Washington in hot 100 of small cities for economic activity
Mar. 17—Across America there are thousands upon thousands of communities similar to Washington with population ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 people. According to Site Selection Magazine, there is something a little special about Washington. It is among the top 100 in the publication's rankings of micropolitan communities in having new corporate facility projects underway.
The magazine lists 13 Indiana communities. Washington was tied with Connersville, Crawfordsville, Decatur, Plymouth, Seymour, and Wabash for number 84 in the nation. Angola was Indiana's top ranked community at number three nationally.
Local leaders called the spot in the top 100 a reason to celebrate.
"That stuff matters. That metric was about economic activity and the number of projects going on," said Daviess County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Bob Grewe. "This lets people know we have a good business climate, the talent, the infrastructure. We have a good thing going. It tells company's they can come here, stay here and grow here."
While the recognition is about current economic development in the community, Washington Mayor David Rhoads says those things do not happen without local commitment to things like housing, infrastructure and quality of life.
"With what we have going on, we have developers reaching out to us and saying they want to come here and build," said Rhoads. "We are doing a lot of things around the city because we want to make the community better and bring more jobs in, and even compete for people who might wind up in neighboring areas like the WestGate Tech Park."
The number one micropolitan community in the nation for economic growth according to the magazine is Findley, Ohio.
This year marked the tenth consecutive year that area has topped the list.
In terms of state ranking, the strength of the Findley success leads Ohio to the top sport. Alabama is ranked number two. Indiana is third with a baker's dozen communities on the list.
Leaders say the designation is one more thing that they can use to encourage local expansion and entice new business.
"We can point to the expansions to companies that are looking at coming here. It's a good reflection on the community," said Grewe.
One of the things cited in the Findley success model was the work ethic of its people.
The willingness of Midwestern people to not just show up but to produce on the job is not unique to that area. It is something that has been noted by companies and agencies from Toyota in Princeton to those at WestGate as a reason for site selections and expansions in this area.
"We have people looking at us," said Rhoads. "I am sure there are people who look at that magazine on a regular basis and if companies are looking those rankings might mean something. It's got to help."
