SAC CITY, IOWA – AUGUST 18, 2010
by Curtis Bloes
Exactly one year ago today, on August 18, 2009, the Sac Sun proclaimed in an unusually large headline, “New jobs coming to Sac City”
According to the article, a company named Pure Sense Filtration (PSF) out of Eagle Grove announced plans to build a factory which would hire 100 people in our industrial park. According the article, Shirley Phillips, the so-called director of the Sac Economic and Tourism Development thingy claimed that PSF was, moving quickly. The article didn’t quote her on that of course, it paraphrased. It did quote her saying, “The architects are working on the building already.”
Seriously, actual quote right there.
The story goes on to quote Shirley Phillips saying, “I’ve built a relationship with them over the past two years while working on another project.” For the record, as of today her relationship with them is three years old.
At another place in the story she said, “We’re very pleased they’ve chosen Sac County as the location of their plant.” I don’t know about the editor of the Sac Sun, but if I’m choosing to run the headline, “New jobs coming to Sac City” I would at least want the goddamn director of local economic whatsits to actually use the words “Sac” and “City”, preferably next to each other and in a quote. Then again, expecting journalistic excellence from the Sac Sun is kind of like hoping that Jim Johnston will vote against giving outrageous raises to city employees; not a good idea unless you are used to disappointment.
Speaking of Jim Johnston. Boy, it didn’t take long for THAT guy to distance himself from this fiasco. During a 2009 September Sac City council meeting, Mr. Johnston confirmed that he was the initial contact with PSF but that he turned it over to Shirley Phillips and had nothing else to do with it. Maybe we should have seen it coming then. Piggybacked on Mr. Johnston’s wisdom, so to speak. Say what you want about Johnston, he is shrewd enough to know when to shut his mouth and not get involved. (indeed, it seems to be his primary modus operandi.)
On September 5, 2009, a mere 17 days after the Sac Sun proclaimed, “New jobs coming to Sac City” Sac City Mayor Barb Powell announced that PSF was now going to build a plant only half the size of the one initially announced.
In January, the Sac Sun’s editor’s instincts finally seemed to kick in, because it looks like he called the owner of PSF, Mike Trevis to see if he still planned to build in Sac City. In a story entitled, “Water treatment company still hopeful about facility in Sac City”, (much smaller lettering, and beneath the fold,)Mr. Trevis was quoted saying, “We’re still want to come to Iowa”
Sac City is in Iowa, right? So does that mean we’re still cool?
Anyway, here we sit on the one year anniversary of “New jobs coming to Sac City” and it hasn’t happened. Nobody I talk to is even a little surprised that it didn’t happen. I guess people around here know who they can trust, and they apparently didn’t encounter any credible names in that August 18, 2010 Sac Sun story.
Sac City deserves better than the sick joke that Shirley Philips and the Sac Sun played on us in that August 18, 2009 story one full year ago today.
New jobs coming to Sac City, indeed.
Copyright (c)2007-2010 Curtis Bloes All Rights Reserved
No new business will locate in Sac City as long as the tax rates are as high as they are. That would be a bad business decision. When will the City Council finally get it and start reducing costs and lower the tax rate.
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