For years, industrial sites that once fueled the city’s economy have sat idle and deteriorating in and around residential areas. Now, the brownfields are presenting an opportunity for residents to re-invent their neighborhoods.
Given the problems experienced by small towns in California, Maine, Michigan and Massachusetts, I hope Johnstown is being very careful about how they deal with Nestle.
The tiny town of Fryeburg, Maine has been sued by Nestle five times after their planning commission said "no" to a Nestle truck loading station in a residential zone. Since that decision, Nestle has filed a suit and multiple appeals, once famously claiming in front of the Maine Supreme Court that their right to grow market share superseded the town's right of local determination.
Small towns all over the country are saying "no" to Nestle, in part because they don't want to lose local control of their water supplies, and because a Nestle plant isn't typically very good for local economies.
The jobs that go to locals are typically sub-living-wage gigs (Nestle admits they survey local wages so they know what to offer). The better jobs go to outside "management teams" and - unlike local businesses - any profits from the operation go straight to Nestle in Switzerland.
In Florida, Nestle promised 300 jobs to the state in return for massive tax breaks, yet delivered only 205 - 46 of which have gone to people from outside the state. That's about half the promised jobs, and what happens when the economy goes south and water bottled sales plummet?
Nestle just laid off 78% of the employees at its Calistoga, CA plant, so I guess we got our answer.
Finally, don't be fooled by Nestle's ever-present attempts to play it coy with their "we're looking at lots of sites" rhetoric. They say that everywhere, and given the number of towns that have given them the boot lately, it's clearly a negotiating stance. Don't buy it.
Posted on November 14 at 3:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Given the problems experienced by small towns in California, Maine, Michigan and Massachusetts, I hope Johnstown is being very careful about how they deal with Nestle.
The tiny town of Fryeburg, Maine has been sued by Nestle five times after their planning commission said "no" to a Nestle truck loading station in a residential zone. Since that decision, Nestle has filed a suit and multiple appeals, once famously claiming in front of the Maine Supreme Court that their right to grow market share superseded the town's right of local determination.
Small towns all over the country are saying "no" to Nestle, in part because they don't want to lose local control of their water supplies, and because a Nestle plant isn't typically very good for local economies.
The jobs that go to locals are typically sub-living-wage gigs (Nestle admits they survey local wages so they know what to offer). The better jobs go to outside "management teams" and - unlike local businesses - any profits from the operation go straight to Nestle in Switzerland.
In Florida, Nestle promised 300 jobs to the state in return for massive tax breaks, yet delivered only 205 - 46 of which have gone to people from outside the state. That's about half the promised jobs, and what happens when the economy goes south and water bottled sales plummet?
Nestle just laid off 78% of the employees at its Calistoga, CA plant, so I guess we got our answer.
Finally, don't be fooled by Nestle's ever-present attempts to play it coy with their "we're looking at lots of sites" rhetoric. They say that everywhere, and given the number of towns that have given them the boot lately, it's clearly a negotiating stance. Don't buy it.
On Nestle to test local water for possible site