Volume 1 Issue 9 July 2010
South Laramie Trans-Modal Project
Yesterday evening there was a joint work session between the Albany County Commissioners and Laramie City Council in City Council chambers. Gaye Stockman, CEO of LEDC, presented information on the South Laramie Trans-Modal Project. LEDC appreciates everyone who attended to learn more information about the project and show support.
Over the past several months, LEDC has been researching opportunities for adding business rail access in Laramie. Businesses are increasingly looking to rail as an effective way to reduce the costs of shipping goods and materials. Not only have some existing businesses in our community expressed interest in rail, it will be a great asset for recruiting new businesses to Albany County. Over the last two years, 18 prospective companies that require rail access have investigated Laramie as a future place to do business.
LEDC has identified an unused rail spur south of Laramie. Following the completion of two feasibility studies, LEDC determined a basic trans-modal site would be most advantageous and best fit immediate needs. This site will be designed for the on- and off-loading of freight between rail cars and trucks. In order to best develop this project, we have formed a strong partnership with WYDOT and Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR) and are currently working with Albany County, Wyoming Business Council, and the City of Laramie.
Phase I of this project will begin with LEDC leasing 5.65 acres of UPRR land adjacent to spur #107, which runs parallel to UPRR's mainline (#303) and Mountain Cement's industrial spur (#103). LEDC will work with Albany County to utilize WYDOT's Industrial Roads Grant program for $400,000 in order to upgrade access roads and install a road grade crossing on Tie Plant Road. A Business Ready Community Grant from the Wyoming Business Council for $1,000,000 will be used to build the rail ballast and install new rail. Phase I will create enough space for up to10 rail cars to access the trans-modal site.
In addition to the 18 companies that investigated Laramie, there are several local businesses that have expressed interest in utilizing rail. Allsop Inc. and others each see the value in being able to ship freight from right here in Laramie. "Due to the uniqueness of this project in Wyoming, it is difficult to determine how many existing businesses in Albany County will want to utilize this trans-modal site," said Gaye Stockman. "This is one of the main reasons we are initially starting with a 5 acre site, but if demand grows, we can expand accordingly."
Depending on future demand for rail access and the level of recapture funds, Phase II of the project will seek to install additional rail that could lead to the development of a complete rail park. UPRR currently has 350 acres of land south of Laramie that could be leased by LEDC or other businesses.
LEDC will form a separate limited liability company to oversee the project and will hire a third party company to manage the trans-modal site. This LLC will not be a non-profit and therefore will pay all taxes to the county and state.
This is a great opportunity to add a valuable asset that will enhance this region's infrastructure, allow for diversification of the economy, and create jobs. The trans-modal site alone will create 2-3 jobs.
Other public dates for the project:
- Tuesday, August 3rd at 9:00 AM: Albany County Commissioners Meeting in County Court House, Room 105: Public Hearing for the Application and Request Resolution for WYDOT Industrial Roads Program Grant
- Wednesday, August 11th at 7:00 PM: Albany County Planning Commission Meeting in County Court House, Room 105: Request Approval of Rezoning Application
- Tuesday, August 17th at 9:30 AM: Albany County Commissioners Meeting in County Court House, Room 105: Request Approval of Rezoning Application
- Wednesday, August 18th at 6:30 PM: Laramie City Council Meeting in City Council Chambers: Public Hearing and Request for Resolution in support of the Wyoming Business Council Business Ready Community Grant Application.
Please call LEDC at 307-742-2212 with any questions
LEDC July Client Report
As always, we encourage you to contact us for more information about our activities.
Click Here for all of the "Hot" clients as of 7/27/10. In the meantime, please remember the best leads for Laramie come from existing businesses and residents.
Please note: all of LEDC's clients are kept confidential unless they specify otherwise.
