Residents discuss bringing jobs to Sanders County

The Sanders County Community Development organization held a meeting Nov. 12 to discuss ways to get jobs and people to come into the county.

Ray Marshall, the director of SCCD , wanted to hold the meeting to get ideas that he could bring to a meeting of the Western Rural Development Region later in the month.

Seventeen members of the community attended the meeting. They discussed creating new businesses and jobs, as well as drawing young people into the area.

'Our goal is to get jobs to come to Sanders County or help a business grow in the area,' Marshall said. 'This is a good time to plan for the future.'

Diane Laube, one of the organizers of the Sanders County Sale-ing event, said that part of the problem in the area are businesses that only support part of the population, which aren't always operable because of the county's small population.

'We don't have enough people to support some of those specialized businesses,' she said. 'We should help to determine the viability of their business.'

Sanders County Commissioner-elect Tony Cox said that instead of waiting for people wanting to start new businesses to come to members of the community for help, there should be an organization that goes to them.

'We should have a one-stop shop,' he said. 'This way people could get information on starting up a business and getting loans all in one place to make the process more streamlined.'

The meeting participants also discussed incentives that could be used to lure businesses to the county.

Bruce Laube said that there are some places that offer tax incentives to businesses if they come to the area, but that isn't always feasible. He suggested other forms of inducements, such as discounts on utility rates or recognition by local radio and television stations. A co-op could sponsor ads could run in media.

Marshall said that more agriculture jobs are needed in Sanders County.

'Only 10 percent of what we consume in Montana is actually grown in Montana,' he said. 'More agriculture and farming jobs could help other businesses in the community like grocery stores as well.'

Sanders County Commissioner Carol Brooker brought up the fact that a two-year community college or vocational school could really help the region.

'A community college would bring in teachers and help keep young people in the area,' she said. 'Especially if we focused on vocational jobs that can be kept within the community.'

Marshall said he valued the discussion that came from the meeting and he would bring all of the ideas to his next Western Montana Regional Innovations Grant meeting and then report back.