Our View: Love's is an economic opportunity

We’ve written a lot about economic development in this newspaper. So much so it’s a common theme for both news and opinion.

Economic development is an important activity for both the city and Sweetwater County to engage in, as it means more business activity, more opportunity and more commercial options for everyone. It also means more sales tax, which is a benefit for both cities because city budgets are mainly funded through sales tax.

This brings us to the conditional use permit application Love’s Travel Stops recently filed for its proposed truck stop west of Jamestown near Interstate 80’s Exit 85.

Having attended the open house meeting, we understand residents in the area have concerns about what a truck stop would bring to the area. There are legitimate parking concerns for when the interstate is closed, just as the air quality issues some residents have do need further study. However, we also believe there is a legitimate benefit for the county and residents in the Jamestown area.

The crux of the matter is Love’s represents a potential for commercial development within Sweetwater County and near Green River. While it isn’t something like a department store or another grocery store, both of which would surely be welcomed by residents with open arms, it’s still something that can drive development outside Jamestown. If the truck stop is built, it isn’t difficult to foresee someone taking another nearby portion of land and building a restaurant.

It also isn’t hard to see people traveling east on I-80 stopping at the truck stop, then deciding to take a look at what Green River has to offer. With more visitation, other commercial interests could start looking at Green River as a place to expand. We will probably never see a Target or something similar establish itself in the city, but that doesn’t mean that the city won’t see any development. There are other opportunities available.

One of the rumors that continues to persist in Green River is how the Green River City Council nixed a major company from coming to Green River. The business changes; we’ve heard about Fred Meyer, Cabelas and Costco. However, the end is the same: the Council hurts the community by not allowing something to come in.

While there is plenty of time for public comment regarding the permit, we fear if the county denies the permit, any potential for future economic development could cool.