Business View Civil and Municipal | April/May 2022

44 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 job opportunities. Its largest employers include The Montrose County School District (MCSD) RE-1J, Montrose County, the City of Montrose, and Montrose Regional Health – a local hospital and health provider. The city partners with its industries to offer workplace training programs for local employees, job seekers, and students. This upcoming May, the Montrose Police Department will be launching the Western Colorado Law Enforcement Academy (WCLEA) in conjunction with the Colorado Mesa University (CMU), Montrose Campus. “Across the country, it’s been difficult recruiting law enforcement,” explains Kuczmarski. “With this new program, along with our police department’s Citizens Police Academy, we’re hoping to increase interest and recruiting efforts.” CMU has also partnered with the city and MCSD, to create the P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools) program. Grade nine students can choose between a four-, five-, or six-year plan to finish their education concurrently with an Associate of Applied Science (AAS). Majors include Mechanical Engineering Technology, Welding, Medical Office Assistant, etc. “Students entering the workforce will be prepared, having taken college classes and formed partnerships with hiring agencies,” asserts Bell. The city and MCSD are also building an Outdoor Education Center on a 10-acre MCSD adjacent site. Educational seminars are already taking place in the existing buildings, but once the center is completed, students will be able to fully immerse themselves in nature. Being surrounded by this sublime beauty turns Montrose and its neighboring communities into natural tourist destinations. Many of the workers serving the tourism and construction industries live in Montrose. “Our need for workforce housing increases every year,” says Bell. “We’ve partnered with local developers to build approximately 300 workforce rental apartments. That’s in addition to also partnering with developers for approximately 500 single-family