Palmer aims to expand economic base

PALMER — City Manager Bill Allen spent his birthday Saturday riding a bus.

Allen rode through the streets of Palmer, into the city’s industrial area, and even stopped at the airport. The ride was not a grand celebration of Allen’s birthday. He was working the whole time.

The bus ride was part of Palmer’s first economic tour, an event aimed at out-of-town movers and shakers in business who might be interested in the Palmer area.

For those on the tour, it appeared Palmer officials were selling the town’s future potential by touting its past. Guests were shown historic areas of Palmer, the business and industrial districts and the airport, all leading up to the roll out of plans for a new convention center in Palmer, a project planners hope will attract interest from around the state.

Saturday’s bus ride, however, wasn’t a hard sales pitch about relocating businesses to Palmer. It was heavy on history and Palmer’s folksy, small-town ways. Guests were given the tourist treatment, complete with a historical account of many buildings in the town and a narrative from Matanuska Electric Association Board Member Janet Kincaid.

Palmer City Councilman Kevin Brown said the day was a success and met its goal.

“The goal of this tour was to show the best of what Palmer has to offer to a group of people who have the ability to make pretty big investments in our community over the next few years,” he said.

Represented among the tour’s guests was the oil and gas industry, tourism and non-profit officials, among others.

Chris Gates, the tour’s host, began the bus ride by saying he knew everyone had their own “understanding and impressions” of the small Southcentral town. His job was to point out what is often not seen to typical passers-by who zoom past on the Glenn Highway without a second glance.

One area of the trip that seemed the most pivotal for grabbing interest of business leaders was the city’s industrial area.

There, where MEA, Matanuska Telephone Association and myriad other business are located, Gates pointed out both upstart and well-established businesses that have found a hold in Palmer. He said the low cost of doing business in the town — compared to Anchorage — is one economic factor that attracts business owners to the area.

There’s also a huge resource in the city’s airport, officials said, touting the facility’s ability to handle heavy cargo loads with paved and lighted runways.

Brown said Palmer’s business and industrial areas are parts of the city many Anchorage business owners don’t know about. He said he received plenty of positive feedback from tour riders impressed with the amenities Palmer has to offer after seeing them in person.

The trip even included a stop at Vanderweele Farms to see its carrot processing unit. There, the bus promptly became mired in a snowbank upon trying to leave the farm, adding 20 minutes to the tour.

“It’s good exposure to people of influence,” Brown said.

That influence will be necessary for a convention center in the town to prosper.

Proposed to be smaller than the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, Palmer’s convention center would appear best suited for local use. Besides being a local business resource, officials envision a dynamic area that can be used for multiple purposes.

But Saturday was all about education, and re-education for some, about the benefits of doing business in Palmer.

“It was showing them the type of place they have the opportunity to move to and invest in,” Brown said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.