began back in 1981 there has been over $2 billion in economic reinvestment into Main Street areas as well as over 25,000 local jobs and the expansion or creation of almost 6400 businesses. It’s no secret that like, a strong heart, a strong Main Street area is what keeps a community alive. As prospects come into town they are often looking not only at available resources but at the overall vitality of the community.
In Levelland we can thank our main street volunteers, event sponsors and our main street coordinator for the hard work and investment they make to ensure the heart of Levelland beats strong and steady. On behalf of the Levelland Economic Development Corporation I say keep up the great work!
Here are some photos from this year’s “Sounds of Texas” in Levelland.
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| Levelland's Sound of Texas 2010 is made possible by various community sponsors such as Wilson Electronics and Xcel Energy. |
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| Community Volunteers serve up sweet treats while the music plays during the Sounds of Texas in Levelland. |
Check our our Flickr Photostream at Flickr.com/Levelland to see more Levelland Main Street Event pictures.
On Monday I had the honor of giving Congressman Randy Neugebauer a tour of the new Levelland Industrial Rail Park before his town hall meeting at South Plains College. The tour began with a
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| Congressman Neugebauer listening to Dallas Pena in Allied's Fabrication shop in Levelland Texas |
tour of Allied Oilfield Machine and Pump, an existing Levelland business that is a full service company providing unlimited solutions to the oil and gas industry. Dallas Pena, Director of Sales gave the
Congressman an informational tour of the Design & Fabrication, Pump Sales and Service and the custom Machine Shop divisions of Allied. Dallas also explained to Congressman Neugebauer how
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| Dallas describes their process to the Congressman |
Allied has captured a niche market in producing out-of-production parts for older pumps with their highly qualified team of machinists who use the latest CNC technologies available in the machining industry.
After leaving Allied, Randy and I went on a windshield tour of the new Levelland Industrial Rail Park and watched as crews from Railroad Specialties, a Littleton Colorado company installed some of the 21,000’ track feet of 132# rail going into the park.
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Workers clip 132# rail sections into the concrete ties in the new Levelland Industrial Rail Park. Photo by Steve Conway
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We then drove by crews from Allen Butler Construction, a Lubbock Texas company working on Commerce Drive, a 40’ wide concrete street leading into the park.
As we made our way through the rail park Congressman talked about the importance of instilling confidence and certainty in the private sector to help
push America back into recovery. I explained it was our hope that with our public investment in Levelland we will give investors the confidence to move off the sidelines and begin to invest in progress here Levelland.
After leaving the park we drove by the new construction taking place at the Farmer’s Cooperative Compress of Lubbock, a $2.5 million dollar expansion taking place just west of the new rail park. I also was able to give the Congressman a brief recap of all the progress taking place in Levelland.
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| Congressman Neugebauer gets a look at the Levelland Industrial Rail Park Scale Model at Levelland City Hall built by a Texas Tech Landscape Architect Student |
As we finished up the tour we stopped by City Hall to see the scale model of the Levelland Industrial Rail Park and to speak with Elgin Conner - LEDC board chairman, Rick Osburn- City Manager & Erik Rejino- Director of Administrative services.
When asked about his thoughts about the tour Congressman Neugebauer had this to say, “It was great to be back in Levelland this week. In this time of economic uncertainty, projects such as the Industrial Rail Park are examples of the common-sense solutions that help provide small businesses and other employers here in the 19th Congressional District with some certainty. It’s refreshing to see a community coming together and working to build a better future for the next generation, despite the economic challenges our nation is facing. It just goes to show that you can’t stop the West Texas spirit and innovation.”
All in all it was great to have the opportunity to give the Congressman some good news from his district. While times may still be tough and the future a little uncertain one thing is for sure, in Levelland, we are not waiting for someone to save us. We are working hard and investing in infrastructure now that will allow businesses to invest, grow and secure a brighter tomorrow for the citizens of Levelland. Thanks Randy for stopping by and being willing to listen. Good Day and God Bless Texas!
You can keep up with Congressman Neugebauer through his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter (@RandyNeugebauer) and YouTube.
I snapped this picture a week ago 
as I was going in to eat at Something Different Grill along State Hwy 114 in Levelland. The restaurant is located just 30 minutes west of Lubbock and has appeared in the Texas Monthly.
I couldn’t help but notice a connection as the train rumbled past a sign advertising NTS Commuication's digital service in Levelland. While these two things may not seem all that similar they have one very important connection as far as Levelland is concerned. They both connect Levelland and its businesses to the global market place.
