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900 W. Main St.,
PO Box 690 Grangeville, ID 83530
Phone: 208.983.1200 |
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| Fears office move will impact area economy |
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| City, school district concerned; left out of information loop on proposal |
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By David Rauzi - editor, ICFP
GRANGEVILLE -- While advantageous for saving federal dollars, the recommended move for the Nez Perce and Clearwater national forests' supervisor's offices from Grangeville and Orofino to Kamiah is not seen as a long-term economic benefit locally.
"This is a big thing for this community, for everybody," said Grangeville Mayor Bruce Walker.
While the Forest Service notes its agency projects to save $10 to $14 million during a 20-year time frame, Walker said, the economic effects to the community could likely be tenfold in the eventual departure of its employees and their families when leases run out on its offices in Orofino (April 2014) and Grangeville (October 2022).
Current FS employees aren't expected to relocate with this move, according to a USFS statement. However, "We're going to lose all those people eventually," Walker said, as new FS employees transition in and naturally choose to settle close to the Kamiah supervisor's office. That resettlement would financially impact local businesses and also services such as Syringa Hospital, as well as school enrollments.
"This is going to have a major effect on us eventually," he said.
From the perspective of Mountain View School District 244, Superintendent Greg Bailey said such a move could likely decrease its enrollment numbers. Already, Idaho schools this year have lost the 99 percent rule, which provides up to 99 percent of funds for one year to help a district maintain staff during a transition involving student decline. So a possible loss of students as a result of a supervisor's office transition would be a "double hit" to the district he said.
"Any time a business is lost it can hurt us," Bailey said, not just in the primary reduction but also in the impact to businesses in the community which help support and rely on it, and he noted the example when Grangeville lost its sawmill in 1994. "I'm disappointed in the fact that we'll lose some people in our community, speaking not only as a superintendent but also as a community member."
At this point, no immediate position or action is in the works by either the city or district; Walker has forwarded information to the council for its review, and Bailey said, "Until we see kids checking out it's a tough area to prepare for." However, one issue both expressed frustration on was the lack of discussion or prior notification by the Forest Service on the relocation proposal, which potentially could impact both entities greatly.
Walker noted that apart from Brazell's attendance at a council meeting in 2009 when he started the supervisor job, "I've never talked with him directly," he said, nor has the city received FS notice it was considering relocating the office, "until our city clerk received the news release last Thursday."
"It was a surprise to me," Bailey said, who first learned about the relocation recommendation in the newspaper last week. "Absolutely no one has talked to us about it."
Walker said, "We need to start working against this move now even though they say it will be years before the move is made. If there is a chance to reverse this decision we don't want to wait until the last minute".
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