Our View: Complex now more important

The need for Sweetwater County to be chosen as the site for a large-scale industrial complex was highlighted last week with Schlumberger’s announcement that it would cut 9,000 employees from its worldwide workforce as a response to falling oil prices.

Some of those positions will undoubtedly come from its Rock Springs facility and Schlumberger won’t be sole oil and gas company cutting back. If the price of oil maintains at around $50 per barrel, local governments will also feel the squeeze as much of the revenues flowing into state and county coffers come from taxes generated from oil and gas.

Sweetwater County isn’t a stranger to the boom and bust cycles following the energy economy, but with the end of each boom comes the hard times where city and county governments work to maintain the levels of service to their populations in the face of declining revenue.

It’s how the local economy has worked for the past several decades, but we believe there is a chance to end, or at least limit, the effect the boom and bust cycle has on Sweetwater County.

The proposed industrial complex Wyoming’s officials are interested in bringing to the state would be the key to stabilizing Sweetwater County’s economy. Based off of a complex in Alberta, Canada, known as Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, it would stabilize the local economy by attracting investment and diversifying products created with the natural resources so abundant within our county.

Sweetwater County, even with the help of the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce, cannot accomplish the task of lobbying the state by itself. A concerted effort involving officials from not only the county and both cities, but the smaller towns as well, should be pushed towards decision makers in Cheyenne. What would make the proposal more attractive would be to include counties neighboring the Sweetwater County’s western borders, which would show how such an industrial complex could benefit the entire region, not just a single county.

If Sweetwater County is to break free of the boom and bust economy, its leaders need to join together and promote it as the prime location for a large-scale industrial complex. With thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in development at stake, this should be a top priority for any local politician.

We hope to see more action from the county’s leaders in the coming weeks because this is an opportunity too good to leave to chance.

 

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