Over the last several months the Levelland EDC’s new $8.6 mil Levelland Industrial Rail Park has been under construction on the eastern edge of town. With over 21,000 feet of track being installed and new roads, water & sewer lines being put in place to make sites shovel ready, Levelland is banking on the recovery of a global market place that requires the use of rail as an efficient and practical means to move goods in and out of the South Plains and High Ground of Texas.
While Rail serves as the more traditional connection to the global market place, NTS Communications’ newly installed fiber-to-the-user (FTTU) network provides the more modern connection to the world. In August of 2009 NTS opened their Levelland office and began installing interface devices throughout the community.
NTS Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Xfone, Inc. (AMEX: XFN), that provides integrated voice, data and video solutions made the installation of fiber across a 30 mile distance between Lubbock Texas and Levelland over the past two years. The fiber offering by NTS is particularly efficient for business and residential customers because it provides higher bandwidth, increasing the speed with which information may be uploaded or downloaded.
With both the Levelland Industrial Rail Park and the NTS Fiber-to-the-user (FTTU) network in place Levelland has brought the world market place to local businesses. This continued investment in infrastructure will pay huge dividends to the Levelland community and surrounding region as more and more companies call Levelland home.
Invest in Progress. Invest in Levelland. Find out more about opportunities that exist in Levelland at GoLevelland.com/Progress.
In June the City of Levelland announced its partnership with the Green Queens, a company that will offer curbside recycling twice a month for citizens of Levelland. The partnership will allow citizens to sign up for the curbside service by adding an additional $27 to their monthly utility bill. The Green Queens will pick up the green recycling bags (provided by Green Queens) every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. Residents can sign up by going to www.LevellandTexas.org/recycle.
In an effort to promote the program and reach a tipping point for the program Erik Rejino, Director of
Administrative Services and Dave Quinn, Executive Director of the Levelland Economic Development Corp have agreed to wear tiaras and tutus for a special photo shoot if 75 citizens sign up for the monthly program by October 1, 2010.
While doing a presentation for the Levelland Noon Lions Club the Green Queens joked about Erik being forced to wear a tutu and tiara if the city didn’t reach its goal. Well, after giving it a little thought Erik and I decided that if wearing the princess outfits would motivate residents to join the program, what the heck.
So with a tweet, an email and a Facebook posting we launched a green campaign that might 
just land us in tiaras and tutus for the entire world to see. This proves we are not afraid to go the extra mile in Levelland to help save the world in our own strange little way.
You can read more about the curb side recycling program and help get Erik and I into our camo tutus and princess tiaras at www.LevellandTexas.org/recycle or at www.GreenQueens.org The clock is ticking!
Today I received and email from Governor Perry's office with the news that Texas was ranked the No. 1 Business Climate in the Nation by CNBC.
This is great news as Levelland continues to
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| $15 mil Mallet Event Center & Arena |
invest in public infrastructure projects like the $8.6 mil Levelland Industrial Rail Park, $15 mil Mallet Event Center & Arena & a slew of other public works projects now underway or in the final stages of engineering.
Taking advantage of incredible low construction costs the public entities pursuing these projects are maximizing the public dollars provided by taxpayers. By being progressive and “moving into the wind” during this economic storm Levelland and Hockley County are preparing themselves to reap huge benefits and economic growth in the coming years as the economy returns.
This announcement will draw the attention of businesses worldwide looking for opportunities to invest and our community is poised to capture a share of those dollars being drawn into the state.
For more information on how Levelland Economic Development can help you and/or your business be progressive visit GoLevelland.com/progress
The complete CNBC study is available on www.topstatesforbusiness.cnbc.com.
Today's blog post is a guest posting by Mitsu Yamazaki
of TIP Strategies Inc. Mitsu will be leading a workshop for Levelland EDC board of directors on July 19, 2010 in Levelland beginning at 10 am at Levelland City Hall.
TOP 5 To-Do’s for Today’s Economic Development Organizations
Although local economic development organizations could not have anticipated the current prolonged recession, they are uniquely positioned within their communities to help make the upcoming transition out of the recession a smooth one. Planning for the recovery is critical because it enables communities to establish a strong foundation from which they will be able to take advantage of new opportunities and build from preexisting ones.
As the economy gradually recovers, here are five “to-do’s” for all economic development entities who want to build momentum in their communities:
Protect what you have
- Assess your assets
- Economic development ‘assets’ can include physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges, human capital, educational institutions, business and technology centers, and other local organizations or physical structures that support business locally.
- Put your financial house in order
- Future redevelopment programs or business incentives will require good financial health.
- Emphasize business retention
- Reach out to businesses in your community and establish personal relationships. Get to know the individual decision-makers, be aware of challenges in their industry, and be sensitive to their changing needs. Keep the lines of communication open so that you can respond quickly to their concerns and nurture the business in your community.