Partner Recognition
Medicine Bow Technologies (MBT) provides sophisticated IT services to a growing number of small healthcare facilities in the Rocky Mountain Region. MBT offers advanced and seamlessly integrated software, hardware and network solutions for electronic patient management, basic IT functions and advanced technology solutions not usually available to smaller rural facilities.
MBT originated within Laramie's Ivinson Memorial Hospital as a response to the ever increasing configurations of hardware and software that did not communicate well either internally or externally. The goal of Ivinson Memorial Hospital's management team was to replace all of the disparate legacy systems with an integrated solution that would link all facets of the hospital's technology and information. Following extensive research and a 5-year plan, Ivinson Memorial Hospital established initial funding, appointed a Board of Directors, and formed Medicine Bow Technologies in late 2006.
Initially, MBT focused its efforts on deploying a Health Information System (HIS) for managing all aspects of a hospital and a Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) that allows radiologic images to be transmitted to physicians for diagnosis. In the PACS system, images and the associated data are gathered together and stored in MBT's data center. These studies are made available to referring physicians over the MBT private network and the internet. Hospitals of any size can take advantage of this system due to the cost effectiveness of the pay-per-use structure and the ease of scaling. MBT currently has Ivinson Memorial Hospital and four other clients using its PACS system, and many hospitals in the region are connected to allow transmission of studies as patients are transferred.
Luke Schneider, the CEO of MBT, was originally hired in 2008 as the company's first sales professional. A Wyoming native and UW graduate, Luke was instrumental in developing MBT's partnership with Allscripts as a value-added reseller of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and practice management software. MBT has experienced great success working with Allscripts over the past 18 months. MBT currently has 22 Wyoming based providers under contract and is developing several key partnerships that would put the company on the forefront of EMR software in Wyoming and Montana.
MBT currently has 14 employees and additional staff in the near future seems to be a strong possibility. "We have other Wyoming hospitals that are considering an MBT proposal to operate their information systems with us," Luke explained, "and we are positioning ourselves to be an informational hub as the Wyoming medical community embraces electronic medical records technology."
Schneider believes being based in Laramie offers advantages for MBT and for other technology-based businesses. "In addition to the presence of UW and the Wyoming Technology Business Center," said Schneider, "there is a strong community of entrepreneurs and small business owners that work well together".
To learn more about Medicine Bow Technologies and their valuable product offerings, please visit www.medbowtech.com.
LEDC Board Updates
On July 13, LEDC held its first Board of Directors meeting for the 2010/2011 fiscal year. In order to improve communication with our investors, we opened this Board Meeting to all of our Partners in Progress in good standing. The meeting was held at the beautiful Westfield Business Park on Centennial Drive in West Laramie. Not counting our current Board of Directors, we had 12 Partners in Progress present who took part in the meeting.
Paul Baker, a member since 2008 who sat on the Industrial Properties and Leadership Committees, has stepped down from his position on the Board due to his recent move out of state. We will miss Paul and the dedication and knowledge he brought to the organization. We also welcomed some new additions to the Board. Todd Pearson with Albany Insurance Agency, Carol Dozier with Ivinson Memorial Hospital, and Brendan Murphy with Raving Real Estate all joined our Board this year and we look forward to working with each of them in the future.
Our Executive Board also experienced some transition as Butch Keadle stepped into the role as Chairman of the Board and Dave Coffey joined as Treasurer. Butch and Dave both bring knowledge of economic development as well as strong business ownership experience to the table and it should be a productive year for LEDC. Mike Peck will become the Past Chair and guide our Leadership Committee over the next year. LEDC was very fortunate to have Mike's strong leadership over the past year and we look forward to his future success on the Leadership Committee.
Wyoming Business Council 2010 Program
The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) has released its 2010 Program Guide. The WBC supports the development and expansion of Wyoming's economy. Through its programs, services and partnerships, it helps existing businesses and start-ups grow and communities build places where people want to live, work and play. Check out the 2010 Program Guide today to find great programs on business assistance, community assistance, travel & tourism, and more!
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