During our ReNewton April 10 Community Retreat, I was facilitating a sub-group and one of the questions posed to our group was: “What should be our economic development focus in this next decade: Bringing in new employers to create new jobs, or helping local businesses grow so they can create new jobs? Why?” The conversation took a reasonable and expected path toward “both,” but the the question that popped into my mind was, “If the Newton’s court outside business or industry, what kinds of business and industry should we look at? And more importantly, when the Kansas Logistics park becomes a wild success and we have several industries vying for a site, how will we discriminate? Should we discriminate?
I’ve said before that I believe we should begin to develop the Newton’s as a community of Wellness with all the benefits that go along with it. So when I take that idea and apply it to the Kansas Logistic Park, I see an imperative need for the Harvey County CDC and the Newton’s to have a strong, clear vision and a well developed plan to discriminate when offering space in our community. Now, listen, I don’t mean to say that we should only court “green” industry, but an important emphasis on environmentally friendly manufacturing and distribution solutions and techniques should be a part of their proposal. Distribution isn’t just about where in the nation a business is located, but also how much money it will cost to distribute said product, and that requires forethought.
We cannot and we should not allow industry or invention to come to the Newton’s that would run counter to our overall plan of Wellness. Sometimes the best stand to take is also the hardest. Being an Architect, there are many times during the construction process, after all the planning and documentation is done, that I must remind our clients that together, we made all the right decisions during design and it’s best not to waiver. Trust yourself! Sure, uneasiness may set in as you wonder if you made the space big enough or tall enough or the right color; you must trust your own planning! That’s what a comprehensive plan is. You take the time to slowly and courageously make all the right decisions so that when the time comes, you’ll be able to stand firm and not waiver knowing that the best is yet to come…and come it will.
