Gathering of community leaders

Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Colton Buckley is looking to introduce the heads of agencies within the city and county through a leadership gathering, and later establish a committee of representatives in the community to tackle issues together.

The EDC director and Breckenridge City Manager Erika McComis said they are shooting for a leadership gathering once a month to speak on issues and how the entities can update each other and work together. Ultimately, Buckley said he wants to turn this meeting into a listening session with the community.

“As I go and talk to different folks on the Industrial Loop or on Walker St. or some of these government agency heads independently, for me in this office with economic development, Breckenridge really has to determine what it wants to be,” he said. “Do we want to be a blue collar, oil and gas servicing, ranching town like we’ve been for the last 100-plus years and as we’ve seen through the recent Census we’ve had a drop in our population 6.2% in the city limits and somewhat comparable, I believe, in the county. Or, are we wanting to become more of commercializing the lake and focusing on retail and more of a weekend-type, Granbury-esque, retirement community. Or, do we want to be a collaboration of the two and additional. My hope is that this then leads into more of a public forum where folks like me and (County) Judge (Michael) Roach and City Manager (Erika) McComis can hear from people in the community. What did they see from our predecessors that they liked, what do they want to see new (and) we can collaborate and get together because for my job specifically, when it comes to recruitment of new businesses or industry, I need to know that our hospital is ranked one of the top 100 of rural hospitals, which when you talk to our hospital CEO we are, but very few people know that or that our school district is doing well with records and reports with (...) TEA and other state agencies.”

The first leadership meeting will serve as a way for the leaders to get to know each other, with many of them being new to their positions within the city and county.

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