Letter to the Editor: Warehouses provide much-needed jobs

The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by resident Michael Knighten:

Today we’re going to talk about warehouses again. If you know me, you know I am a glass half full type of person. I am not oblivious to crap, but I try to always see the positives.

I was able to obtain some employment numbers of all the people who live in Menifee. Menifee is home to about 1,182 businesses. These Menifee businesses employ approximately 15,990 individuals. Within the City of Menifee, there is a potential workforce of 43,400 people. Of those 43,400, 40,800 are employed, which leaves 2,600 unemployed. Forgive me, I don’t have numbers for under-employed. With the above numbers, it means 24,810 employees commute outside of Menifee for employment.

Of just the businesses in Menifee in the Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, and Transportation and Warehousing sectors, they employ 1,334 individuals. These individuals make a total of $79,979,205 annually. This equates to an average salary of $59,954 per year or about $30 per hour. I have heard anywhere from 6-8% of our workforce travels north to work in warehousing in other cities. That’s about 2.4k-3.2k people.

Currently, on the books (Planning) there is just under 9.2 million square feet of development in the Northern Gateway – Economic Development Corridor surrounding Ethanac Road. Just using an industry standard of 1 employee per 700 square feet, you’re talking 13,127 jobs. Even more jobs if these businesses operate 24/7. That can employ all the existing warehouse workers who travel, the entire annual high school graduating class, and still provide 7,000+ jobs for outsiders.

Are there going to be trucks? Of course there will be. Commerce relies on the trucking industry. With all the commercial retail on Newport, can you imagine all the trucks that move product on a daily basis? Have you ever heard anyone complain? No, but for some reason people like to complain about Ethanac.

I have been to all the Planning Commission and City Council meetings regarding these projects. The nearby residents are overwhelmingly in favor of these projects. The Planning Commission, the Community, and Economic Development Department work hard to bring you the best product available. Currently, there is over $100M in infrastructure being paid for by developers and not by taxpayers. It’s campaign season, isn’t that everyone’s gripe? We need infrastructure.

The Zoning Maps and General Plan designate this area as an Economic Development Corridor. What else would you put there? Houses? Apartments? You want an apartment complex smack in the middle of three 250k square foot buildings? These projects bring money into the city. Homes do not. We need jobs, and in order to get jobs, we need employers.