Could city get new bumper sticker? ?I Love Boulder Business?

Lately, as I sip my morning coffee and read the daily paper, I have to rub my eyes to make sure I?m really awake and not still in some bizarre dream.

There it was in black and white. A Boulder headline: ?Council hopefuls discuss business.? Looking over at my yellow Lab, I whispered, ?Santo, I?ve a feeling we?re not in Kansas anymore.?

There are good reasons politicians are talking business. First of all, this particular session was at the Boulder Chamber, so it was the politically correct thing to do, of course.

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But it?s also possible candidates may have read a new proposed work plan by the city?s economic vitality team. As Business Report writer David Clucas reports on Page One, Boulder officials have identified natural and organic foods as a business ?cluster? the city could target for economic development, working with existing companies and local talent to foster the ?competitiveness and growth? of companies in this industry.

Holy Happy Cow! Did I just read the words ?development,? ?growth? and ?expansion? in a Boulder policy paper?

It?s the kind of stuff that made ColoradoBiz put White Wave founder Steve Demos on the cover of its March issue. ?Demos and other business visionaries have made Boulder the epicenter of the $43 billion natural-products industry,? the headline shouts.

That?s the kind of story Boulder likes.

It makes ?natural? sense to build on the national reputation of organic foods entrepreneurs like Mo Siegel, Mike Gilliland and Libby Cook, Mark Retzloff, Barney Feinblum and others.
Unfortunately, there is the occasional snafu. Tofu-guru Demos, who now heads the White Wave Foods division of Dallas-based Dean Foods, took its headquarters and about 400 employees, to Broomfield, not Boulder. Better deal, better office space.

That?s the kind of story Boulder does not like.

This is why no matter who gets elected, expect the Boulder council to talk business more than you?ve ever heard. Consider these sobering points in the economic paper:

? Boulder has lost approximately 5,000 jobs since the beginning of the economic downturn in 2001.
? Current vacancy rates stand at 17.8 percent for all kinds of office and industrial space.
? Many mid-size businesses (100-300 employees) are finding it difficult to remain in the city.
? Facility costs, whether to rent or purchase, are often 50 percent higher than elsewhere in the region.
? Boulder?s buildings ? are much older than in the newly constructed business parks along U.S. 36.
? Boulder?s policies and procedures delay, complicate or add costs to projects.
? The high cost of housing makes it difficult for lower-level employees to afford to live in Boulder.

None of this is particularly startling news to the business community. But the fact that the city openly owns up to the problems is a very big change.

The 15-page economic vitality report also highlights ?renewable energy and green building? as another business sector to attract. Other clusters being considered, the report states, include ?biosciences, photonics, software and the Internet, outdoor and sports industries and creative services.?

Boulder is coming out of its shell when it comes to business, but, of course, it will do so with its own style.

Also first reported in The Business Report, a new business incubator, the Boulder Innovation Center, is launching and has been incorporated.

Recently, when sponsor names ran across the screen at the new Boulder International Film Festival, which sold 5,000 tickets in its debut, the city of Boulder?s name was there in big, bold letters. Why?

Boulder visitors, the economic report says, spend an estimated $355.4 million at local businesses, generating $10.3 million in tax revenue. In 2003, that amounted to 14.3 percent of the general fund.

Film festival Executive Director Robin Beeck told me the Boulder Theater was a ?fantastic? venue (where else can you watch a movie, eat popcorn and drink beer!), but she already expects next year?s festival will need to spread out, perhaps up to the university campus.

I think the festival is another beautiful cultural fit with Boulder, but one that demonstrates how a new mid-size city convention center could bring many more visitor dollars to the local economy.
Boulder?s economic team also launched a new Web site at www.businessinboulder.com where you can read its plan. The site?s carefully crafted statement reads: ?Thoughtfully supporting an economic environment of collaboration, innovation and opportunity to make it possible to achieve Boulder?s goals.?

I especially liked city councilman Gordon Riggle?s response: How do you make that short enough to put on a bumper sticker?