Position your community for recovery with strategic investments
- Infrastructure
- Physical infrastructure and human capital will make your community more appealing to outside businesses and will make ‘doing business’ easier for your existing companies.
- Catalyst projects
- Catalyst projects are projects that form a strong foundation for future growth. Examples include: downtown revitalization or redevelopment; the creation or expansion of a technology center; redeveloping vacant or unused sites (commercial or industrial).
Pursue short and mid-term opportunities
- Entrepreneurship
- Educate your community about entrepreneurship and establishing small businesses. Many unemployed and underemployed professionals may be thinking about shifting careers or tackling a new challenge, and you should be available to guide them through this transition.
- Stimulus package
- Keep an eye towards possible Federal grants and stimulus funding that could be applied towards programmatic or infrastructure investments your community would like to make. While the availability of funding should not dictate which projects you pursue, it may help prioritize projects or make them more feasible.
- Countercyclical sectors
- Some sectors, such as insurance and education, tend to experience growth during recessions. Identifying and supporting the role that these industries play in your community is important for local economic vitality as you anticipate the recovery of other industries.
- Consolidations
- Mergers and acquisitions are common during a recession, and it is likely that one of your businesses may be considering expanding through acquisition, or merging with another firm. Being aware of these trends will enable you and your organization to host potential buyers in the community, where necessary, or guide a local business through the process of acquisition.
Be strategic, have a plan
- Create/update strategic plan
- The strategic planning process is integral to strong, sustained growth. By investing in visioning and planning processes, economic development entities can establish community-wide support for new projects and more thoroughly understand the needs of their citizens.
- Prioritize projects
- While the planning process is more general, it will ideally reveal a few specific projects that are of value for the community. Prioritizing among projects is challenging, but ultimately critical for the financial feasibility of each.
- Share your plans with the community
- After visioning, planning, and prioritizing processes are completed within your organization, public roll-outs of plans are important opportunities to solicit feedback from the community, which will make implementation smoother.
Be flexible – Change is the only constant
- Demographic and workforce trends
- The aging baby-boomers are changing the economic landscape and shifting workforce needs. Being aware of demographic trends—in the form of migration as well as the aging population—is critical to anticipating employer needs.
- Technological innovation
- New technologies will make many industries more efficient over time. What is the impact of technological innovation on the industries in your communities? On local workforce needs?
- Regulatory structure
- Changing local, state, and federal regulations shape the business environment. Being aware of trends and helping local businesses adapt to the changes, or take advantage of new regulatory environments, will make your community more welcoming to new and expanding businesses.
On Tuesday night Levelland Economic Development Corp hosted a team from USDA Rural Development here at City Hall. Area Director, Linda Brakebill, and two of her associates presented a housing seminar on the USDA Rural Development's SFH Direct Loan program.
The program provides low-interest, no-down-payment loans to help eligible families and individuals living in
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USDA in Levelland for Housing Program |
rural communities and areas to purchase their own homes. The program is geared toward low to very low-income families. The loans are typically 33 years with a fixed interest rate. No down payment is required for the program and closing costs may be included in the loan. Under the program an applicant may also be eligible for payment assistance, which would subsidize the interest portion of the house payment down to as low as 1%, therefore lowering the overall monthly payment amount. In many cases, the total monthly payment, including taxes and insurance, may actually be less than a family is paying for rent.
They also discussed the Section 504 Repair Loans & Grants program which offers loans of up to $20,000 that are available to make general repairs to improve or modernize a home. The loans have an interest rate of 1% and a maximum term of 20 years. To qualify for a loan, the applicant must have a reliable income source sufficient to ally repayment of the loan. Applicants must also have a credit history that indicates a reasonable ability and willingness to meet debt obligations. The adjusted household income at the time of the loan approval and at loan closing must not exceed the USDA Rural Development applicable very low income limit. Applicants must own and occupy the property, which must be considered modest for the area, not have an in-ground pool, and not have a value excess of the area loan limit.
If you are interested in more information about these programs or know someone who is you can contact a USDA representative in their Lubbock office at 806.785.5644, Extension 4. You can also read more about USDA programs online at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/tx/
The following post is a reprint of the
Levelland & Hockley County News Press April 21, 2010 article written by Jacob Tucker. As part of their corporate incentives program, the Levelland Economic Development Corporation donated 223 acres of land to the Ethanol Plant in 2005. The City of Levelland also wrote and received a $750,000 grant from the
Texas Department of Agriculture's Texas Capital Fund Program for the gray water conveyance system used as the process water for ethanol production. The renewable energies plant is located 3 miles east of the new Levelland Industrial Rail Park (LIRP) and just 24 miles west of Lubbock Texas and has a current Texas workforce of 51 employees.
