Posts Tagged ‘Economic Development Department’

Article courtesy of Las Cruces Sun-News

Rick Homans

By Diana M. Alba

LAS CRUCES – Spaceport America Director Rick Homans announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he’d been ordered to do so by the Gov. Susana Martinez administration.

Some Spaceport America board members expressed concern about Martinez’s move and questioned whether Homans’ departure was good for the $209 million spaceport project as it goes through a key stage.

An emotional Homans read a lengthy resignation statement, saying he was committed to the project and hoped to stay longer.

“While I have embraced this project, it is clear that Gov. Martinez is not embracing me,” he said, during an emergency meeting of the Spaceport Authority board in Las Cruces. “I understand politics, and I also understand how critical it is for her to have absolute trust and confidence in the executive leadership of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.”

Homans, 54, said he was informed last Thursday to resign or be fired. He said he told the Martinez administration that he’d take up the matter Wednesday with the board, which has official power over hiring and firing the executive director.

Jon Barela – Martinez’s economic development secretary nominee who’ll also chair the spaceport board – didn’t attend the meeting. But Barela’s spokeswoman, Angela Heisel, said later that Martinez has asked for the resignations of all political appointees from the Gov. Bill Richardson administration.

“This is no different than what was asked of other political appointees,” she said. “Homans’ resignation will not disrupt the construction of the spaceport; the construction team remains in place and is continuing its work.”

Heisel said a search for a replacement director is under way.

Two members of the seven-person board – Jerry Stagner and Gary Whitehead, both Truth or Consequences businessmen – voted against accepting Homans’ resignation, while other members voted in favor.

Whitehead said he realizes this is the first gubernatorial changeover in the spaceport’s existence, but “as a board member, I’d really envisioned a smoother transition as we move forward with the spaceport and our new administration.

“I know we’ll work through it, and we’re certainly in a gray area,” he said. “It would have been my wish we would have seen an extension of Mr. Homans’ contract or his job to allow a smoother transition.”

The first suborbital spaceflights are expected to launch later this year from Spaceport America.

Some officials pointed out the spaceport project is in a critical stage, attempting to transition from a big construction project to an active hub for commercial aerospace activities. Finishing construction and attracting industry are the next important steps, they said.

Homans said the first phase of construction, which includes the spaceport terminal-hangar and a 10,000-foot runway, is about 80 percent finished.

But a second construction phase that was added last year is only beginning.

Board member Casey Luna of Belen pointed out he’s been involved with planning for a New Mexico spaceport since 1991 and said he’s concerned that “we’re skipping a beat here.” But the project survived a previous “hiccup,” after the resignation last year of former director Steve Landeene, he said.

Luna said he believes that’s possible again.

“I’m hoping the governor is aware that continuity is very, very important,” he said. The spaceport “will be a good thing for the state in general and this country.”

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, an eighth, non-voting member of the spaceport board, did attend Wednesday’s session by phone, though didn’t say much.

Board members thanked Homans and outgoing board member and chairman Ben Woods.

Spaceport board members also said they were unsure of whether Martinez will allow them to serve out their terms. And, they said they hadn’t been told how to move forward in hiring a new director.

Said Whitehead: “It’s a time like this where we’re really not sure where we stand as leaders. And it feels like we’ve been put on hold, so I remained concerned about that.”

Homans, in his statement, said for the spaceport to succeed, Martinez must “become its biggest champion and rally her administration to support this effort.”

“Nothing short of complete commitment from Gov. Martinez and her administration will allow this project to achieve its full potential, which is the promise we made to the citizens of New Mexico …,” he said. “My hope is that Gov. Martinez can quickly move beyond viewing Spaceport America as the legacy project of Bill Richardson.”

Homans said instead, the project should become “her own legacy” because she’ll be governor when it first opens.

Homans, who earned $170,000 annually, said the resignation is effective at the close of business Friday. He said he started a search for a new job Wednesday.

