Here we go again.
A great opportunity has presented itself for job growth and increased tax revenue for the Madison area and Dane County. But some naysayers are already building their soapboxes so to undermine the effort.
Headlines were made Friday that Amazon is hoping to build in Dane County one of the largest distribution centers in the country. The massive retailer that finds customers in scores of homes nationwide (at least twice a week here with Prime) has proposed a five-story, 3.4 million-square-foot facility on 145 acres near the intersection of County Highway TT and County Highway N, just north of Interstate 94, in Cottage Grove.
And the selling point for the county is that this project would employ 1,500 people. It is hoped that construction could begin this year if local officials sign off on the deal, with the facility opening about 18 months later. Approval for the project has already received preliminary approval from both the Plan Commission and Village Board.
Local news reports have underscored the economic bounce this facility would provide to the county.
The proposed Amazon project, which is taking about half of the land, could mean a full build-out of the property in 10 years and increasing the village’s tax base by $300 million to $400 million.
But reports have also let it be known that there are some residents who are not pleased with the scope of the plan.
As we enter the third year of the COVID pandemic it is more than fair to write that our county has experienced economic hardships. With the disruptions to businesses, jobs, and the bottom lines of owners and workers alike we need true signs of renewal.
Therefore, it was my hope that upon first learning of this proposed plan a united effort from the local community, to the county as a whole, would be squarely behind the idea. Agreeing that job creation, along with an enhanced tax base that is good for everybody seems more than logical.
After all, we have witnessed the destruction of jobs and livelihoods with COVID and it is in the best interests of our area to stir the pot and create some hope for the future. Is that not part of the job of elected officials? So I applaud the people who worked from the beginning to marshall this idea to a top headline in Saturday’s Wisconsin State Journal.
There will be, in addition to the people who reside closest to the proposed site, others who will reject the idea simply because it is Amazon coming to the county. While I can understand the concerns of homeowners who have invested their lives in the community where the facility will be built, I can not find any rationale for thwarting a massive job creation effort because those jobs are not the correct jobs that should be created.
The dialogue from the anti-Amazon folks forgets about the need for more employment opportunities with good-paying jobs. I would like to think–in the same manner which I watch Washington politicians–that the naysayers might try to find a way they could say yes to the plan in question. Or is the rigidity of their views about Amazon the sole determining factor?
Yeah, it takes no time to ponder that question.
I come from perhaps an old-fashioned background concerning local government. In times of turmoil and economic upheaval, there is a need to lift citizens up, show resolve at pointing to better days ahead, and marshal our governing tools to demonstrate hope for the future.
The local people governing in Cottage Grove are doing that very thing.
And they deserve applause from the entire county. After all, the ones who are unemployed or seeking stable work opportunities should have someone on their side, too.
And so it goes.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 