Ethanol plant ends fiscal year in black
The ethanol plan in operation east of the City of Levelland ended 2009 operating in the black financially. Levelland Hockley county Ethanol LLC held its annual banquet on Monday April 19 to inform the shareholders of the progress of the plant in the past year.
Sam Sacco, plant manager, said, "There were lots of times where the board could have given up on us, but they continued to believe in us." The plant is currently doing 80 to 90 percent of its ethanol sales by truck pickup. "The trucks give more money than the rail cars," Sacco said. "And we are continuing to see increases on ethanol trucks coming in." He also informed the share holders of the sale of distillers' grain to area dairies.
"We are getting buyers for distillers from dairies as far north as Hereford," Sacco said. "We are also getting calls from New Mexico dairies as well." He said nutritionists at the dairies are raving about the nutritional value of the distillers grain and are having people come a long way for the product.
Since the plant has become more productive, Sacco said that they aren't going anywhere. "We are the only ethanol plant in Texas who has not filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy," Sacco said. "We have reached a point where we aren't just a flash in the pan."
Last year the plant paid $650,000 in property taxes, and $40 Million was paid to area producers for their crops. Another $15 million went to city and local vendors. "Notice, I said local," Sacco said. "That is very important to us." The plant used 12.3 million bushels of grain to make 33,115,294 gallons of ethanol last year. Ninety-five percent of the grain came from local producers.
"This plant means a lot to the community," Sacco said. "Without the continued support of the community, all of our efforts would have been for nothing," Sacco said. He said that "local farmers spreading their eggs out of one basket" is the key to producing more ethanol and cutting cost from importing additional grain to produce the product.
B.J. Fidaleo, controller at the plant, reported strong monetary figures to the shareholders. "Our total current assets are $12,074,822 which is up from last year," Fidaleo said. "Last year's total assets sat at $7,464,648. The audit has not been completed due to a discrepancy so these numbers aren't final," Fidaleo said.
The board also reported that a lawsuit involving the
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ETHANOL BOARD - Monday, Levelland Hockley County Ethanol LLC held their annual shareholders banquet in the Sundown Room of South Plains College. Shareholders heard information on the plant from General Manager Sam Sacco, who reported that the plant reported is currently operating in the black financially. Pictured above is the LHCE Board, from left: Doug Bruggeman, James Halbert, Greg Methvin, Ricky Neal and Zafar Rizvi. (Staff Photo) |
builders of the Reverse Osmosis facility on site has been settled. "We weren't out to make money on the deal," Board Chair Greg Methvin said. "We came out with just enough to cover what we were due." The RO facility is now operating at full capacity and the plant has been running on gray water from the City of Levelland since December.
The High Ground of Texas Education Foundation, in partnership with area Economic Development
organizations, is hosting the REDI© 2009-2010 Program.
Developed in 1990 and offered numerous times since, this twenty-five hour comprehensive program is designed to give volunteers, board members, city staff, chambers, practitioners, elected officials and other interested individuals, a basic, nuts-and-bolts understanding of the economic development process.
We work particularly hard to help people understand the questions of "what do we do next" and we are dedicated to giving the information at a "how to do it" level. A training manual, collateral materials, and case studies are used in the instructional formats.
A very successful Session I was held in November 2009 in Odessa. Session II will be held in Levelland on March 4th, Session III will be held in Amarillo on May 12th, and the final Session will be held on Midland in August 2010.
"We would like to express our appreciation to our Session I presenters which included Gary Vest (Odessa), Sheryl Hardy (Perryton), Ken Becker (Sweetwater), Edwin Knight (Slaton), Chris Alexander (Friona), and David Rushing (Shamrock). We thank the Northwest Texas Small Business Development Center for sponsoring the Luncheon and we appreciate Xcel Energy for serving as a major sponsor for the REDI 2009-2010 Course." said Lorie Vincent, Executive Director, High Ground of Texas
"This week we welcome Hunter Hilburn (EDsuite), Mitzu Yamazaki (TIP Strategies, Inc.) and David Quinn (Levelland Economic Development Corporation) as our special guest presenters for the REDI Session II course whose topics will focus on aggressive marketing strategies." explained Mrs. Vincent.
If you know of someone who would benefit from attending, please share this information with them. The course is open to all interested parties. You can register for sessions individually or receive a discount for registering for all four sessions together.
The Registration Deadline for the next session, to be held in Levelland on March 4th, is Monday, March 1, 2010. Please register at https://www.regonline.com/REDICourse.
The High Ground of Texas is excited about presenting the REDI© 2009-2010 program and we hope that you will have someone from your area interested in attending one or all of the dynamic REDI© sessions.
For questions, please contact the High Ground office at 806.366.7510 or higround@xit.net.