West Plains offers opportunities

Recent news reports indicate the country has been in a recession for the past year. Cities in the West Plains, however, continue to experience growth, even if it has been at a slower rate than recent years.

“The interest in this region is still out there,” said Jim Huttenmaier, regional public affairs director at Greater Spokane Inc. “There are many attributes that good companies, well-managed companies are looking for.”

He said the economic development department at Greater Spokane receives two or three phone calls a day from companies expressing interest in expanding to or moving to the area.

Companies from Western Washington have expressed interest in the area because the available land on that side of the state is running low. In California, companies are interested in the West Plains because of the lower cost of doing business, the lower cost of real estate, the availability of a skilled workforce, cheaper taxes, labor and industry costs and utility costs.

The quality of life in Eastern Washington is also a major draw for interested companies.

They look at opportunities for recreation, school districts, whether the area is a good place to raise families, higher education facilities and having four seasons helps, too.

Huttenmaier said that it is important for areas to be “shovel ready” when developers are scouting locations. This means that the properties can be marketed as ready to build on, with utilities, water, sewer and other infrastructure already available.

As far as new developments in the West Plains now, Huttenmaier is excited about the new Geiger Spur Railroad line that will no longer cut through Fairchild Air Force Base, but will head through Airway Heights, then south toward Medical Lake and Cheney to connect with the Palouse River Coulee City Railroad.

The addition of the new rail line opens an opportunity for Spokane County to build a transload facility in the area. There are five sites under consideration, one in the southeastern corner of Airway Heights. The site is significant since the county already owns the land. The transload facility would allow for loading and unloading of railcars and boxcars and create jobs.

“There’s a whole lot of new undeveloped land for companies that need access to the rail line,” Huttenmaier said.

At Spokane International Airport, Huttenmaier mentioned the addition of Cascade Aerospace, a company with headquarters in Abbotsford, B.C. The company signed a 20-year lease of 50,000 square feet of building space and six acres of ramp space at the airport. Specializing in airplane maintenance, the company should be hiring 40 employees by February 2009 and 100 by the end of 2009, Huttenmaier said.

In Cheney, the city has been working hard to create a “shovel ready” industrial park on the south side of town.

Several companies have expressed interest, and the city has been working to set up the area with existing fiber optic technology, water and other utilities.

“It’s a great addition to the city of Cheney,” Huttenmaier said. “Cheney is going about it the right way.”

In Medical Lake, there aren’t many businesses to help stimulate the economy with sales tax money, and although Greater Spokane Incorporated tries to entice industrial or manufacturing companies to the area, Huttenmaier hopes that someday Medical Lake could become a retail center and calls it an “undiscovered gem” that retailers would love.

“It’s a perfect community for employees to live,” he said.

The issue in that city, however, is whether there will be enough water hook-ups and there has been debate about hiring employees for its currently all-volunteer fire department.

The water issue might get help, as the city of Spokane has recently installed a 36-inch water line near Medical Lake and the two cities have been in discussions as to whether Medical Lake can form the new line.

At Eastern Washington University, the school started its fall quarter with the second-largest freshman class in its history. Budget cutbacks will be a concern, there is a hiring freeze, but economic woes tend to bring more students into colleges, EWU spokesman Dave Meany said.

Growth can be beneficial for a community, but also can be a concern in that the cities need to prepare for what is ahead.