What next for city's economic development?

With population growth comes development, and with development comes opportunity. But what form such development - and opportunity - takes, and who benefits from it, should not be left to chance.

For years, the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce has tried to create momentum for a viable development plan for the city. Ideas, and those who have promoted them, have come and gone. Some remain, others have evolved into newer ideas. But one common element is intact - a desire for careful, well-thought-out planning for the city and its future.

Part of that vision, properly, involved a partnership with the city government, and in 2004, Wasilla Mayor Dianne M. Keller hired Ron Singel as the city's first director of economic development. Part of Singel's job, as outlined in a mission statement on the city Web site, was to &#8220work with and assist local businesses” and proactively market Wasilla as a viable business location.

With such a position up and running, and Mayor Keller serving on the chamber's board of directors, the stars seemed to be aligned for the kind of positive, forward-thinking change that would lead to city growth that all residents could be proud of.

But amid rumblings in the business community, Keller quietly gave up her chamber post in November. And on Jan. 6, Singel resigned his position on short notice and with no official explanation from Keller.

City residents should be concerned. Taken together, these events signal a shift in official city thinking away from a collaborative approach to planning to a more unilateral one.

The mystery surrounding the departure of Singel, who by all accounts was both well-liked personally and highly regarded professionally, should be especially worrisome. The sensitivity of personnel matters aside, residents and the business community deserve to know more about why someone who appeared to have a keen eye for the big picture is no longer working for - and with - them. Perhaps more important, though, is the need to know what sort of planning strategy lies ahead.

Lacking voluntary explanation from the mayor's office, the city council should take the lead in getting answers to the questions that need to be asked. It is no overstatement to say the city's future is at stake.

Wasilla's proximity to Anchorage has spurred tremendous population growth in recent years. And its Parks Highway location puts it in the path of thousands and thousands of summer visitors. There is opportunity aplenty for all who live and work in the city.

But only proper collaborative planning will help realize the full potential here and help the city become more than just a pit stop for travelers on the road from Anchorage to Denali National Park and beyond.