LET TERS
NO TO ONE GRO
Hopefully the voters of Creswell will
say no to One Gro (“Campaigning in Cre-
swell,” Oct. 5). A corporate monopoly on
a dispensary in that locale is unnecessary.
Let other players get into that market.
I am concerned about plantations and
where these corporations set up shop on quite
a few city blocks, as in Eugene. Cultivation
is okay, but this is a new venture in this state
William O’Brien
Eugene
DEFAZIO AND GUNS
Now is the time for Rep. Peter DeFazio
to do something on gun control. In 2016
he received a 21 percent approval rating
from the NRA — not exactly their best
friend, but not their worst enemy either. If
he and other like-minded representatives
would take a leadership role, a bill could
get through the house.
And that bill can be as simple as a ban
on bump stocks, the device that made the
Las Vegas massacre so deadly. A majority
of Americans support that ban and Massa-
chusetts has already enacted it into law.
Aha, the Second Amendment people
will say, if you let the gun control liberals
have a ban on bump stocks, what will they
want next? The answer is simple.
First let’s make bump stocks illegal,
and then we can all discuss what to do
next or even if we should do anything
next. But now, especially after the Suther-
land Springs massacre, Congress must do
something. Inaction equals death.
Come on, Pete, put on your big-boy
pants, step up to the plate and swing for
the seats.
John Kiely
Eugene
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
LEVIN IS WRONG
GUNS AND BAD APPLES
I’m a big fan of Rick Levin’s writing,
but he made two glaring errors in his re-
view of The Florida Project. Unfortu-
nately those errors were in the second
paragraph of his review and that paragraph
was written to describe a scene that Levin
thought perfectly captured the movie.
The birds were obviously not flamin-
gos, as Levin stated, but to this non-or-
nithologist, they appeared to be sandhill
cranes. Also, Bobby didn’t explain to the
“girls” that he’s already warned them about
getting run over. In the movie, Bobby calls
the birds boys and fellas.
Keep up the great work, Rick. Sorry for
the nitpicking.
Dave Taube
Eugene
When police find a gun used in a crime,
they typically submit a trace request with
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to find out
where that gun was originally purchased,
who bought it, from what dealer and when
did they acquire it?
A newly released report from the city
of Chicago and recent data from the ATF,
reveal that the prevalence of bad-apple gun
dealers, combined with neighboring states
with weak gun laws, funnel guns into plac-
es with strong gun laws. In Chicago, al-
most 25 percent of crime guns came from
just 10 gun stores, and more than 50 per-
cent of their guns came from out of state.
Based on the Brady Campaign’s analy-
sis, in the states with the strongest gun
laws, the percentage of crime guns that
were originally sold in state is at least 20
B Y B O B WA R R E N
What is Business ‘Recruitment’
Anyway?
LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES DON’T ACTIVELY RECRUIT COMPANIES
T
here is a major business “recruitment” project going on right now
in our community, it’s called Project Titan, and I have absolutely
no clue about who or what it is. Oh, I’ve tried, well, sort-of tried, to
find out. I asked around, here and there, even chatted with a former
colleague of mine. But regardless of who it is, it will play out the
same, in secret meetings behind closed doors, out of public view.
If I had to guess, I’d say Titan involves the purchase of the former Hynix site
in west Eugene. But it could be something else entirely. What I do know is that it
is not the new Amazon headquarters. I also know that Greater Eugene, our local
economic development agency, most likely had almost nothing to do with find-
ing the buyer. There is really nothing that a local economic development agency
could do to find a buyer for that site.
That notion furthers the myth that local economic development agencies ac-
tively recruit companies to relocate here. They do not.
The phrase “business recruitment” is really just a name for any new business
that moves into our community. No one locally actually went out, located them,
and recruited them to come here. It’s just not economically feasible for a com-
munity to do that.
When local promoters like the Chamber of Commerce talk about the need
to go out and “recruit” businesses to move to our community, please know it is
baloney.
It’s totally unrealistic to think that any community like ours is going to market
itself in any meaningful way to find firms looking to move, and then convince
them to locate here. At least not without a marketing budget that would far exceed
any local community’s ability to fund it, and even then, justify it with results.
The honest desire for new companies to move here from somewhere else,
to create and grow new jobs here, is valid. These companies represent jobs we
would not have otherwise. That is not a bad thing; in fact, it’s vital in order to
keep a local economy healthy and diverse. Businesses go through cycles; they
do not last forever. There is always a need for fresh new businesses to enrich the
local economy, and to avoid over dependence on any one industry sector.
So, how does recruitment happen? How are these new businesses recruited
and who does it?
Business recruitment is primarily done at the state, not the local level. The
state of Oregon, through its economic development department, actively pro-
motes Oregon as a good place to do business. When the state gets the attention of
4
November 9, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
a recruitment prospect, it works to find them a site in Oregon.
The state acts as an agent for the firm, creating a code name, like Titan, and
sending out a list of criteria the firm needs for their facility. Communities that
can meet those criteria respond to the state. In the case of the Hynix site, it is
probable that one or more potential purchasers approached the state to test the
water for state and local incentives, prior to actually bidding on the property.
It’s likely they were represented by a private site selection consulting firm. Site
selection firms represent large companies wanting to remain anonymous, seeking
a location for a new facility, and they like to work at the state level.
The immediate job for a site selection consultant is to reduce the number of
site options for the client company to a manageable number, maybe two or three.
So the initial challenge for a community is to just stay on the list. This is where
the issue of incentives emerges. Site selection consultants are often paid based
on the level of incentives provided by state and local governments. So, staying
on the consultant’s list requires significant local incentives, like enterprise zones.
Site consultants love enterprise zones because, with three to 15 years of property
tax waivers, the value of the incentive package gets big fast.
What does make sense is for our community to prepare itself by being the
kind of a community that people want to live and do business in — and to be
ready to show that when they do come knocking. The actual business recruitment
function of a local economic development agency is to do just that: to organize
and manage the local sales job when they do come.
One of our best business recruitment agencies is Tracktown USA. Events like
the Olympic Trials showcase our community to the world in a positive light,
more effectively than any local economic development agency ever could. Busi-
ness recruitment is about being a community where people want to live. It’s
about good schools, affordable housing and good public transportation. It’s about
a healthy environment and quality of life.
I don’t know what Project Titan is, or who bought the former Hynix site. But
one thing that I do know is that Greater Eugene, our local economic development
agency, played a very small, if any, role in it. So, if Greater Eugene does little
or nothing to actually “recruit” businesses to create jobs in our community, what
does it do?
Well, that’s a very good question.
Bob Warren retired in 2012 as the regional business development officer for Business Oregon for Lane, Lin-
coln, Linn and Benton Counties. Prior to that he was a political advisor to state and federal offices.