Letter to the Chamber

Thank you, Shanna, for adding me as a contributing administrator to this blog. I am a member of Morton's Chamber of Commerce, and fully recognize the need for something to be done to improve the economy here, bringing family-wage jobs to the immediate area. Last week I went to the monthly chamber meeting, and presented them with this letter about my concerns regarding bringing a prison to Morton. These are my and my husband's opinions. Please give me your feedback and opinions.


January 29, 2009

Dear Prison Exploratory Committee,

We appreciate your efforts in exploring employment opportunities to bring to Morton. Our local economy and lack of family-wage jobs is a real problem in our community, and we are encouraged by efforts to improve the economic situation for Morton and east Lewis County. However, we are very concerned about the idea to bring a prison into our community. While we definitely need family-wage jobs, and understand that the options seem limited, we strongly feel like bringing a prison into this community would be a mistake and would send us in the opposite direction of where we want to go.

Morton would be known as a “prison town”, which would have a negative effect on attracting quality people to our community. New families will not want to move into a community that has a prison at the center of its identity. Likewise, retired persons will be less inclined to move and settle down here. A prison in such a small town produces a vague feeling of unease, and will dissuade people looking for a new place to settle and make a home. Similarly, it very well may drive out existing professionals, especially those with families. Some of these are people whose jobs do not rely on the existing local economy, but who spend a good portion of their wages in town. The risk of a prison outbreak may be small, but the fear and concern will be real.

A prison in Morton will undermine Morton as a tourist destination. Tourism will never be the basis of the economy here, nor should it be, but it has been and can continue to grow as an important feature of our economy. Being a “prison town” will stifle the efforts made by individuals and organizations such as the Cowlitz Valley Historical Society and the Fire Mountain Arts Council to bring visitors to town and improve the quality of life for us locals. Visitors passing through enjoying the myriad of scenic and recreational opportunities in the area will keep on passing through, rather than stop and staying a while, spending their money at our local businesses.

The intent of the prison is to bring family-wage jobs to the area, but we also wonder how many real jobs will be created, and how many local people will be filling those jobs. Will the higher paying positions be filled by locals, or by people who travel in from out of town or out of county, returning to their home communities at the end of the day, spending their money elsewhere? Other businesses and industries in the area work this way, and we don’t see why the prison would be different.

The proposed location of the prison is another concern. It is very near properties with family members of all ages. It will drive down the value of their properties, and cause a real feeling of unease for the people living closest to the prison. Additionally, it seems like a prison should be located on a flat, open parcel with long sight lines. We do not presume to understand the needs or regulations of a prison, but it seems like a prison in the woods or on a hillside would be an unsafe choice.

Please remember that a prison is forever, and they tend to grow over time. If after it is built, the community decides that they are not happy with the prison being here, it is too late for us to change our minds.

Let’s think about the future that we want for Morton, not only in terms of number of jobs but also in terms of quality of life. We understand the difficulty of finding an industry that will provide family-wage jobs to the area, but this is not the answer. We should consider the upcoming infrastructure and “new deal” type of projects, renewable energy and bio-fuel production through cellulose waste, helping our mills move into the new economy which is using less raw lumber but plenty of engineered lumber products. We need to think outside the box and pursue ideas and opportunities that will build up Morton and east Lewis County.

Thank you for considering our thoughts and opinions. And as always, thank you for the work you are doing to improve our community.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Jones and Scott Brooks