Dear Editor:
As I read the article “Casto explains his resignation” dated 4-9-2015, some thoughts came to mind.
While I respect all identities involved in the article, please let me share with you my perspective from over the years. First, in the past, I agreed with the Mayor Frank Huitt’s statement regarding not helping business except to be less intrusive.
However, after being in this community for many years I have come to the following…
I have to agree with the support for Mr. Casto. Here’s why:
Rangely has been a boom/bust town for as long as I can remember. When I first moved to Rangely as a little boy with my family in the early 1980’s, I remember a drilling company equipment yard right in the middle of town, where the new (late 1990’s) shopping center is now. Rangely now has a Family Dollar, a VERY nice hotel on the west end of town, and True Value has taken up the majority of storefronts which used to contain Mr. S Clothiers and Korner Drug.
I also remember attending Parkview Elementary School on Stanolind. I’m told Parkview has been moved to the Middle School, and Middle School students are now with High Schoolers. CNCC has greatly diversified it’s educational offerings to become more attractive to more students.
What all of this tells me is that while there has been some economic progress, the population is struggling to hold at current levels. People with children aren’t staying in Rangely, or are choosing not to have children in Rangely. Career-minded younger adults are fleeing for ‘greener pastures’, or their jobs are being relocated out of Rangely because other communities are more attractive economically.
I see the obvious irony of me, a ‘younger’ career-minded adult with children writing from out of town to complain about business decisions Rangely is making. But I am not writing to complain- instead, I am writing to offer some insight on what could work.
Consider Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is where I live now. In the late ’90’s, some forward-thinking leaders from the business and government sectors met to plan out this city’s future. Business parks were built on the west and east sides of town, in addition to a large industrial park south of town and many, many companies acquiring property and building near the college.
Now what we have is a series of successes ranging from a Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Lowes Distribution Center, the NCAR Supercomputing Center, two Microsoft Data Centers, Magpul and many other support companies for the Niobrara oil field.
A relatively small investment of infrastructure and tax incentives has paid off big time for Cheyenne. I believe this same mindset can be taken anywhere and implemented to cause growth. I don’t want my beloved Rangely to get too big, but I think we can all agree some economic stability wouldn’t hurt.
The business mindset of only the strong survive is not completely inaccurate, but too many communities get passed over if there is no incentive to open shop.