&t;I&gt&uot;Corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned, they therefore do as they like.

Tuesday, January 15, 2002

&uot;Corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned, they therefore do as they like.&uot; – First Baron Edward Thurlow (1731-1806)

At last night’s city council meeting, one of the items up for discussion was ordering the demolition of the old Farmland plant. Farmland did not send any company representatives to the meeting. They agree that the plant is unsalvageable, and they were not contesting or objecting to the proceedings. Now it looks like the demolition of the old plant will have to start sometime during the 2002 construction season. Good riddance – it’s about time. Even before the fire, much of the property was an eyesore, and the safety and environmental issues left in its aftermath only compound the evidence that these buildings must go.

The City of Albert Lea has made a step in the right direction, but it isn’t quite time to celebrate just yet. Tearing down the old site still doesn’t answer the big question – are they or are they not coming back? For more than six months now, Farmland has been keeping us in the dark about whether or not they intend to rebuild in Albert Lea. This is in spite of our offer to pay for the cleanup of the old site and give them the land for their new plant. How long do they expect us to wait? We can’t put everything on hold until Farmland gets things straightened out on their end. They haven’t really told us anything except, &uot;We’ll have to think about it and get back to you.&uot; Oh yeah? When might that be? Granted, their insurance companies are part of the reason they haven’t yet made an official announcement, but if they have any interest in returning, we should have at least heard something from them by now.

It isn’t that difficult to figure out what they seem to be trying to tell us. Their silence and inaction have spoken volumes. Now is the time for us to listen to what that silence says about how much they really care about our community and their former employees – kind of seems like they don’t care at all, doesn’t it? After all, why should someone way up at the top of the corporate ladder care about someone way down at the bottom in one of the plants? Is this the kind of company we want to clean up after? Are we still willing to foot the bill for their property taxes?

Another point to consider is that even if Farmland does decide to come back, how long will they stick around? Giving them land doesn’t mean they won’t have to pull out of here in a few years, leaving us with a brand-new empty factory. It’s nothing personal against their company – the packinghouse industry is simply not known for stable employment. Remember Wilson’s, Farmstead and Seaboard? Do we really want to play that game again?

I realize that many Albert Lea families depended on a paycheck from Farmland – that money paid for their groceries and made their house payments. If we withdraw our offer and tell Farmland to go somewhere else, we will essentially be preventing any further Farmland paychecks for those families in the future. However, in the 18 months Farmland expects the rebuilding process to take, we could possibly have a new industry here already employing those people.

What we really need in Albert Lea is an employer who can offer employment on different levels. We need the kind of labor and entry-level jobs that Farmland offered for the people who have no other training – jobs that will pay a livable wage with benefits. But we also need some highly skilled professional jobs to offer people with college degrees – tech jobs, the kinds of jobs being taught right here at the community college. If we don’t have the jobs to offer, what incentive is there for the graduates to stay here (much less for families to relocate here)?

Albert Lea has had enough of Farmland’s excuses and delay tactics. We have waited long enough. The time has come to move on and make a fresh start with another company – to build a future. In the past, we may have depended on Farmland (or its predecessors) to survive as a city, but times have changed. Now we need something more than that if we ever want to grow. The July 8 fire may have provided us with the opportunity to do just that. Farmland only has as much power as we give them, and it’s time for us to pull the plug.

Dustin Petersen is an Albert Lea resident. His column appears Tuesdays.