JOBS AND LOW PRICES are among the potential benefits a Wal-Mart could bring to Monroe, if a developer interested in the north half of the North Kelsey project decides to try to bring one to town. But some fear that local businesses will face killing competition, and others decry increased traffic.

Wal-Mart: Bane or Boon?
Megastore could come to Monroe; Studies, citizens divided on impact

BY POLLY KEARY, EDITOR

The future of Monroe could include a Wal-Mart. Would that be a bad thing or a boon? A source of work and a revenue generator or a source of lethal competition to already stricken businesses?

Studies show that it would likely be some of both. And the community, including business and political leaders, are torn between jobs and low prices and what could be crushing competition for some small businesses.

Where it would be

The city-owned land along North Kelsey Street is divided into several parcels, two of them large. The first is occupied by Lowe’s; a shopping center is planned for the other half of that site. The second, until recently, was occupied by Lakeside Industry’s enormous gravel pile. Lakeside leased the land and mined it for gravel. The gravel excavation process came to an end last year, and the 25 acres of land is once again available.

It’s that second piece of land that could become a Wal-Mart, a Target or a Costco, according to two developers who visited the city council Tuesday, June 16.

The two developers from the Sabey Corporation, a large and well established development company, approached the city council to talk about the possibility of developing the site because they believed it would be perfect for a “big box” store. And only a few stores are still expanding enough in the current economy to make their arrival in Monroe realistic, including Target, Costco and Wal-Mart.

Costco already has a store fairly close to Monroe, one recently constructed in Woodinville. Target is also in Woodinville. The closet Wal-Mart is in Bothell, and Wal-Mart is known for chosing rural areas for stores. And the name of the computer file the developers opened to make a presentation was “Monroe Wal-Mart,” making it seem likely that the chain is a strong candidate for the newly opened North Kelsey land.

What it could mean for the city

In the short run, at least, the arrival of a Wal-Mart or other big box on the north half of North Kelsey could solve a big problem for Monroe; that of how to pay off the south half. Which is ironic, because Monroe bought the property to keep Wal-Mart out.

City officials then feared that if the city didn’t buy the property from the county, Wal-Mart would. That didn’t fit with the future of the city as they envisioned it. They hoped for a more upscale identity for new development, and thus for the city. But when the developer who planned to create that new upscale shopping center backed out, the city was left with a lot of land and no buyer.

Various ideas have been floated including selling it off in pieces, and currently a developing company from Issaquah named SeaCon is in talks with the city about buying at least part of the site.

“As far as I know, they’re moving ahead,” said Mayor Donnetta Walser. Selling the north parcel could take a lot of pressure off the city to sell the rest of the south parcel, she said. “We never thought the north would sell before the south,” she said. “We would pay off the south and that would give us more time and freedom to get the amenities we want on the south.”

What it could mean for other businesses

On the face of it, competition between Wal-Mart and mom-and-pop businesses seems like the ultimate David and Goliath face-off, if David was a flea and Goliath the size of the Sears tower. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, and has more people in uniform than does the United States military. It sells more in a year than Home Depot, Kroger, Target, Sears and Costco combined. It’s the largest private employer in the nation.

But recent studies show that Wal-Mart isn’t necessarily a death sentence for other small businesses. Those businesses in direct competition with Wal-Mart, like small hardware stores, were the hardest hit, and often do go out of business. But according to recent work done by West Virginia University economics professor Russel Sobel, the actual number of small businesses in a town in which Wal-Mart arrives tends to remain constant. According to his data, when businesses close, others tend to take their place.

In the small town of Omak, Wash., where Wal-Mart arrived about 10 years ago, the net effect on the city has been positive, said mayor Cindy Gagne last week. “I think it has been positive, yes,” she said. “It met with initial resistance.We are a small town. But I look back on it, and there’s been very little loss of independent retailers.”

Other businesses may actually benefit, according to some studies, because of increased shopping traffic to the area.

That is a potential benefit associated with any big box, Walser pointed out. “All three of them are a regional draw,” she said. “People could come from as far as Leavenworth. People may go to a place to go to a Costco, but when they get there, they see other businesses.”

The key to surviving the arrival of Wal-Mart is to not try to compete with the super store, some consultants say. It is impossible to win on prices, so it is better to pick a niche and offer a better selection and better service than Wal-Mart is likely to offer, the thinking goes.

Neil Watkins, director of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, is taking a cautious approach. “We as a chamber have not discussed the impacts and come to a position,” he said. But, he added, the goal of the chamber is to protect business in Monroe, which is 90% small business. “We don’t want it to be counterproductive,” he said of a potential big box.

What it could mean for people who live here

One thing that Monroe will likely have to deal with should a Wal-Mart or other big box come is a lot of new traffic. One study, conducted by DSR Marketing System in 2005, showed that a Walmart increased traffic volume in the area by 30%.

A Walmart or other big box could certainly create jobs, although many would likely be low-paying. And it would also create low-cost, convenient shopping, which would likely be a boon for many in the area, especially the low-income.

Opinions on local message boards have been sharply divided, with some decrying Wal-Mart as a source of poverty wage jobs and poor-quality goods made overseas, with others welcoming jobs and the opportunity to save money.

Political candidates are also torn. “Wal-Mart can bring jobs, and could bring competition to Fred Meyer,” said Bridgette Tuttle, who is running for Monroe City Council. “But with traffic, having a giant mega-store in a small town seems excessive.”

Paul Loots, also running for the same position, said that another store might be a better fit. “I could see a Kohl’s, or something we don’t already have, like a sporting goods store like Wholesale Sports, which has hunting and hiking and fishing stuff,” he said.

Patsy Cudabck, a third candidate for the seat, isn’t big in the idea. “I’m not in favor of a Wal-Mart, per se,” she said. “That was discussed when the city bought the property, why would we change that now?”

Mayor Walser herself is cautious about the prospect. “Wal-Mart has a bad reputation for if a business doesn’t work, they board it up and leave it,” she said. “We don’t want that.”

But, she said, Wal-Mart isn’t the anathema that it used to be. “The north side location is a lot better for it,” she said. “A Wal-Mart on the south side would be wrong for the city.” And she said, which ever business does come will still have to abide by the attractive design standards the city has planned for the entire North Kelsey area, north and south.

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