Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

114 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 $3.3 million in federal grant support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), as well as additional funding from 13 other partners including Great Outdoors Colorado , Friends of the Yampa and the Yampa White Green Basin Roundtable, Yampa River Fund, Moffat County, Trapper Mine, and the Office of Just Transition pledging support in design, engineering, and construction. The project is scheduled for completion sometime in 2025 and will no doubt add to the city’s already lively culture. A Major Shift of Industries and Infrastructure It’s important to note that Craig isn’t just expanding its recreational infrastructure; in fact, each year, city leadership makes great efforts to grow and upgrade the city’s water and sewer systems and improve its zoning arrangements. However, the recent focus has been a big push on both commercial and residential areas using the newly formed Craig Housing Authority and Craig Urban Renewal Authority to help facilitate the expansion of both available housing and spur economic development. For example, because affordable housing is a growing concern, the city currently has a 20-unit townhome project underway through the housing authority that has even begun attracting developers for larger complexes with new rental housing. Craig, Colorado, is also currently making a big change in its energy sector and is in the middle of moving away entirely from using carbon-based energy. Moffat County has a contract for a 1000-acre, 145-megawatt solar farm with Juwi as well as an additional leased 160 acres to support transmission lines that would carry around 3000 megawatts of wind power from Wyoming to larger cities like Las Vegas and parts of Southern California. While this energy transition is important to note, the larger implication behind it is the driving force behind city leadership’s decision