When the Randolph County Commissioners decided to develop an industrial megasite, I was cautiously optimistic because they are attempting to create much-needed economic and job growth. Today it is alarming that our usually fiscally conservative Commissioners have committed $10 million – essentially all of the money available for economic development projects – without adequate planning.
Successful megasite projects require careful planning, expert leadership, and long-term commitment from multiple levels of government but to date:
- If there is a complete strategy for the project, it is not publicly available.
- There is no commitment of long-term support from state government. Ongoing conflict between the Governor and the Legislature (of his own party) over whether the state will support such projects certainly won’t encourage businesses to consider the megasite. This is a potentially fatal flaw because successful automobile manufacturing megasites require massive state government support.
- There is no identified full-time leader for the megasite – the most complex project that county government has ever undertaken.
From the beginning there has been vocal opposition to the project. That is a problem because big corporations prefer to locate where they are welcome. Fact based planning that demonstrates why a megasite should be our number one priority would certainly grow public support. If work proceeds in an information vacuum, opposition and suspicion are likely to grow.
Although there is little evidence of a sound foundation for the megasite, there is still time for County Government to recover from weak planning with three actions. First, appoint a capable full-time Director locally to take charge of the project. That job includes all of the planning along with negotiating and leading our role in the regional partnership that will be necessary. The second action is to obtain public commitments of support from local legislators. If this project is to succeed, all three of them should stand strong beside the Commissioners. They should lead in generating long-term state government support. Third, the Commissioners must start an open and inclusive county-wide strategic planning process. Despite the fact that our financial reserves are committed, the megasite should not be our only goal.
Critics have suggested that other economic opportunities may be better and less costly. There is bountiful evidence to support that claim; and it should be carefully considered in county-wide planning. Here is a bit of what I learned in a few hours of research.
- Manufacturing jobs are often good jobs but the wages paid are not exceptional. The most recent report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows average hourly wages of $24.85 for manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts compared to nearly identical averages of $25.13 for all manufacturing and $24.96 average for the total US economy.
- BLS Projections show that manufacturing employment, including the kind of jobs created at a megasite, will continue to decline. (We will manufacture more goods in the US, but automation will allow more production with fewer workers.) By 2022, 81 percent of US jobs will be in producing services while only 7 percent will be in manufacturing. The remaining 12 percent will be in construction, mining, agriculture and self employment. The two largest sectors, “Health and Social Assistance” and “Professional and Business Services” are also the fastest growing. Both have higher hourly wages than manufacturing.
The inescapable conclusion is that the Commissioners have committed $10 million public dollars for economic development in a manufacturing sector that pays average wages and provides 7 percent of American jobs. It is fair to ask why we would ignore the other 93 percent of jobs, and how many jobs we might attract or create in those sectors for $10 million.
None of this is to say that the megasite is a bad idea. If it succeeds, it will be a huge boon to our entire region. The point of the column is that there is urgent need for the actions that I have suggested:
- Appointment of a capable full-time leader to make our megasite investment pay off.
- Strong and visible action by Commissioners and local legislators to obtain a commitment of support from state government.
- A totally transparent County-wide strategic planning process so that citizens can participate in setting, understanding, and supporting shared goals.
If we do those things, we can succeed. If we don’t, then the successes will probably be in other communities rather than ours.
Thank you for another thoughtful and constructive article, Bob. In the absence of significant planning information about the project, it seems to be based more on wishful thinking more than practical logic. There has been no realistic information that I am aware of, on how long it will take for the project to start generating the new Randolph County jobs that are the entire purpose of the exercise – and there has been no convincing argument that there would not be other, better investments to produce more immediate benefit to the county. The costs are going to be high. It is not just the ten million dollars. The non-monetary costs to the environment and to the community need to be weighed. Consideration has to be given to people whose way of life will be disrupted. I know many of them personally and understand the emotional costs and the loss of connection to the past that they will bear as their farms, community and countryside are destroyed. And all these costs would be incurred: financial, environmental, cultural and emotional, with no indication of how soon the first new job will be created or how long it will take for the “investment” to finally pay off. Will it be ten years? Twenty? Never? How sad this all is.
I agree with your commits, Bob. The average person in Randolph County does not realize that if you have 150k people and $10 million bill that is $70 a person.
I wonder if our commissioners are playing a little out of their league. My concern is if they cannot bring business to the MegaSite the only way they can recoup the money would be to make it a Regional Hazardous Waste Dump.
One other thing, I have emailed each commissioner and ask if they could stream their meetings and I have yet to receive even a form letter.