City, county review economic strategy

City and county officials met recently in hopes of ironing out a strategy aimed at fostering economic growth around the Mountain Home area.

Paula Riggs, who heads the city's economic development office, organized the April 21 meeting to identify what the city and county need to draw new businesses and industries to this part of the state.

While Mountain Home and Elmore County want those companies to come here, "right now, we're not ready," Riggs said.

Something needs to be in place, "even if it's just baby steps," she added.

A report released by the Boise Valley Economic Partnership showed a list of 40 businesses looking to expand in the Treasure Valley and southern Idaho in recent years. Of those requests, Mountain Home was only qualified to submit proposals to 11 of those companies.

During the meeting, the economic development director highlighted other examples where the city lost out in bids to bring those types of companies here.

For example, a fructose fruit processing plant looked specifically at Mountain Home to open a new factory. However, since the city lacked a water treatment facility, the company ended up going to Rupert, which already had that asset in place.

A data call center, which at one time also looked at Mountain Home, went elsewhere since the city lacked the needed electrical infrastructure to support its energy requirements, Riggs said.

If needed infrastructure is not already in place, companies will move on and not wait because, "they have a million other choices in other cities and states," she added.

Mountain Home and other communities in the county also lack other requirements that businesses and industries need if they plan to move to a certain area. Over the past 10 years, a skilled workforce remained at the top of this list.

"The number one thing that companies want to know about and look for before they choose a place to go is an educated, talented work force," Riggs said.

It's one requirement that has turned companies away from Mountain Home, she added. For example, a Oregon-based company that specializes in large-scale woodworking projects looked at coming here with plans to hire high school students with woodworking skills.

However, the city lost out due to state-level cuts in school funding that forced the high school to shut down its woodworking program and eliminated that potential workforce.

Riggs highlighted some steps the city is taking to remedy the workforce dilemma. Among them is a newly formed education work force development committee headed by the chamber of commerce.

In addition to developing a high quality work force, the committee is seeking to give local workers "the skills to be successful for themselves and our economy in the future," said Ted Thompson, who chairs this committee.

But workers are just part of the list of needs companies require if they plan to expand their reach into different communities. In addition to shovel-ready land, they often want an existing large-scale buildings, which Mountain Home and the county also lack, according to Riggs.

In recent years, the city received requests from companies looking for warehouses spanning 200,000 square feet as well as workers with engineering backgrounds, both of which the city lacks.

Simply put, companies don't want to wait three months to have a warehouse built or have an piece of land rezoned to meet their needs. They want these assets in place right away, Riggs said.

During their discussions, Councilman Geoff Schroeder suggested that the city and county work together and create a database featuring detailed information on commercial and industrial areas in and around the Mountain Home area. He suggested that it include zoning and ready-to-use status of these properties and whether buildings and land were available for sale, lease or rent.

The goal was to have all this information compiled and ready to present to any company interested in coming to this part of the state, Schroeder said.

Another idea presented during the meeting was creating an industrial development profile matrix similar to one currently used by Oregon's economic and community development department. The chart lists various types of companies and industries and their specific requirements, including the physical site and utility requirements to transportation and telecommunications needs.

Mountain Home Public Works Director Wayne Shepherd aired concerns with this type of one-size-fits-all approach. He emphasized that a food processing plant located on one side of Mountain Home would have different zoning and utility issues than a similar plant proposed on the other side of town.

Other topics raised at last week's meeting looked at assets within the city and county and whether they can help encourage businesses to come here. Among these assets is an unused rail line that runs around the former city landfill and airport out to Mountain Home Air Force Base.

While currently owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, military officials indicated their willingness to lease the rail line at no cost to the city, Riggs said. In return, the city would pay to maintain and inspect that line.

Gaining access to that rail line could give the city and county an advantage during a company's decision-making process. In addition, it would greatly benefit current plans to convert the area around this existing rail line into a new industrial zone on the west side of Mountain Home, she said.

While city and county officials favored the idea of moving forward with this plan, questions were aired on whether the city and county would shoulder the burden of those maintenance costs. Meanwhile, Commissioner Al Hofer asked whether companies like Simplot would be willing to help absorb some of these costs.

At the same time, Schroeder added that companies looking at moving to southern Idaho may not be aware of the potential for the city and county to gain access to that rail line. He urged those at the meeting to go ahead with acquiring the line and marketing its availability to potential businesses and industries, who may be willing to help offset those costs to repair and maintain it.

In addition to these types of resources, there are other incentives that could encourage companies to come to Idaho or expand what they already have here. Among them is a new tax incentive approved by the state legislature aimed at benefitting companies that hire a minimum of 20 workers or increase their existing workforce by at least that number.

While these companies would still pay their taxes, the state would then reimburse them if they meet the new hiring criteria, according to Riggs.

Meanwhile, Councilman Russ Anderson asked whether it was feasible to offer other incentives as part of this economic development plan. For example, he suggested looking at ways to encourage smaller businesses to fill the empty store fronts in the Mountain Home's downtown area.

With companies wanting buildings already in place, those at the meeting asked whether the city and county should consider building warehouses and other facilities in prime locations in currently zoned areas. While Riggs highlighted there were three local companies already willing to build facilities to suit specific needs, having the city or county build generic facilities for potential clients came with a number of inherent risks.

"Is it 'build it and they will come' or will it be 'build it and it's not right,' " Riggs asked.

Hofer agreed with that perspective, adding that if something sits unoccupied or unused for too long, it becomes the proverbial "bridge to nowhere."

That becomes a tough sell to the local community, he said.

However, there were other ways the city and county can stay ahead of the power curve when dealing with commercial and industrial growth. Bonnie Harper, the county's economic development coordinator, highlighted a recent study on the Highway 20 corridor north of Mountain Home.

Information contained in that study not only pinpointed which land in this area was ready to "come on line," it included details on what the city needed to deal with this type of growth, including the location of needed traffic lights and other improvements along this highway.

A similar study could help address similar growth in other parts of the county, including the Simco Road area, the interstate corridor between Mountain Home and Hammett as well as road leading to Pine and Featherville.

While the city and county would love to bring in a business with 700 workers, it's currently not feasible, said Councilman Richard Urquidi. There's no way the city could invest millions of dollars into making needed improvements in hopes of attracting something like a large-scale food processing plant.

"We need to look for the 'little fish' right now. The big fish will come later," Urquidi said.

However, he added that the city and county should still keep their options open when opportunities like Marathon Cheese present themselves.