Economy of Flathead based in building, researcher says

POLSON — The Flathead’s economy is tied to its beauty. People are coming, building, moving in because they want to be near that beauty.
Larry Swanson, Director of the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, said that new growth is “squeezing all the slack out of our seasonality” of population flux. What was once a seasonal economy is now a year-round economy, he said, with new growth not in natural resources, but in construction and service jobs.
The Rocky Mountains have the fastest growing regional economy in the US, Swanson said, but it is heavily dependent on realty-based businesses, creating an economy that is “hollow and not sustainable.
While population growth in the Flathead is listed at a steady 3 percent per year, part-time residents are not counted in that growth.
The effect, he said, is there are more people impacting the area than are statistically accounted for. In 20 years, the full-time residential population of the valley is expected to exceed 140,000 individuals, Swanson added.
Most of those moving in are in two age groups: those above 60 and those from 20 – 30 years old. The population growth comes with a steadily rising inflation. The impact of growth, he said, is greater than what can be made up for through taxing homeowners.
“We’ve already tapped out property taxes — we’re over-dependant on property taxes,” he said.
“Per capita income in Lake County,” Swanson said, “is way too low. We need to increase wages.” Swanson suggests local government look into work force development and diversification, rather than relying on unregulated housing growth to fuel the economy.
To that end, Swanson said businesses that move in must be “on top of the pack. If you don’t stand out, you’re not in the picture.”
Swanson believes the key to sustainable growth is proper planning and regulation. One good example, he said, was Ravalli County, which voted in a $10 million open space bond to keep agricultural land in production. They are “putting in place tools and planning processes” to confront their increased growth, he said. Lake County was also praised as being proactive in addressing issues before inevitable changes damage quality of life.
“Lake County had some good ideas — higher densities close to towns,” he said. But “Flathead County has had a hard time getting there,” he said. To be effective, he said, planning needs to integrate businesses, government and the public.
“Urban-rural relations really matter,” Swanson said. “They must be knit into a partnership.”
Even the governor had an opinion on how to preserve the quality of life within the Flathead basin. When Brian Schweitzer spoke to the conference, he urged attendees to vote in leadership that would guide growth with thoughtful planning. And, he said, “listen to the voices of those who have lived here for 5,000 years.”
“Plan for the next seven generations. You can’t keep (people) from coming to the Flathead. All you can do is develop a strategy to address those that come.”