Business View Civil and Municipal | June 2022

31 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 6 within the same sphere and we hope that as that develops it will be a lower barrier to entry for some development opportunities and development areas, and then also be a place for growing businesses and new businesses to start and expand.” The town supports entrepreneurs with annual events and strong relationships with Front Range Community College, Aims Community College, Larimer Small Business Development Center, and the Centre for Workforce Development. But they don’t stop there. They also hosted an entrepreneurial event at TPC Colorado to encourage business owners and give them tips for success. Berthoud also has a great partnership with the Thompson School District, which helps its high school students get workplace ready with vocational instruction and healthcare professions in concurrent education programs. They are now hoping to add a program to help offer municipal career program development for things like water and wastewater operations. The town is also working toward enhancing its historic downtown with facade and sign grants and redeveloping one of their own properties with the Mountain Avenue Overlay plan. They plan to redevelop the former town hall and the public works garage, currently the site of the skate park, which was already moved when the town built a new recreation center last year. According to Kirk, “The plan is to have a mixed- use center, with some retail and office space and potentially some new residential. Having folks that live in the downtown helps to strengthen the business climate down there and provides extra traffic and residents.” The town does have broadband internet, but in the next three years they hope to have fiber to every home and building. They are also working on a Transit Master Plan. Although Berthoud does have a dedicated transit system, Kirk notes, “We want to stay ahead by developing a rapid transit that will run from Fort Collins to Denver and just integrating those systems to make it easier for folks that live here to get to their places of work or other destinations, and also make it easier for folks to come here for work from other locations.” In the coming years, town staff would like to see Berthoud develop and connect the downtown to the industrial area, as well as in-filling areas to create a dense and vibrant community. Kirk hopes to continue their growth, while maintaining their small town roots, investing in parks, as well as more retail. He shares, “We’re starting to see the retail/commercial come along behind. I know the desired services and products are coming to our community, so that folks don’t have to head out of town quite as often.” BERTHOUD , COLORADO TM Meeting the financial challenges of today, for a better tomorrow. Business and Personal Banking. Call a banking expert today. 807 Mountain Ave. | Berthoud, CO | 970.532.8135 300 E. 29th St. | Loveland, CO | 970.454.4166 | ifinancial.com | Independent Financial is a trademark of Independent Bank, Member FDIC.