Frank Villarreal could have been working soon, had Premium Pork chosen Albert Lea as its plant location instead of St. Joseph, Mo.

Things are tight for Villarreal, who said he’s like a lot of people in the city.

&uot;There aren’t a lot of jobs in Albert Lea, and a lot of places are laying people off,&uot; Villarreal said.

Streater laid him off last fall and now he works part time, but has no health insurance.

He said a job is a job &045; low paying or not. He said he needs the work and wants benefits.

Premium Pork joins the ranks of Farmland, Ford and Winnebago as recent economic-development disappointments, and many people interviewed weren’t happy about it. But there was a range in disappointment. For some who worried about the influx in low-paying jobs if the pork plant came to Albert Lea, the feeling bordered on relief.

For others, the lack of jobs for their neighbors and friends means a loss to the community and a sign of decline.

Dan Trolen saw two sides &045; one of them being the decline of Albert Lea. He noted how the population has decreased since the ’50s.

&uot;It’s like that mermaid over there,&uot; he said, pointing to the statue in Fountain Lake. &uot;It used to be farther out, but ice pushes it toward the shore,&uot; he said, referring to the regression of the Albert Lea economy.

He wondered how a city at the intersection of two interstates gets passed up so often. But he said getting passed up isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He wondered if the business would have asked for investment from the city and then left, as meat processor Seaboard did a decade ago.

He said having the corporate office would definitely have helped the economy, but he was skeptical. &uot;Everybody likes to paint a pretty picture at first.&uot;

He speculated that the low-paying jobs could have required the construction of low-cost housing, and a possible tax burden because of the poor workers moving in.

Jerry Lee said he understood the reasoning behind the low-cost housing argument but it didn’t matter.

&uot;The bottom line is bringing money into the city,&uot; Lee said.

He was disappointed. &uot;We try, but we never seem to get anything.&uot;

His wife, Sue, chimed in: &uot;We didn’t try as hard as St. Joseph.&uot;

Scott Wichmann said the factory would have been good for the economy, but he wondered why only factories with low-paying jobs consider Albert Lea. &uot;It seems like the only jobs they’re trying to get here are packing plants,&uot; he said, &uot;It would be nice to get some decent jobs.&uot;

Shawn Bilinger said he knew a lot of people who need work and can’t find it. It took him three months to find a job in Albert Lea. He knows people who don’t have the same luck and are moving out of town.

He questioned how much low-cost housing would be needed with all the unemployed people already in the county.

&uot;A lot of people are collecting unemployment, because they can’t find jobs, especially since Farmland burned down.&uot;

Villarreal said his unemployment ran out. With the hopes of a new plant dashed, he said all he can do right now is keep looking.