The Girtz letter on NABF

A lot has been made of this letter written by Athens Clarke-County District Nine Commissioner Kelly Girtz, and he was kind enough to forward it to me. The whole thing will be up to read at Flagpole shortly. Girtz is a supporter of NABF and is one of the few folks attempting to have a civil and rational discussion about the issue.

I just want to offer some additional background on his vegetarian comments which have gotten an illogical amount of focus. It's clear that Girtz, who is a vegetarian and has been one for 18 years, was being tongue-in-cheek in his statement. The commissioner said he practiced such a dietary lifestyle partially because of his concern over big agriculture interests who pursue unsustainable practices with regard to their farms and livestock, and that his comment was a humorous attempt to say 'if you eat like me, it would be better!' ...

If only y’all would only join me, maybe there would not be such a need for protection of our animal population. However, it is clear that a shift in dietary habits through minimizing industrial agriculture is a long way off. I only need to hang out with the high school students in my classes through a few fried-travesty meals to recognize this.

Again, tongue-in-cheek and not an official policy position.

What was interesting about the letter was his portion addressing the concerns regarding on whether or not Athenians would benefit job-wise from this or if outside folks would. Girtz does an excellent job framing this as one piece in a long-term economic development strategy ...

It has been noted that the current twenty-year economic impact projection of NBAF of $1.5B is not any greater than a big-box retailer over the same time period. While this may be true in rough terms, the devil is in the details here. A big retailer pays its employees a minimal wage, and provides minimal benefits, so the impact does not reverberate broadly in the local community. Instead, the profits flow to a CEO in Arkansas, shareholders in Los Angeles and manufacturing interests in China. In the case of a federal research facility, much of the impact is tied-up in salaries and the spending those salaries precipitate in the local economy. In addition, the workers at NBAF, whether federal employees (my overwhelming preference) or private contractors, would not likely be a burden on the economy in the way that a poorly paid employee lacking health insurance would be.

The other economic development issue related to NBAF that has generated discussion has been the issue of local jobs vs. imported workers. “How many of these jobs would be drawn from the current population of Athens?” is the question that I have heard. In many ways, the thinking about any economic development opportunity must be similar to the thinking behind a new construction project – they must both involve consideration long term impacts. When considering requests for new structures, I think about what Athens will need in twenty and fifty years. We know that the Plum Island facility has been in place for many decades, and all expect the new NBAF facility to have the same lifespan, wherever it is based. It is in this multi-decade context that I consider the economic development impact of the project.

Because the facility is expected to be up and running in just a few years, it is likely that many of the initial employees will not be from Athens. However, because there will be a continual need for replacement personnel, Athens Tech and the Clarke County School District have developed a longitudinal plan for a feeder system of lab technician training to create a steady stream of future employees. This is the right way to approach any burgeoning industry.