Bio-Defense building project deserves wholehearted support

You might call this a matter of putting the “pig in the parlor.”

Greater Columbia is trying to persuade federal government officials to relocate the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility from its spot in Plum Island, N.Y., to a 100-acre tract on New Haven Road in Southeast Columbia.

Columbia is one of 17 communities in the running for the $450 million project. Some people say our chances are improving when it comes to landing the facility, given the package of touts offered by the University of Missouri and other entities, on top of the quality-of-life advantages this area offers.

This intrusive “pig,” in sum, would produce so many economic advantages for us that it is impossible for us to ignore it. Apart from the bricks and mortar are 400 or more high-paying research positions that, from this armchair observer’s position, could add up to an annual payroll upwards of $40 million. Folks with an ear closer to the ground are estimating a $3.5 billion economic impact across the entire state, with so many trickle-downs that we’ll never fully get a handle on them.

The “parlor,” it turns out, is another one of those areas that used to be so pristine way out in the country—or so we thought. As Columbia sprawls further and further into the once-untouched woods and pastureland of Greater Boone County, finding the required acreage for this, or any other, project becomes increasingly problematic. Any collector of plat books and topographic maps can attest to this, so when some project in Boone County needing 100 acres or more shows up at the gates, well…. good luck!

Proponents say this site makes sense because it is close-in and yet not too close, while proximate to the University of Missouri’s Discovery Ridge research park. Opponents score it because it’s right next door to New Haven Elementary School and various residential areas that have popped up over the years.

Amidst all this are claims of perfect safety and minimal environmental impact, based on the track record of experience elsewhere up to this point.

Since the onset of the Cold War more than 50 years ago, we have inhabited an area that has been potentially dangerous to live in. Maybe not a good excuse for opposing this project, but an earlier target of concern included dozens of missile silos now dismantled west and southwest of Columbia that left us discomforted if we thought about them. The University of Missouri research reactor has been nestled amongst us for more than 40 years, while the Callaway Nuclear Reactor at Reform soon will celebrate its 30th birthday.

There’s been much talk over the past few weeks about Central Missouri’s economic health and future potential. We’ve been sobered by declines in the average wage paid to workers while warily peeking around the corner looking for the next economic miracle. Who wouldn’t lunge at this burst of federal largesse?

While some observers say sites in Texas have the inside track, given that state’s spacious isolation, let’s gun for this with as much as we can give. Even if we’re not ultimately victorious, the exercise of merely organizing our maximum development efforts will set the stage for the next project that sooner or later will come into view.

On a collateral note comes the drift of a rumor that something big may be a-building in the matter of reliable hub-based airline service in and out of Mid-Missouri Regional—née Columbia Regional Airport. While I’m jumping the gun on names as the airport nears its 40th birthday, something will have to give because the level of passenger boarding continues to swoon.

While these rumors may shortly turn into something concrete to announce, gaining the federally funded $450 million research facility would guarantee enough travel activity as to tip the balance in our favor and restore airline service between Columbia and a major hub airport.