It’s time at last for Henderson to stop embarrassing itself by touting the annual rankings of small towns in Site Selection magazine.
In case you missed the big news, reliably reported as it is each year by The Daily Dispatch, Henderson finished in a 13-way tie for 23rd on the list from the official magazine of the International Development Research Council, whatever that is.
We were excited back in 2001 when we learned that Henderson was 30th on the Site Selection list, supposedly meaning that we were the 30th-best small town in the entire nation for industries to locate. But we couldn’t help having our doubts by the time the city hit the top 10 last year, at the same time Vance County was locked into the top spot in the state’s unemployment rankings.
Somehow, it just didn’t make sense.
This year, Site Selection changed its list from the Top Small Town list to the Top Micropolitan list, reflecting the Census Bureau’s emphasis on rural cities as an important economic entity distinct from metropolises and from purely rural regions. But the silly methodology remained the same.
What does it mean to be on the list? It’s all a matter of quantity, not quality.
The magazine counts the number of economic development projects in the previous three years that involved either an investment of at least $1 million, a building of at least 15,000 square feet or the creation of at least 50 jobs. Any project that meets the minimum standards counts the same.
If a town lands only one new industry with 1,000 jobs, Site Selection rates it lower than a town that lands two companies with 50 jobs each. It doesn’t matter that 900 more people have jobs in the first town.
How did Henderson make the list this year? It had six qualifying projects.
Two of them, M.R. Williams’ purchase of a Harriet & Henderson Yarns warehouse and Kerr Drug’s purchase of a CVS distribution warehouse, were hardly great examples of economic development. They were cases of companies picking up facilities at bargain rates because of other companies’ woes. And in each case, the new owner had fewer jobs in the facility than the old owner did.
Jerry’s Artarama bought a 40,000-square-foot building but brought only a few jobs and the potential for growth to 100 or more.
Iams invested millions in an expansion and created 30 jobs.
Profilform’s move here from Raleigh brought 21 jobs that soon grew to about 40.
Only ACS, which has created more than 100 jobs and should pass 160 by summer, could be considered a blockbuster. (And, remember, we’re biased on that one because the editor’s wife has one of those jobs.)
We’re happy Henderson landed every one of those six developments, and we’re happy for everyone who holds one of those jobs. But they don’t represent a strong economic development program, and they don’t mean Henderson is or isn’t the 23rd-best small town to place a business.
Next year, we’ll skip the big issue of Site Selection and hold on for announcements of economic development bringing real jobs to the people who already have a home in Henderson.