What If Ashley Wasn't In Arcadia?

During Monday's special Chamber meeting, Todd Wanek, President and CEO of Ashley Furniture posed a very intriguing question – one that I'm sure not a lot of people in Arcadia would like, nor ever want, to ponder. That question: What if Ashley was located in Illinois? Well, first off, if Ashley's Midwestern manufacturing plant were located in Illinois, it wouldn't be here … obviously. Thus, by spinning his question around, a better, yet more dire, question evolves. What if Ashley wasn't in Arcadia? Definitely food for thought.

To be frank, the City of Arcadia, as well as Trempealeau County and the entire Coulee Region, is extremely fortunate to have a successful manufacturer like Ashley Furniture in its midst for several reasons. The most obvious is the benefit to the local economy. As was pointed out during the meeting, well over 1,000 Ashley employees reside in the 54612 zip code. These people spend their wages here and pay taxes here, strengthening the city's financial system. For years, Ashley has prided itself on creating a ripple effect – the theory that every dollar is capable of turning over seven times in the community in which it is spent. Now imagine if Ashley were to relocate elsewhere. Believe me, a ripple effect would still exist, only it would be felt in the exact opposite direction.

Without Ashley, less money would be spent locally, the city would have less money to put toward infrastructure, the school system would not be what it is today and local business owners would suffer losses in revenue and likely go bankrupt. In addition, the population of Arcadia would be significantly lower and the tax base would be far less than what it is now. So when a business like Ashley Furniture takes a $7 million hit due to flooding –with a good chance of the same thing happening in the future – one might wonder if it would be cheaper for the company to just uproot and relocate to an area where the flood risk is significantly lower or nonexistent. Not that Ashley Furniture is going to pack up and leave town anytime soon, but, I'm sure if a great opportunity to move the business out of a floodplain ever presented itself, it would be seriously considered. Thus, I think there's a very strong sense of urgency to address the city's flooding issues.

Businesses, residents and the city as a whole would benefit greatly if the levee was accredited and the people of Arcadia would no longer be required to have flood insurance. After all, less money spent on flood insurance means more money will circulate back into the local economy. Those in attendance at Monday's meeting received a copy of a news article published in that day's USA Today with the headline, "If you build it, will they come?" The article focused on a speculative industrial site in Van Wert, Ohio, "complete with a rail line, gas lines, land acquisition options and anything else a manufacturer would need." Reading those words, as well as the line that stated, "all that's missing is a manufacturer who wants to build a giant factory on 1,600 acres of farmland in northwest Ohio," it really got me thinking that, just because Ashley is here today, doesn't mean the company is obligated to stay here forever. When cities like Van Wert are doing everything in their power to attract business, I can't help but wonder why Arcadia isn't doing everything in its power to retain and protect its businesses.

Jennie Oemig
Staff Writer
Trempealeau County Times