EDITORIAL
It’s gray outside. A slow drizzle ... bringing the grass and plants back to life.
It’s needed here. The drought has taken so many things – and anything out of the ordinary is much appreciated.
That could be a metaphor for the local economy, too. That’s what a group of economic development boosters, developers, cheerleaders were telling real estate agents, business leaders and others at an early morning breakfast in Austin last month.
While we love a hard rain, a slow steady drizzle is best. With it, we don’t get the disastrous floods. Instead, it gives growth, it forces deeper roots.
And in business, the slow steady climb of the economy, as so many people talk about, means continued rise in salaries, sales and ensuing property taxes.
Bisnow, a panel made up of Hays County business folks – Terry Mitchell of Momark Development, Peter French with Plum Creek in Kyle, Steve Sanders with Stratford Land, and Duane Hutson with Hutson Land Planning, Patrick Rose with Corridor Title and former state representative for Hays County, Bill West with the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority and Amy Madison with Greater San Marcos Economic Development Council, made the argument well.
The entire discussion last month dealt with why Hays County is the place to be, what Hays County offers, and why other areas of the country are envious of us.
It boils down to a few numbers. French pointed out that Kyle had more housing starts in 2010 than the city of Chicago. Yep, that big city the size of 8 million people, compared to Kyle with its 30,000+ residents.
Other opinions show that Hays County is on the upswing, with Texas State University’s research and development, its growth potential, its new material research department.
Something else? Madison points out that the city of San Marcos airport has three runways nearly a mile in length – each. “We’ve got tarmac out the wazoo,” she reported, while pointing out that with the Formula 1 track being built, visitors from around the world will need a place to stop, shop and stay.
But growth of and by itself can’t be sustained. Bill West with GBRA points out that the driving force of economic development in the future will be water. Water and its infrastructure. Without projects dealing with water, growth will stymie. Building public perceptions that this infrastructure is essential is the only way that positive growth – positive growth – can be sustained.
The old saying – whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over – can’t be more true today. When it comes to continued financial security for Hays County, for sustained business growth, the need to focus on water – on recycling water, on capturing water, on saving water – means that these business leaders, along with residents, voting members of water boards, small businesspeople, will need to put their heads together, set aside old squabbles and find a way to build sustainable growth.
Yes, it’s raining outside. It’s a slow drizzle.
Let’s hope the rain continues – as well as the promise by these economic leaders that they will work to save that precious resourse.
Otherwise, our future economics, so tied to water these days, could dry up.
