Back to business
Saturday, October 31, 2009 6:39 AM (pst)
If you’ve read my November Publisher’s Note, you know I’ve taken the opportunity to speak out against the maligning Peter Gearin and I have had recently. But now it’s time for me to get back to business.
The hottest topic in the area right now is Wal-Mart. I was interested to read in The Oregonian recently that the town of Cornelius, near Hillsboro, Ore., is welcoming a new Wal-Mart with open arms. The reason? The need for jobs a little closer to home. Cornelius is essentially a bedroom community of Portland, so people travel out of Cornelius for work. The result is that the city has little in the way of business property tax revenue to fill its coffers, so a new Wal-Mart will give funds for city services a significant boost, and provide local jobs.
The more typical reaction to Wal-Mart’s effort to locate in a new community is negative. Common complaints are the threat to small businesses, traffic concerns, and claims of poor labor practices.
Warrenton’s Wal-Mart scenario has some parallels to that of Cornelius. Thus far I haven’t heard any complaints about Wal-Mart coming to its town from Warrenton residents. Why? I can only surmise it’s because they understand the positive impact it will have on their city tax revenues – ditto Home Depot, the soon-to-open expanded Costco, and other big box stores rumored to be in the works.
With so many big box stores in Warrenton, it’s likely that the people-power Wal-Mart needs won’t be met by the locally available workforce. Will people move to the area for a job at Wal-Mart? Time will tell, but if it comes to fruition, then more services will be necessary to fill the needs of an expanding population.
Where will these newcomers live? Probably Warrenton, because that’s where land is less expensive housing is available. More tax revenue to the city.
Face it – the City of Warrenton is well-poised for financial success over the next 20 years, and with funding for its urban renewal district in hand, some enhancements can be made to its marinas, downtown core area, walking/biking trails, etc.
Can one blame the citizens of Cornelius for embracing Wal-Mart? Just ask Warrenton.