Fruitland board discusses economic future
By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 12:20 PM PST
FRUITLAND — The Fruitland City Council and other government agencies in Payette County will meet soon to discuss the future of the Payette County Economic Development program.
Idaho Department of Labor regional manager Jim Smith attended the Fruitland board’s regularly scheduled meeting Monday night on behalf of the Payette County commissioners to discuss with Fruitland officials thoughts on continuing such a program following the resignation of Payette County Economic Development Director Ron Wrest earlier this month.
Wrest, who had been caring for his ailing wife, resigned Nov. 3, effective immediately, shortly after her passing, Smith said.
Smith said he has been speaking with local governments entities to try to get some idea whether there is enough interest among them to continue the program and improve on some areas that did not work so well, including communication between the different agencies and the director.
Smith said Payette city officials agreed to meet with county commissioners to discuss the continuation and refocus of the program. He said Payette officials indicated they had some thoughts on what direction they would like it to take, that would take including an emphasis on the different cities’ goals.
Fruitland Mayor Tom Limbaugh asked where Smith thought the program could improve and whether he had any specific ideas of what should be done differently than in the past to make it more successful.
“I feel like before we never really had any direction,” Smith said, who served on the community economic development program board.
He said, if the program was developed after other successful programs, like that of Twin Falls, and if it had specific goals to follow and a director to coordinate the effort, he believed it could get a lot more accomplished and be a relevant entity in the area.
“I just honestly think we can put something pretty strong together,” Smith said. “I hate to see it die.”
Limbaugh said, although many people may not realize it, the city is involved in a lot of economic activity.
“We are entrenched in economic development in the city, but a little bit of help is not a bad thing,” he said. The other council members agreed meeting with other city and county officials to discuss the program is a good idea, and Smith said he would go back to the county commissioners and make appropriate arrangements.
