Great Falls retailer Alison Fried is allotted five minutes at
Great Falls Development Authority's annual economic summit on
Tuesday.
The problem?
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"I've got about 45 minutes of
stuff to talk about," said Fried, the proprietor of Dragonfly Dry
Goods and the recently opened Dragonfly Kitchen and Bath. Both
stores are in downtown Great Falls.
Fried is one of four speakers scheduled to discuss the local
retail scene at the summit. A representative from the Macerich Co.,
Lance Lerud, the Wal-Mart manager, and Scheels Sports manager Trevor
Swenson also will share retail observations.
The boiled-down version of Fried's talk will hit upon attitude,
perception and risk-taking.
"Mostly, I want to talk about the attitude and the way we
perceive ourselves," the retailer said. "If we had a different
perspective about Great Falls and the state of Montana, we could do
great things."
Fried said some folks who enter her stores ask how she sells
sometimes-pricey wares in a slow-growth community with few high-wage
earners.
Fried said she sees a "we are not good enough" attitude among
some residents and "that's sad."
Dragonfly Dry Goods has been around for eight years, while the
kitchen and bath store opened this fall. Both are attracting plenty
of customers, Fried says.
There is plenty of room for entrepreneurship in Great Falls if
folks are willing to dive in, she says. She may tote a pillow with a
favored saying to the summit.
"Leap and the net will appear," the pillow stitching reads.
"That's kind of what I've done and that's what the city is
missing," Fried said.
GFDA president John Kramer says the retailing segment was added
to the summit this year to highlight recent and pending retail
growth.
The purpose of the session is to spark talk of "how we can stem
this outflow of our retail dollars," Kramer said.
Other speakers will discuss developments in other key economic
sectors.
Larry Swanson, an economist and director of the Center for the
Rocky Mountain West in Missoula, will kick off the session with a
discussion of the economy in Great Falls and the surrounding region.
He will also offer comparisons of Great Falls with similar-sized
peer communities.
While he hadn't wrapped up his research and presentation late
last week, Swanson said his presentation probably will include a
mixed bag of news.
On the downside, Great Falls and the surrounding 11-county area
continue to see very little population growth. A number of the
regional counties in the trade area continue to lose people,
offsetting small gains elsewhere.
People leaving northcentral Montana, often called
"out-migration," also saps population gains. But the departure trend
is slowing.
Northcentral Montana also continues to age, with the average age
topping 40 in some counties. But that trend may be short-lived.
"This is just a cycle we are going through as the baby boomers
age," Swanson said. But children of boomers entering the workforce
are helping reverse the course.
In Great Falls, 25 to 29-year-olds make up the fastest growing
age segment, evidence that the city is capturing its share of "echo"
boomers.
"So, that's good news," the economist said.
When it comes to income levels, Cascade County is faring better
than the surrounding counties and even some peer cities, according
to Swanson. With a 2004 average per-capita income of $26,085,
Cascade County is above the state average, he noted.
Swanson said income levels in Great Falls are probably in the top
50 percent of the 20 or so peer cities he tracks.
"If you are climbing against your peers, then that's real
progress," said Swanson.
While the numbers may not chronicle an economic boom, the
Missoula economist said he's convinced Great Falls is on a solid
economic development path.
Having a solid, realistic strategy to attract new jobs is
important in stoking what Swanson describes as an economic fire.
"Most of what Great Falls is trying to do fits," he said. "It is
trying to put more logs on the fire."
greatfallstribune.com
