Emmett/Gem County Community Review Report Summary

• Invite people to come home and start a business. A direct mail piece to all of the
Emmett High School graduates over the past 25 years inviting them to come home
and start the business of their dreams could be very effective. Exhibiting beautiful
photographs of the region, listing the specific business opportunities available on the
website, and citing the numerous advantages of living and working in Gem County
could be part of this mailing. Strategic Development Group, Inc. has just concluded
a report stating that 38% of college graduates nation-wide would like to start a
business in their hometown. The findings also indicate that many college graduates
from small and rural communities have a favorable view of their hometowns,
especially as they relate to geographic location and cost of living. (See “Brain Drain
Survey” at http://www.sdg.us/).
• Market Emmett as a unique place to visit and shop. This involves thinking of
downtown and business corridors like shopping malls and having enough different
specialty shops and food outlets to create a critical mass that will draw customers.
Unique features that Emmett could capitalize as part of this marketing campaign
include the Cherry Festival, Cruise Night, the Butte, and the rich history of the
region.
Basic Industry/Industrial Park
It is important for Emmett’s future, if it is to be more than a tourism destination or
bedroom community to Ada and Canyon Counties, to have local businesses producing
goods and services that are sold outside the valley to bring in additional new dollars to the
economy and create wealth. Thus, it is critical to develop an industrial park or multiple sites
for industrial businesses, to attract and grow basic industry and create the jobs that will be
physically located in the community in a wide economic range beyond the possibilities of
retail-focused markets. The infrastructure section of this report addresses the current
industrial park site development efforts in greater detail.
The need for additional job creation in retail business and through industry recruitment was
mentioned by most of the individuals and business owners we met with or interviewed. It is
clear that retail business development was a top priority of city officials, but such was not
necessarily the case with regard to industrial park development. Industrial park site
development is also important to the city and should not be overlooked or under-prioritized
simply because the existing industrial park site is outside the City of Emmett’s current
borders.
The importance of local job creation and business assistance was mentioned in numerous
contexts: civic engagement and the availability of volunteers; commuting patterns and
transportation needs; shopping patterns and the patronage or lack of patronage of local
businesses; and the sense of community, all of which impact the quality of life in Emmett
and Gem County.
With regard to commuting patterns, there is an interactive website which creates maps
showing commute to work trends for any county. The data comes from the U.S. Census. It
is officially called "Journey-to-Work" data. The link to this website is at:
http://161.188.204.80/maps/charlotte/jtw51.asp
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