Page Economy Follow-ups

Obviously there is always something fresh to talk about with the economy, and Page County is no exception. I read recently that since the unemployment rate reached 17 percent earlier this year, there has been a string of improvements so that now the rate is between 10 and 11 percent. I need to look around for that source - want to see what the improvement was based on.

A second topic, one that links back to the series of posts I did on the 2004 strategic plan, has supported a spirited discussion in the county - the idea that an industrial park will attract jobs. The Page County Economic Development Authority has taken to writing full page articles defending a recent offer to purchase so land along Business 340 - the "traffic artery" that runs between Luray and Stanley, as well as going into some detail of what the EDA does.

They offered a justification based on five initiatives:

• Providing access to grants such as the one that supported renovation of the Mimslyn Hotel
• Supporting existing employers
• Supporting the Luray Caverns Airport Hangar expansion
• Supporting low interest loans to small businesses
• Attracting new business to the county

On this last one, they have made a reference to having "pad-ready" sites as a key to the initiative. They go on to mention, "in the last few years, we have worked with about a half-dozen new business prospects."

In response to this, I would like to hear more about the success rate with these prospects. Based on my understanding of the location, the access to resources and distribution networks, and the nature of the work force in the county, I am not convinced that the project will work. There is a 2008 update to the plan that I will download and read for further background, however.

On the other side of this issue, there is at least one District Supervisor candidate who is asking smart questions about the proposal (which by the way, is called Project Clover, and one aspect of the effort is the purchase of a 210-acre farm for $7.5 million), and former candidate Jim Turner (not me - the other one!) who is leading a petition effort to stop the purchase.

Alice Richmond is the candidate, she has a website www.pagecountywatch.org that is tracking the issues. There are legitimate questions about the purchase that haven't been addressed - about how the EDA works, how the decision was made, and since Page County taxpayers will underwrite the project with bond offerings - why there hasn't been more public involvement in the decision.

I like seeing the dialog - and what I hope comes out of this is a productive way forward. For now, I am skeptical of Project Clover. I'd like to see more metrics on the success of past EDA efforts, including the turnover on these "half-dozen" business development initiatives, an honest assessment of this land price (seems about 3x current market), and even the track record of the tech center, an EDA project that adjoins the Clover site.