Our View: A resolution for Green River

As 2014 comes to a close, people throughout the city are looking forward to the coming year with hope and anticipation.

It’s also a time when people resolve to make changes and turn over a new leaf in the coming year. For the residents of Green River, we have a suggestion for the coming year that may help shift the perception of our beautiful city.

Stop saying Green River is a bedroom community.

Green River can aspire to so much more than being a simple bedroom community to Rock Springs. While many claim Green River’s placement has resulted in it being a landlocked community, they overlook the fact there are places where commerce should be able to thrive. Look along Flaming Gorge Way; there are spaces that can house businesses and support a thriving downtown commercial scene.

Calling Green River a bedroom community is harmful to the community in a number of ways. It instills images of a sleepy little town with little going for it, something Green River definitely isn’t. A bedroom community, along with the more common term commuter town, are places where a majority of its residents leave the city for their jobs located in other cities. They also don’t typically have a lot of political power. While a number of residents do leave the city for their work, a majority aren’t going to Rock Springs for their jobs.

According to information from the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce, five of the top ten employers in Sweetwater County are either in or west of Green River. Sweetwater County School District No. 2, along with the four trona mines, account for 2,806 jobs amongst a total of 5,799 within the top 10 employers. Of course not all of those jobs are filled by Green River residents and some do hold jobs in Rock Springs, but the inherently industrial nature of Sweetwater County’s economy means many of the larger employers are located outside of either city.

Green River does wield a considerable amount of political power. City representatives are placed on a number of joint powers boards and the city does get representation in the State Lands and Investments Board grant decisions and other county-wide decisions.

Once we stop saying Green River is a bedroom community, we should also work to promote and improve the city’s economy. Once the city’s residents stop frequenting Rock Springs for even the smallest needs, things will improve.

If we stop calling ourselves a bedroom community and start promoting and frequenting businesses within the city, we’ll see greater economic development within our city limits. With that economic development, we’ll see more improvement to the city as a whole and Green River will be that thriving city west of Rock Springs.