Homans was hired as executive director in June, after Landeene resigned because of a controversy involving a possible conflict of interest. Before that, Homans was chairman of the spaceport board from 2005 to 2007 because of his job as head of the state’s Economic Development Department. Also, he was briefly the executive director in 2007, before leaving for a job in private industry.

Spaceport America is located in southeastern Sierra County.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443.

MVEDA just completed another successful Business on the Border Luncheon and we are thankful to everyone who had the opportunity to attend.

Our guest speaker on Tuesday was Fred Mondragon, the Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development, who shared some economic data on the status of New Mexico and Southern New Mexico’s economies, and also provided some words of advice as to how we might keep the momentum moving forward in Dona Ana County.  The Secretary outlined and highlighted several success stories for Dona Ana County that included (click on graphic to view presentation):

• A September 2010 unemployment rate in Las Cruces 2% below the national average and more than ½ percent below the State’s average,
• Site Selection Magazine and Business Facilities ranked New Mexico in their Top 10 nationally for:

o    #2 in Solar Energy Manufacturing Leaders,

o    #3 in Workforce Training Leaders,

o    #5 in Alternative Energy Industry Leaders,

o    #6 in Cost of Labor, and

o    #8 in Economic Growth Potential.

• Regionally, Las Cruces ranked in the following areas:

o    5^th in U.S. in projected 2009-2011 employment growth rates.

o    8^th in Milken’s 2010 Best-performing small cities,

o    #9^th in Business Week’s top recovering job markets for 2010, &

o    Dona Ana County ranked 14^th Best County in the nation for job growth over the last nine years by Money Magazine.

The Secretary also praised many of the strides Southern New Mexico has made with respect to:

• The aerospace industry, where he cited Spaceport America and the selection of NMSU as an FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation as the anchors that will spur this industry forward in New Mexico,
• The alternative/renewable energy industry with three new solar projects taking place in the County, the announcement of Johnson Plate and Tower this past January and with Sapphire Energy located at the West Mesa Industrial Park.
• And of course our Borderplex growth at Santa Teresa which has seen cross border goods increase by 256% over the past five years.

Finally, his words of advice to local leadership moving forward were to:

1.    Continue our economic diversification,

2.    Build on regional and local strengths,

3.    Think globally, and

4.    To support less unfortunate communities in the region.

Given that Tuesday was Election Day, it is only appropriate that we discuss both the success we have had in economic development and job creation, but more importantly to focus on the future building blocks we need as a region so that we may continue to grow our economy.   As I have mentioned many times in the past, Southern New Mexico is blessed with some very strong assets by which we can grow upon.  But we need to assure that the tools and legislative support is available to do so.  This includes maintaining a strong State economic development marketing effort, maintaining existing incentives, as well as expanding those incentives to support Southern New Mexico growth in the areas of aerospace, border logistical support, alternative energy, and food processing.   And although in Dona Ana County, we look towards the State to support us in many of these efforts, we must also realize that as a community we are equally responsible for taking steps to prepare ourselves to attract growth and that comes in the form of education, infrastructure, and capacity building.  In this respect, MVEDA continually provides assessment and analysis on the challenges facing economic development in our region.  Although MVEDA’s primary focus is on marketing and attracting economic-based jobs to the region, we nevertheless find it necessary to engage in capacity building activities that will assist us in our long-term goals.  Currently, MVEDA is implementing and working on several capacity building directives that include:

