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Even in a ‘Boom Town,’ economic worries creep in

Dante Chinni

Posted: 08.25.2008 / 9:24 AM PDT

Eagle, Colo. – August is a nice month in this mountain town on the western side of Vail.

The days are warm, but the nights cool off. Fly fishermen decked out in waders dot the banks of the Eagle River, hooking rainbows and brownies. And the mountain bikers roll through the trails.

But behind the picture-perfect backdrop, economic concerns have begun to weigh on people’s minds here in two ways: the housing slowdown and gasoline prices.

Among Patchwork Nation’s types of communities, Eagle is a “Boom Town” that has seen rapid growth and diversification over the past decade. It’s not the kind of place where you will find a foreclosure notice on many doors, and the vast majority of people here are not struggling.

But people in Eagle, which is both the name of the town and the surrounding county, are beginning to wonder if they’re in for a sluggish time ahead. And such a change for the community could have meaning for the presidential race.

Many people believe the vote could be close in Colorado in November: It’s one reason the Democrats chose to hold their convention in Denver. And Boom Town counties like Eagle could be key. Six of these counties are in the state, and they held 40,000 votes in 2004.

As the Democratic National Convention gets under way about 125 miles to the east of Eagle, residents in the town may be listening a little more closely to the economic plans of Barack Obama.

The good times in Eagle, like those in many Boom Towns, largely came from the housing industry. Developments, like the 1,800-acre Eagle Ranch community, kept construction crews, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, electricians, and others busy and well-compensated for the past few years.

But things have begun to slow in the past few months, people here say.

“It’s not like we’ve seen a big reduction or a crash, but we have seen a plateauing,” says Scott Marino, an Eagle real estate agent. “Places and prices are just not going up the way they used to.”

In Eagle County, almost 150 prices on listed properties have changed over the past few months, according to the Vail Daily newspaper. Of those, 143 adjusted down.

People in the community are “a little shaky” about the economy, says Kathy Heicher, a reporter for the Eagle Valley Enterprise, a local weekly. A friend of hers who runs a small building company used to have things booked ahead for 12 or 18 months, but he has secured work only through the end of the year.

Other Boom Towns around the country have been hit harder by the credit crunch and the down economy, seeing big foreclosure problems. Eagle, which is relatively wealthy with a median household income of more than $64,000, has the feel of one of those places a year ago: There is concern over where things might be headed but no panic.

Still, the real estate slowdown has some here thinking a bit differently about the election. Ultimately, most people say they expect the final vote here to be close between Senator Obama and John McCain, but they believe Obama will carry the county. John Kerry took Eagle in 2004.

Senator McCain may have an advantage here, however, on the issue of energy. Eagle is a place that cares mightily about the environment, but it is also a place that is still paying more than $4 a gallon for gasoline. Many here favor offshore drilling.

Rep. Mark Udall (D), who is running for Colorado’s US Senate seat being vacated by Wayne Allard (R), is facing a steady barrage of TV ads here about how he is not strongly enough in favor of drilling offshore for oil. Udall’s campaign Web site mentions the issue right at the top.

“The Republicans have a message that resonates strongly with the high prices at the pump here,” says Bill Heicher, Kathy’s husband and Eagle’s open-space coordinator.

Arn Menconi, an Eagle County commissioner, said a friend of his who lives an hour outside Eagle but works in town is paying $900 a month to drive his diesel pickup truck.

The local real estate-driven economy could be in for some harder times in the next few months, once the summer buying season is over, Mr. Menconi says.

But it’s not enough to give people long-term anxieties about their future here. They don’t see any significant slide ahead.

Yet as the convention begins in Denver, Eagle residents are tuning back into the election with a slightly more concerned look in their eyes.