Good job news only the start
THE NATIONAL ECONOMY IS
still sluggish, but locally there were some good signs last week.
The Plymouth Plan Commission approved not one, but two major industrial expansions in the city, with a net worth of more than $5 million, that will mean new jobs in the city.
Sargento Foods will be adding more than 50,000 square feet of cooler space at their 1 Persnickety Place facility, while Millennium Technologies is expanding its plant on Pilgrim Road by some 8,000 square feet. Both companies cited growing business as the reason for the expansions, with the addition of more jobs promised.
At a time when many areas in the country are struggling to stem the tide of disappearing jobs, and when the unemployment rate in Sheboygan County is just starting to decline, every so slightly, after long months of continually increasing, that was certainly welcome news.
But the struggle is certainly far from over. The economy is still fragile as it rebuilds itself and officials will need to make every effort to aid the recovery.
On the county level, a good first step has been taken with the creation of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation. A combined private-public sector venture, the SCEDC will be the “go-to” group for business retention and recruitment for the entire county.
The corporation is modeled on similar agencies that have proven successful in many nearby counties and across the state — including Fond du Lac County — in helping existing businesses and industries survive and thrive, and in bringing needed new business and industry into the community.
The SCEDC already has substantial financial support from many of the county’s largest employers and business groups, as well as county government and several municipal governments. It will provide its wide array of services throughout the county, to communities small and large, and needs the support — including financial — from all of them.
Local governments must continue to do all they can, within their limited resources, to help foster job growth.
That includes making the best and greatest use possible of tools such as revolving loan funds and tax incremental finance districts to keep existing business here and bring in new ones. It also means, for the city of Plymouth, finding a way to get the rail line from here to Kohler open and running, to make the city’s industrial park more attractive to new businesses that will bring needed jobs and economic vitality with them.
It’s a long road still to go, but together, with a concerted effort, the journey can and will be completed.
At issue: Something or other Bottom line: Do something about it
