“The RARE grant is made up of two sections, a Pitch Competition and a small business improvement program. The Pitch Competition will run over a 3 year period and will offer 3 prizes each year. 1st prize - $15,000, 2nd Prize - $10,000 3rd Prize - $5,000. The second section, a small business support program will offer 8 to 10 grants up to $40,000 each. The RARE program will also offer technical assistance at no cost to the business,” Caldwell elaborates. The hope is that this opportunity will bring some of Rangely’s home based businesses into brick and mortar locations. “We do have new businesses,” she recounts. “Dollar General opened here about three years ago. Tractor Supply is putting in a new store here. We do have quite a few things, but there’s always room for growth.” Caldwell says the community is also well positioned for cybersecurity and aerospace. She elaborates. “We have great internet, one gigabyte, very inexpensive. There’s a lot of room for those types of businesses to be here.” As Rangely works to attract new enterprises, Piering points out the town’s natural beauty and infrastructure which have the potential to draw new residents. “I think we could really house a lot of remote workers,” she says. “A lot of that generation does enjoy the outdoors, where they can just do their work and then go out and play in any direction. Plus, we have high speed internet, so you could come here and work. The college is here, and we have a little bit of everything.” Colorado Northwestern Community College is important to Rangely’s growth strategy, with diverse offerings such as a popular park ranger program, and a top notch aviation program that offers pilot and mechanic training. “That’s an area that’s going to be severely lacking in the future, because there are 7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 01 RANGELY, CO
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