• Colonias/Rural Area Labor Assessment:   With the support of an intern from NMSU, MVEDA has designed a bilingual workforce survey which we will be distributing to residents in rural areas.  We are receiving support from PICO to assist us in survey response.  Our first effort will take place in November in Anthony, NM.  We hope to expand this to Sunland Park and Chaparral before the end of the fiscal year.
• Labor Identification Program for Santa Teresa based Employers:  Working in conjunction with DACC, we will be marketing employment services offered through DACC to Santa Teresa based employers.  MVEDA’s analysis through conversations with employers indicates that 60% to 70% of the existing workforce in Santa Teresa comes from El Paso.  We are hoping to offer employers a one stop solution and first point of contact through DACC when they have future labor needs.
• Investment Interest in Santa Teresa:  A second challenge with the workforce in Santa Teresa is the ability to convert them to New Mexico residents.  This is due to lack of housing that is within proximity to the employment base.  We have begun collaborating with the Border Industrial Association, the Building Industries Association, and the Las Cruces Association of Realtors to potentially identify new programs that could be offered to promote and encourage more development in the area.
• Spaceport America Economic Development Strategies:   Finally, MVEDA has been involved with Spaceport America and their consultants in trying to identify clear strategies that we can jointly implement that will assist our efforts in developing business opportunities revolving around the Spaceport and the aerospace industry.

We are hopeful that some of these efforts lay additional foundation for growth leading into the next administration and MVEDA will continue to work closely with the Economic Development Department and the New Mexico Partnership as partners in this endeavor.  Again, MVEDA thanks the Secretary for his time and for all the support he has provided to economic development in Dona Ana County.  We wish him well in his retirement from state government which was announced by Governor Bill Richardson earlier today.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Gabriel Vasquez

Momentous scientific and manufacturing advances have marked the trail blazed by American innovation over the last 200 years.

That innovation continues in the arid desert of southern New Mexico, where private and public research firms are investing their expertise and money into developing green crude from algal fuel.

Photo courtesy of Sapphire Energy

“There is a biofuels revolution in New Mexico,” said U.S. Rep. Harry Teague during a biofuels roundtable discussion Monday, Oct. 11, at the Dona Ana Community College Workforce Center. “It is an industry that has tremendous potential to grow and expand.”

At the roundtable, representatives from Sapphire Energy, the Center of Excellence for Hazardous Material Management, New Mexico State University, the state’s Economic Development Department and the Southwestern Biofuels Association discussed both economic and social implications of developing large-scale biofuel production facilities in southern New Mexico.

“We need to be making energy in America and making jobs in America,” Teague said. “The biofuels industry will help us make it in America.”

The business model for the large-scale production of algae-based biofuel is in its early stages. Already, Sapphire Energy, a San Diego-based company backed by two of the biggest venture capitalists in the world – Bill Gates and the Rockefeller family – has set up a 100 acre test-and-demonstration facility near Las Cruces in preparation for a much larger biofuel production facility.

The company plans to break ground on the 300-acre biofuel refinery in Luna County, near Columbus, early next year.

“We have a very unique technology in that it uses a combination of CO2, algae and non-potable water that delivers a drop-in replacement for transportation fuel,” said Tim Zenk, Sapphire’s vice president of corporate affairs. “We’re talking about algae oil that can be converted and refined to gasoline, diesel and jetfuel.”

Similarly, Massachusetts company Joule Unlimited Inc. is looking at New Mexico to build its first biofuel production facility. Joule President Bill Sims said the state is at the top of his company’s list. The Joule plant, at an estimated 5,000 acres, would create up to 1,500 jobs in the state, he said.

Bringing more energy jobs to New Mexico is also the focus of the Southwestern Biofuels Association, said SWBA spokesperson Maria Zannes. “We’re here about jobs,” she said. “It’s what we focused on when the SWBA first started to develop its statewide plan.”

The SWBA is working with private industry, in conjunction with academia and the state government, to develop a biofuel business model that pays off and creates jobs for New Mexico.

Meghan Starbuck, an NMSU associate professor of economics, has been part of SWBA’s primary counsel in developing that model.

“I’ve been working in biofuels for several years now, and I agree that biofuels is an important and exciting sector,” she said. “As a state and a country, it’s really vital for us moving forward and fixing the economic harm and damage of the last few years.” Starbuck calls the biofuels industry a “combination of high-tech science and agriculture,” the perfect fit for southern New Mexico.

