Published: February 02, 2008 09:28 pm         

MARK BENNETT: Community can reshape its economic future

TERRE HAUTE — Forget about his shadow and six more weeks of winter. There was enough bad news available at the Thursday’s annual Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce Groundhog Day Economic Forecast Breakfast to leave the critter balled up in a fetal position till Christmas.

In Terre Haute, 500 homes are in foreclosure or bank ownership. Within the past year, International Paper closed, Great Dane laid off workers, and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer eliminated its inhaled insulin product, Exubera, leaving 660 high-paid employees jobless by this March. The remaining 140 staffers at the local Pfizer plant will continue making two other drugs until the end of 2008. Pfizer, which opened its Vigo County facility nearly 60 years ago, can’t say whether it will still be operating there in 2009.

As Indiana State University economist and program moderator Bob Guell put it, the 2008 forecast is “the gloomiest one I’ve given.”

Shutdowns affect workers and their families, and shake the community around them. Pfizer’s demise is a deep wound. Those Exubera jobs were precisely the 21st-century gems coveted by growing communities trying to transition from the dwindling, traditional manufacturing jobs to cutting-edge, knowledge-based life sciences employment. The drug maker’s abrupt decision to pull Exubera after its wide rejection by diabetes patients hurts Terre Haute in multiple ways. The attractive salaries and wages earned by Pfizer workers also supported markets, restaurants and retail businesses they patronized. The firm and its employees also have been strong, reliable donors to the United Way of the Wabash Valley, and actively contributed time and funds to youth programs, schools, churches and charities.

That will be hard for the community to absorb, let alone replace.

“That will no doubt ripple through the local economy,” said Jerry Conover, speaking by telephone from the Indiana Business Research Center in Bloomington.

But, as Conover, Guell and other economics and business observers emphasized, Terre Haute can regroup and rebound. Its strong economic development crew, led by Steve Witt, has weathered plant closings before, perpetually pursuing new ventures to boost the city’s fortunes. This time, it is especially crucial for the community at large to accept something that is difficult for us all, change.

One example Guell used was the possibility of Terre Haute landing an inland port, a transport hub where goods could be processed and shipped by truck, air or rail. A site on the border of Vigo and Clay counties is situated near Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field, Interstate 70 and railroad lines. State Rep. Clyde Kersey, D-Terre Haute, introduced a bill in the current General Assembly session that would direct the Indiana Port Authority to designate the next inland port’s location — preferably here.

The plan began during former Mayor Kevin Burke’s term, and Guell hopes new Mayor Duke Bennett and others continue to support it and endure the long, tedious process.

“I really do hope folks that are in public office keep that on their radar screens,” Guell said. “An inland port would replace lost Pfizer jobs with reasonably good union jobs. It’s something we need to put every ounce of our political muscle behind.”

There are promising signs here, too. The cost of living here is among the nation’s lowest, according to an ISU study. The colleges are hotbeds of talent and employment. CertainTeed Corp. and Boral Bricks plan to open facilities in 2008. Sony DADC is expanding production of its Blu-ray disc format, which allows high-definition video and data storage. Guell quipped to Thursday’s business crowd, “We should encourage all patriotic Hauteans to go buy their Blu-ray player.”

Guell also mentioned an offer by local developers to purchase the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds along U.S. 41 in exchange for a smaller property parcel nearby.

That prospective deal included an offer to the Fair Board by Gibson Development and Thompson Thrift of $9.2 million and 72 acres of land in exchange for the fairgrounds, which would be developed as a large retail facility. The board is studying the offer, which has already sparked debate. Understandably, people connected to the fairgrounds’ traditional activities — 4-H programs, the Vigo County Fair, and racing at the Action Track (which sat all but dormant in 2007) and Action City Drag Way — have legitimate concerns about seeing that history altered. Opposition, though, simply because of the involvement of two prominent local firms — Gibson and Thompson Thrift — is another matter.

Guell openly endorsed the project at Thursday’s breakfast, saying the jobs involved “may not be sexy,” but added, “We need to take advantage of that human social resource we have here,” referring to Terre Haute’s competitive niche as a regional retail hub. Guell also called for civility from public critics of Thompson Thrift and Gibson — whose owners, Guell emphasized, he’d only met a few times. Because their firms are local, their ventures benefit the community too, he said. “Jealousy” of those businesses, according to Guell, “is unbecoming of any of us.”

So, can Terre Haute pull together to land an inland port, an assembly facility for a GM or Ford all-electric car, a life sciences firm that could employ some of the Pfizer employees? Can we stay committed to improving infrastructure and quality-of-life amenities that help attract businesses?

Life sciences firms are hotly pursued by Midwestern communities, and nearby Bloomington has transitioned its economy to accommodate more of those industries. If Terre Haute wants that, “They need to act quickly, because there’s lots of activity and movement in the life sciences,” said Philip Powell, faculty chairman of the IU Kelley School of Business evening MBA program in Indianapolis.

Quick action, long-term commitment, civility. Those are tall orders. One thing’s for sure, though — the support of the community’s residents will determine whether Terre Haute recovers from its gloomy 2008 Groundhog Day, or keeps reliving it over and over.



Mark Bennett can be reached at mark.bennett@tribstar.com or (812) 231-4377.

     

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