Kansas to add another 2,500 good jobs.... (Olathe, Atlanta: sales, how much, home)

[Mathguy]

Olathe City Council votes to approve Garmin expansion | Local News - KMBC Home

Jobs added to an existing company no less despite being told that this was impossible.

Good news for Olathe as this proceeds.

[GraniteStater]

Good news for them. Personally, as someone who works in the GIS field, I do not have much use for the way they do business or hire people from the outside. It was structurally backward as of a few years ago. Perhaps that has changed, not for sure.

[kcmo]

I'm sure the "impossible" comment was an attack on me. When did I (or anyone else) ever say that companies already existing in Kansas don't expand and add jobs? Now I did say that Kansas has a very difficult time bringing in "new" jobs from a different region other than just poaching them from KCMO. KCMO brings in "new" jobs to the metropolitan region at a MUCH higher rate than the KS side does. Now once they settle in KCMO, the KS side will often go after them a few years later, but rarely do you see an announcement of 300 brand new jobs to the metro moving from Dallas or Atlanta to the Kansas side yet they poach from KCMO quite often. That is what I said.

Oh and good for Garmin. I already knew about this expansion, but I'm impressed that they have diversified themselves enough to grow like this because their portable GPS devices have really taken a hit since smart phones has evolved.

Garmin is a good local company that actually started on the Kansas side. I have no beef with them. We will see how much corporate welfare they ask for though before actually building anything, but Kansas tax payers don't seem to care about that. They just give it out, no questions asked. Can't really blame Garmin for taking it. Would be really nice if Kansas said no to (excessive) incentives unless they built in Downtown KCK or something, but yea, that's a funny joke.

[Mathguy]

Since you asked for quotes:

Too bad for Kansas that Cerner owns its buildings in NKC and SKC and won't be needing to move any time soon. But they got paid big time to build in KCK. That's why they walked away from the Bannister Mall "REDEVELOMENT" and built out in the middle of cow farms. Can't pass up that kind of money. Nearly free office buildings and a free soccer stadium toy too! Why not? When you buy a couch at Nebraska Furniture Mart, just think you also probably paid for a door in that new office building across the street up with the sales tax you paid, that could have gone to your schools or police!

Regardless, the incentives are so outrageous that MO can't really compete with them if they wanted to.

I totally agree with you on bringing new companies to the metro. But nearly all of the companies that have taken advantage of Kansas incentives have been from KCMO.

I'd keep going but your most outrageous statements all get deleted and then you act as if you never made them (maybe you don't remember the next day?). Any further effort on my part to enlighten you will be a waste because in no time at all you'll cause a mass deletion and thread lock and then whine more about KS not having positive threads when you show up.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Good news for them. Personally, as someone who works in the GIS field, I do not have much use for the way they do business or hire people from the outside. It was structurally backward as of a few years ago. Perhaps that has changed, not for sure.

Yeah, the zoning committee didn't like the idea in terms of traffic and potential impacts on home values etc. but in this economy...it's business first.

Not to mention that I think whatever negative impact there might be, there should be a positive home value impact as well.