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| northdakotaoilandgas.com |
The New York Times reported earlier that plenty of jobs are available but there is no place to live. Man camps have been set up for some workers, people are living in campers, some locals are renting out rooms in their basements for $400 to $500 a month and mobile home lots are renting for up to $1,000 a month. Currently there are 109 oil rigs drilling in North Dakota and that number is expected to hit 150 this summer.
The population of Williston has ballooned to nearly 25,000 people up from around 12,000 in 2008. The Williston City webpage has a chart that shows 27 total living units permitted and built in 2003 up to a total of 1,373 in 2011. The value of the permitted construction projects in Williston in 2003 was around $15,790,000 and the value of construction projects in 2011 was $357,708,114. Call the Hill County Treasurer and find out how much the yearly tax on that much real estate would add to our coffers if you think this number is something to sneeze at.
From everything we have read it appears that North Dakota is set to be a boom area for the next couple of decades. Every single business in North Dakota is benefiting from this black-gold boom. The only business report we have ran across that is performing below par for the region is some of the banks. Apparently people with fists full of cash really don’t need to borrow any money.
Come on – let’s hear it.
WE DON’T WANT ANY OF THESE PROBLEMS IN MONTANA – etc, etc
How many teachers would we lose?
ReplyDeleteOh Decon, how misguided are you? What happened to Sherry Arnold was tragic and awful, but oil exploration didn't murder her, two drug crazed maniacs hellbent on killing a woman, did. Are their problems associate with such rapid economic growth, you bet, but that is no reason to choose not to explore and harvest our abundant energy resources. Montana needs to get with the program, follow the lead of North Dakota and Wyoming by embracing our energy industry and we will all share in the proceeds. Good post HDC.
ReplyDeleteI can think of scores of people who have had brutal crimes committed against them in Havre over the last couple of decades. I can’t think of many that involved oil field workers DeCon.
ReplyDeleteRemember Lloyd Wilson and the whole drug deal killings clear back when we were still in school? How about the couple murdered that lived in the trailer out by the Patrick construction shop? There have also been many murders out on the Rocky Boy reservation. I am sure you can think of many also.
It would be dumb to be against putting our kids and grandkids to work with expanded oil activity in the oil patch. More jobs provide more money for more teachers.
Didn’t one of our own county commissioners already state publically that he was concerned about the riff-raff the oil fields would bring to our fine community? If the boom ever gets this far they won’t be welcomed with open arms.
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