The other border

New Mexico Business Journal, July, 1996 by Sue Bohannan Mann

People in West Texas walk with a new spring in their step, a twinkle in their eyes, looking to wide horizons. As they move toward a new decade, a new century, a new millenium, they stride with a well-earned confidence. This country is on the upswing to meet new challenges in the 1990s. The '80s saw first boom and then bust, but through diversity, determination and a new spirit of cooperation, the economy moves steadily upward.

West Texas, along the 350 miles of the eastern New Mexico border, sits atop the Caprock desert, an escarpment rising from 2,200 feet in the south to 4,600 feet in elevation at the north and east, often called the High Plains or Texas Panhandle.

The people of West Texas, from Midland-Odessa in the Trans-Pecos, Amarillo in the North Plains, to Lubbock in the South Plains form hubs covering the area. Their voices are beginning to be heard in Austin (finally), they compete with Dallas (though Dallas doesn't know it) and they join hands across New Mexico's border, where cultural and geographical ties run as deep as the mesquite roots Texans and New Mexicans fight to keep out of their ranch and farm lands.

The first fall in oil prices from $38 to $27 per barrel threw the regional economy into a tailspin. Marvin Witcher, a petroleum engineer in Midland, remembers a Friday October afternoon in 1983, when he watched people standing in line at the First National Bank of Midland, the largest independent bank in the country at that time. They were withdrawing cash before the hometown bank shut down operations. By 1986, the oil price had dropped to $9 per barrel. Today it has stabilized at around $20.

Amarillo experienced a recession in the late '80s from the downswing in gas and oil production coupled with lower agriculture prices. To add further economic injury, Bell Helicopter plant of Amarillo shut down in 1988, and 800 employees were laid off.

"We had 3,500 homes on the market," says Steve Ahlenius, director of Amarillo's Business Development and Public Affairs. With the gradual addition of 5,000 to 6,000 jobs through diversified new business, the number has dropped to 900.

When news came last year that Reese Air Force Base at Lubbock, which trains 234 jet pilots per year, will close in 1997, citizens banded together to offset the loss of 2,300 jobs. Because of early contracts signed when the base was built in 1942, the property will revert to the city. Committees are working to entice industry and/or organizations such as South Plains College at Levelland or Texas Technological University to rent the classrooms, base housing and warehouses.

Is Eastern New Mexico Really in West Texas?

The flat terrain of the Caprock continues across the border into New Mexico's llano estacado, often referred to as "Little Texas." The geographic proximity to the three hubs of West Texas draws New Mexican east siders who prefer frequent crossings of the time zone rather than traveling longer distances to Albuquerque for shopping or medical care. Residents from Clovis and Portales can choose between Lubbock or Amarillo because of good roads and equal distances.

"We consider Eastern New Mexico an extension of this area," says Jerry Stevens, president of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. "With the closing of Reese Air Force Base, the 100-mile proximity to Cannon Air Force Base at Clovis becomes more important for military retirees to use the commissary and PX privileges important to them."

"If we were drawing up lines on economies, on philosophies, and how communities view and deal with business," says Cheryl Pink, director of economic development for Southwestern Public Service in Amarillo, "you would not see a line where Texas borders New Mexico."

New Mexico, therefore, also benefits from economic growth in West Texas. But why is the "other border" turning around? What push gave West Texas the boost?

Strength in Alliance

In 1988, the Texas Legislature passed a law allowing local communities to add a 1/2 percent sales tax to be spent on economic development. "Amarillo was the fourth city in the state to adopt it," says Ahlenius. The Lubbock and the Midland-Odessa chambers of commerce have also set up offices targeted toward increased economic development through diversification and cooperation.

Strength through alliances pervades West Texas country. "We only have 400,000 people in the 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle," says Ahlenius, "and we are closer to five other state capitals than our own." For this reason, the regional Texas Panhandle Chamber of Commerce charters a plane each year for members to fly the 500 miles to Austin. Last year 265 people represented the area at the Texas legislative session.

Amarillo currently enjoys a 98 percent occupancy of apartments and office buildings. "We are the second-fastest growing city in Texas," says Bob Bass, manager of business retention and expansion at the Amarillo Chamber.

Midland and Odessa, only 20 miles apart and traditional rivals, have learned strength in alliance. They adopted a combined Midland-Odessa last June. By combining their market service area, the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) number stands at 240,000.