Letters to the editor, Sept. 24, 2008

The reality behind economic development

When I first read Scott Shackford’s editorial as it concerned his views on economic development (“The market, not the city, brings development,” Sept. 17), it took me several readings to understand that, like many people outside of the development field, he simplified a process that is so much more complex than the three points he presented.

Economic development does not happen in a vacuum. It is a partnership with everyone living here, including the city, schools, and media. It is the job of all entities to promote their cities in a positive light. While I agree with our esteemed editor that business location decisions are driven by profit line, demand and employee pool, one of the first steps is creating an interest and actually getting your city in for consideration. In the case of Barstow, we have the added burden of correcting a ton of misconceptions based on a lack of true knowledge of our unique market.

On September 11, I attended the Western Division of the International Council of Shopping Centers in San Diego. This is the smaller version of the very large convention held by ICSC in Las Vegas every May. It is here that as a member, you can speak to the representatives for every type of retail business you can imagine. I can tell you first hand that the first 15 minutes of every appointment we had was spent in dispelling their perceptions of what they “thought they knew” about Barstow. Armed with maps and a determination to show that Barstow is so much more then a well published “potty stop,” I saw Ron Rector inform these representatives and eventually they began to understand and consent to actually come to Barstow and consider our area for development. Concessions, tax incentives, possible locations and their impact not only for the proposed business but for the citizens, all discussed during these very hard to obtain appointments.

One big-name representative just knew that the same people that shop at the Stater Bros Shopping Center were also the very same people that shop on East Main Street. She never knew that in 2006, the traffic count for the East Main exit alone was over 2.6 million, making East Main a totally different market than Stater Bros. Now they are actively looking at all of the areas here. Would they have eventually come, maybe. Did we change perceptions? Most definitely.

Brokers can only go so far in introducing business to a city and Mr. Shackford was correct once again, in that the city through cooperation and accommodation can tip the scales in a city’s favor, but I also know that big business can be “greedy” by nature. It is the added duty of the a city to shepherd new business responsibly. In most cases business contacts the city first. They “see” the city through these officials, not the general population. This is just one of the very important reasons that we need to vote responsibly on election day. We need to be absolutely sure that the “face of Barstow” is one that is knowledgeable, informative, and able to responsibly usher in new business and the future of Barstow.

Carol Randall, Barstow