Tama slow to adjust as large employer opens

TAMA - Cars pack into a large dirt parking lot here on the east edge of the city flanked by a cattle lot, fields, and the new Iowa Premium Beef factory.

You'd expect to find this when a large employer launches, but it's not exactly as it appears. Few vehicles have Tama County license plates.

Instead, it's Marshall, Linn, Johnson, or Black Hawk, or other states such as Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, or Missouri.

'I've kicked around moving or sharing an apartment, maybe a one-bedroom efficiency,” said Doug Baker, an employee who commutes 72 miles each way from West Branch. 'I would have done that. It would be cheaper ...

. But you are not going to find that here in Tama.”

And that's one of the challenges for prospective employees - where to live.

Today, Tama is the opposite of the familiar rural storyline in which the major employer closes and the community scrambles to adjust when jobs and work force leave. Set in central Iowa about an hour west of Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and, Des Moines and 30 miles from the closest interstate, the city of nearly 2,900 people lived that story a decade ago when Iowa Quality Beef closed, furloughed 500-plus workers, and sent the local economy into a tailspin.

But Tama seemingly is on the rebound now.

Iowa Premium opened in November, taking over the facility and promising to revitalize the area with 950 jobs, expansion, and partnership with the community.

The factory, which may ramp up to 2,200 head of cattle butchered a day, now boasts 511 employees and is adding 30 to 40 new workers a week, according to company officials. Wages for employees are in the range of $13.50 to $15.50 an hour, according to information from Iowa Economic Development Authority and news reports.

But the lack of housing has complicated recruitment and retention.

'If all's equal, and there's an hour drive and gas, or work close to home, (they'll say), ‘We are not going to take the drive,'” said Jeffrey Johnson, Iowa Premium chief executive.

He said houses are available, but his employees are seeking rentals, and that's where they've run into problems.

Mike Amayo, who works on the factory line, came to Iowa Premium via packing plants in Idaho and most recently Grand Island, Neb. He stayed at Designer Inn & Suites in Toledo for two months while looking for a place to live. He was considering Cedar Rapids before finding a three-bedroom apartment with a small yard for his two dogs in Marshalltown.

'It seems like there's a lot of houses, but not a lot to rent,” Amayo said.

Johnson has spoken with local city councils of the need, and contacted a developer to consider building. Given the history at the plant, Johnson said leaders are understandably hesitant but he said Iowa Premium is committed for the long haul, noting a $48 million investment and plans to add on.

'I think our investment shows itself,” Johnson said. 'You can see the construction. It doesn't look like a sign we are not in it to stay.”

Slow to come on board

Local leaders see the action, but are still slow to buy in.

'They are doing really good, but you never know how long a business is going to last,” said Tama City Council member Kenny McAdoo. 'You believe it will last forever, then hard times come and you can't afford it.”

The plant had a successful run as Tama Pack dating back to 1971 but changed ownership three times over five years before Iowa Quality closed. The closure came around the same time as banks called in loans on two out-of-state investors with 60 houses, some of which were rented to beef plant workers, recalled Marty Hardon, a local businessman and contractor.

Some houses were fixed up, but many sat empty for years without electricity or water and deteriorated, leaving a reminder of the past. Some houses were torn down while others still stand.

'It hasn't been easy,” said factory line worker Mina Siyavong, who came with her husband Amado Bautista family from North Carolina, 'What we found either wasn't done being fixed, there was a hole in the roof, or hole in the wall to the other apartment. There's not a lot of choices.”

Her family lived in a hotel for two months before finding a basement apartment in Tama.

Some employees feel they have a stigma given their line of work, that partly explains the lack of urgency to address housing needs.

'‘We don't need to fix it up,'” Tom Adams, an employee who shares an apartment with a co-worker in Tama, said is his impression of attitudes on housing. '‘These are packinghouse people. They'll accept it.'”

Efforts to build

Newbury Living, a West Des Moines-based developer, had tried to build apartment complexes in the area, but plans hit roadblocks.

Tama rejected proposals due to concerns about location and traffic increases. A plan for 24-unit complex in Toledo was derailed when Newbury couldn't get a $3 million federal Community Development Block Grant.

'Even though there's a demand there, it's all relative because it depends on the rent you could generate,” said Bob Rafferty, an attorney who represents Newbury. 'You can't make that cash flow once you borrow money or take investment dollars without assistance.”

Tama Mayor Dan Zimmerman did not return several messages left at city hall.

Contractor Hardon buys rundown downtown buildings and others and renovates them into apartments - he's turning over two every six months.

'Since the meat packing plant came, we have stepped up a bit and have full-time people doing that,” Hardon said of the renovations. 'The demand is there and we have no problem getting them rented. We have people giving me rent six months in advance to hold the place.”

Culture clash

Another underlying issue may be lingering in the predominantly white community.

'There's a perception that all of these people from the meat packing plant are from other countries, and they're low income,” Hardon said. 'But they are making as much as the mean income of people in the area. People are just less apt to embrace something they aren't familiar with.”

Don Rank, a former city council member and owner of a local antiques shop, said he doesn't believe there's opposition to the plant's workers moving to town. He said when the demand supports it, Tama will address housing.

'I have no objection to that packing plant,” Rank said. 'We have to do something.”

McAdoo said he believes the city can 'get along with anyone” and would be supportive if the right housing project came along. He said if people look long enough, they are finding places to live.

Tama already has helped some. The city granted $3.6 million in tax increment financing to Iowa Premium to help with renovations.

Iowa Premium also has received $4 million from the Iowa Economic Development Authority and $3 million in job training grants.

'I'm pretty sure we would help them find some land. We'd help do our part,” McAdoo said.