EDITORIAL: Ranking generates a number of questions
Oct. 29—La Grande received a somewhat dubious ranking recently by a nonprofit motivated to enhance economic performance, and while the grade won't impact residents very much it does raise some interesting questions about local economic development.
Th report by Heartland Forward shows La Grande as the lowest ranked Oregon town on the list of economically dynamic small towns in the nation.
La Grande earned a score of 286 out 536 micropolitan areas in the nation from Heartland Forward. A micropolitan area is a city of at least 10,000 people but less than 50,000 residents. The city did receive a rank of 138 out of 536 micropolitan in medium-term employment growth. Its worst grade was in personal income.
A dynamic economy, of course, should be the goal of all elected leaders. La Grande, and the county, though face legitimate geographic challenges that play a role in easy economic growth. The city — and, to some extent, the county — is fortunate it can count on Eastern Oregon University as an economic engine, and there are the state and federal agencies such as the Oregon Department of Transportation that provide well-paying jobs.
For sure, the current situation is a far cry from 30 or 40 years ago when timber and logging propelled the area economy, but those days are gone for good.
A couple of relevant questions come to mind regarding the Heartland Forward findings. No. 1 is do the conclusions by the nonprofit matter to the average resident or local legislator? If not, then the conclusions are a neat side note but nothing more.
If those findings do matter, or even spark more than a quibble of interest, the next question voters should seek answers to is the current status of county and city economic development.
We're not taking about downtown revitalization or urban renewal — both noble and needed for our community — but the answers to the status of new businesses coming into the area. What major job-generating venture has the county and the city attracted in the past 10 years? Not five or six jobs, but multiple jobs that pay well.
An industrial park is nice, but unless it is filled with businesses employing many, many people, it isn't a major economic engine.
Yes, attracting small businesses to our town and county is critical. But it is only one leg of what should be a multi-tiered, holistic economic development package.
