Owasso sets ambitious jobs goal

OWASSO, Okla. (AP) _ City leaders have set an ambitious goal of attracting 3,000 jobs _ each paying at least $50,000 a year _ over the next five years. <br/><br/>The announcement comes less than one year

Sunday, April 23rd 2006, 5:02 pm

By: News On 6

OWASSO, Okla. (AP) _ City leaders have set an ambitious goal of attracting 3,000 jobs _ each paying at least $50,000 a year _ over the next five years.

The announcement comes less than one year after a $55 million retail development opened in their city.

``We believe we are going to get those jobs,'' City Manager Rodney Ray said. ``We believe there are companies in metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles and Kansas City whose owners and employees seek a more community-oriented type of location for their teams.''

Recent history suggests that the goal can be achieved.

By the end of this year, Owasso will have added at least 1,500 jobs. An estimated 1,100 people work at the Smith Farm Marketplace, which opened last fall with stores such as Target, Old Navy and Hobby Lobby.

At least 425 jobs are scheduled to be added late this year with the opening of two hospitals, St. John Owasso and Bailey Medical Center, hospital officials say.

The medical payrolls for the hospitals, both of which could be in operation by October, are expected to total $22 million.

``We believe those two hospitals are going to provide the impetus for some of this relocation,'' Ray said, adding that those jobs will not count toward the current initiative.

``We want people to think about Owasso, Oklahoma, and what a great place the heartland of America really can be for a company. We think we can make it work.''

Owasso's employment directive dates to the 1980s, when city strategists vowed to decrease the municipality's dependence on Tulsa International Airport.

In 1989, the jobs of about 78 percent of Owasso residents were associated with the airport, Ray said.

``So if American (Airlines) or McDonnell Douglas had a good year, things were good,'' he said. ``If they had a bad couple of years, things were bad in Owasso.''

Now, the percentage of residents holding airport-related jobs has dropped to roughly 18 percent, he said.

Stabilizing the economy through the creation of local jobs is the final phase of Owasso's long-term strategy to increase the population and retail base and improve infrastructure.

``I think we have the data to let people know that this is a great place to live and work,'' Ray said.