After 3 pitches, Anderson strikes out

With few businesses expanding during the current economic recession, there has been precious little interest from employers in setting up shop in Anderson or the surrounding region, according to heads of both the city and Shasta County Economic Development Corporation (EDC), which promotes the region.

If a business was interested in moving to the city, Anderson City Manager Dana Shigley said she could divulge there was an interest but not provide the name. Unfortunately, she said on Friday, there has been no interest of late.

"Businesses now are in a retooling and planning mode. When the economy recovers, they'll go into expansion mode," said Mark Lascelles, the EDC's new president.

After conferring with past city councilmen, managers and planners about the biggest business expansions that did not come to Anderson, three major projects were presented to Shigley.

If one of them could have located in Anderson, which would she choose?

"I'd take them all, they all have different benefits," City Manager Dana Shigley said.

Sweet deal fails

The city was approached in 2008 by Sconza Candy, a bulk manufacturer of jaw breakers, licorice, chocolates, and Boston Baked Beans. The company had outgrown its Oakland facility and wanted additional room for expansion, Chief Executive Officer Jim Sconza said last week.

Finding existing food plants is very difficult, so the company expected to build a new facility, Sconza said, adding that Anderson was one of the possible locations.

"We worked really hard on that. They would have gone in on North Street in the strawberry field," City Councilman Keith Webster said.

At the time Sconza was seeking to relocate, a Hershey's Chocolate plant closed in Oakdale in order to move operations to Mexico, Sconza said.

Sconza said it was "too good to pass up," adding that the 500,000 square foot building on 71 acres already had "lots of infrastructure that we needed."

He liked the Anderson location for its freeway access, making factory tours and a retail store a definite possibility.

"I liked the small-town feel and beautiful scenery," he said.

He compared the Anderson area to Oakdale, a city of about 19,000. Happy with his factory's location in Oakdale, Sconza doesn't miss the big city.

"Nobody knew we were there in Oakland," he said.

The business employs 100 people, he said.

Shigley said the influx of well-paying manufacturing jobs would be most welcome in the city.

"Retail is great, but 100 manufacturing certainly go a long way," Shigley said. "We have a good history of blue collar workers (in Anderson)."

Play ball!

In the early 1980s, a group of interested businessmen approached the city manager with a proposal to install a baseball field for a Minor League Baseball team at Volonte Park, according to former city manager Bob Garr in a telephone interview last week.

However, a stipulation in the park's use forbid the development.

A condition in the original land grant for the park stated that if the park was not used for city recreation, then ownership of the land would revert to its original owners, Garr said.

"It never got off the ground," Garr said. "They (the businessmen) weren't willing to shop around for anything else."

They wanted to use an existing facility, he added, saying they weren't interested in Redding. Garr said he never learned the name of the baseball team, since the proposition didn't pan out.

Shigley said she likes the recreational influence the team could have on Anderson youth, encouraging them to engage in sports and staying healthy and active.

"(It's) good for quality of life and it brings a whole lot of tourists to town," she said.

Settling out of town

Anderson's proposal for the site of a $211 million courts facility did not even earn consideration from state officials, but the Redding Redevelopment Agency has yet to purchase all the land parcels required.

It's not an easy acquisition, Anderson City Manager Dana Shigley said last week.

So there still is a slim chance Anderson could net the facility, she said.

On May 17, the State Public Works Board approved the nearly five-acre parcel at Oregon and Yuba streets in Redding, less than a block from the current courthouse, Shasta County's jail, Justice Center and county administration offices, as the preferred site.

Anderson's proposal provided eight acres of land on Riverside Drive that fronts the Sacramento River. Developer Sam Tumino offered to donate the land.

The development would attract a multitude of people and workers, including lawyers, judges and support staff to Anderson, Shigley said. That means law offices and a variety of retail opportunities to follow, she said.

Like the minor league baseball field mentioned earlier, a courthouse complex could "create a focal point that generates its own life," Shigley said.

"The community and businesses develop around it. More than employers, they are public draws."