A growing economy and a low unemployment rate are among the things that make Fort Stockton and Pecos County a great place to call home. And the Fort Stockton city council heard an update on the state of the city’s economy at its April 10 city council meeting.

Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Remie Ramos said 685 jobs have been created here since January and the unemployment rate has remained steady at 4.4%.

“We continue to see that the Permian Basin area (unemployment rate) runs significantly lower than the state and the U.S., so this enables to even understand more of the shortage of em- ployees in our area,” Ramos said.

Sales tax increased in January and February but saw a slight decrease in March. But, the tax revenue is 40% higher this year compared to 2022.

So far this year, $1,289,417 in sales tax has been collected.

Ramos added that several businesses have been recruited to Fort Stockton, including a retail development at the interchange of I-10 and the Monahans Highway; 7-D Exxon sale has closed and will be a voluntary annexation into the city limits; a Hydrogen Hub project; Grid United, which is a large-scale energy project that will take electric lines from Bakersfield to El Paso and is Ercot’s first connection to the Western Grid; the vacant Sears building is under contract and a retailer is expected to be named within the next 30 days; the I-10 East Pipe Yard at the 7-D Exxon now has a tenant and pipe will be moved by rail which will increase rail yard income; the Spaceport has all final permits and leases in place, and the bucking chute relocation at the Pecos County Coliseum has been completed.

Business retention projects include the relocation and expansion of G-Force Tumbling, expansion of Advanced BioCatalytics, Casterly Rock storefront improvement, and the expansion of Glitzy Brew.

Ramos said 20 commercial buildings are vacant, 48 rental houses are available, two duplexes, and 21 apartments.

Fifty-eight houses are MLS listed for sale, three by owner, and four new construction permits were issued in the first three months of the year.

Ongoing projects are mostly Gene Cummings Park improvements – irrigation, restroom remodel, solar lighting and basketball pavilion, and the remodel and A/C units at the convention center.

The Hodges Pavilion project is also gaining steam.

“The (Gene Cummings) Park irrigation equipment has all been delivered,” Ramos said, adding that the sprinkler system has been installed and they’re waiting for the reclamation equipment for the spray park to be delivered. “We’re going to start installing the irrigation within the next 30 days.”

The city played host to a Highway 67 Freight Corridor/Railroad meeting in January, the Permian Basin Road Safety Coalition meeting in February, a Michigan University Students Renewable Energy Study in March, the Chamber of Commerce Banquet, Fort Stockton High School Career and Technical Education Board in January, and the Comanche Springs Rodeo in March, which brought in 1,300 rodeo fans over two days. Ramos said a Placer Program was launched in March to track consumers.

“It’s tracking them by cellphone data and it allows us to know how many consumers were at any given point and shows the rise and decline,” Ramos said. “It shows us how long they stayed, tells us where they came from before they came to that destination, as well as tells us where they went.

“It’s a wealth of information that we’re finding about all of our businesses, as well as our general locations in retail districts like here in downtown.”