By 2022, the biofuel industry will have to produce 21 billion gallons of transportation fuel to meet national energy standards, Starbuck said. “It will have to come from somewhere, and New Mexico is the place to start,” she said.

A “small” algal biofuel production facility that produces 100 million gallons of biofuel per year, such as the one Sapphire plans for Luna County, would generate about 454 direct and indirect jobs, Starbuck said. The value added to the state’s economy for such a facility would be about $28 million, with $8 million going directly into the state’s tax coffers, she said. Eventually, with several facilities around the state, the industry’s tax revenue could help offset the tax revenue received by the state’s oil and gas industry, which tends to fluctuate unpredictably from year to year. “If we are able to capture 25 to 30 percent of that market it has a large impact on the state,” she said.

The technology is proven, Zenk said – it’s just a matter of making it commercially viable. Already, Zenk’s company has outfitted a car with algal derived fuel that drove cross-country with no problems, and it continues to test other fuels successfully in big rigs and jet planes. “We made molecularly identical jet fuel as the kind you would normally see in a jet,” he said. “In fact, it had a 4 percent higher energy density, which means the plane can fly farther, and because it has a much lower freezing point, fly higher.”

Luz-Elena Mimbela, a researcher at New Mexico State University, said the science behind the algal oil extraction process is well-suited for this area. “You add nutrients such as CO2, nitrogen, phosphorous and trace metals,” she said. “You gently mix the (ponding solution) to keep algae in suspension to maximize its exposure to light. Photosynthesis does the rest.” The harvesting and concentration process is where it gets complicated, she said. “But the technology exists and is available.”

Zenk added that algal biofuel is a “scalable business, cost-competitive with oil, is fungible, has a low-carbon footprint based on its lifecycle and doesn’t compete with other agriculture products.”

Mimbela disagreed; saying that biofuel from algae is still too expensive to compete with petroleum based fuels.

Doug Lynn of the Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management in Carlsbad, which is conducting its own algal biofuel research in conjunction with NMSU, said he’s convinced “algae is going to work.”

“When I first saw this myself, it was inconceivable that we could walk away from this project considering its potential,” he said. “We have to be good farmers. We must learn how to best grow it, manipulate it and make oil.”

To learn more about algal biofuels or the SWBA, visit www.swbiofuels.org.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

Rick Homans

Governor Bill Richardson announced Friday that Taxation and Revenue Secretary Rick Homans will serve as chairman of the Spaceport Authority until a replacement executive director is hired. Homans previously served as Spaceport Authority chairman from 2005-07, before leaving the post for a job in the private sector.

Steve Landeene, who’s been executive director of the spaceport since January 2008, announced his resignation April 16. The seven-member New Mexico Spaceport Authority board on Wednesday voted to give the executive power to the body’s chairman, state Economic Development Department Secretary Fred Mondragon, until a replacement director is named.

A news release from the governor’s office indicated that Homans will serve as Mondragon’s designee.

Homans “played a key role in recruiting Virgin Galactic as the anchor tenant at the Spaceport,” the news release said. “We are reaching a critical point in our efforts to recruit new jobs to New Mexico, and I will be working closely with Secretary Mondragon to pursue some high-profile companies to the state,” Richardson said. “At the same time, we need all the expertise we can get as we complete construction of Spaceport America, and I am tapping Secretary Homans to lead that effort.”

Homans will retain his job as cabinet secretary for the state Department of Taxation and Revenue.

Homans said Friday he was “thrilled to be back working on the project” and will be in southern New Mexico two to three days each week. He said the new job won’t come with a pay increase.

“It means I add a few more hours to each day, which I’m prepared to do and happy to do,” he said. “I have a good team in place at Taxation and Revenue. They’ll support me in this.” Homans said the Spaceport Authority will move “as quickly as possible” to hire an executive director.

Landeene, who’s now an advisor only, will work through May 14.