HOMER -- Town and parish officials are already sending up red flags for what appears to be a devastating blow to the local economy: the announced closure of Homer's Wal-Mart store July 1.

The news, though the topic of town talk for weeks, caught area leaders by surprise Thursday. Letters signed by Regional General Manager Bob Erickson were posted on the store's doors notifying customers of the plans to cease operations this summer.

Erickson calls the closure a tough decision. "However, we have realized that it no longer makes sense for our business to continue to operate at this location," his letter states.

Forty-two percent of the town of Homer's taxable income comes from Wal-Mart, Claiborne Chamber of Commerce President J.T. Taylor said Friday. The Claiborne Parish School Board, which just shaved $1 million from its budget because of increased expenses, gets about 14 percent of its tax money from the store.

"It's a real blow to the town," said Taylor, who during the interview was in a meeting with Mayor Huey Dean. "We're very concerned."

Taylor has "dim hope" that Wal-Mart's decision can be reversed. But he's already put in calls to state economic development leaders for assistance.

Homer resident and former Mayor David Aubrey believes Wal-Mart would not have reached its decision if elected officials had been more proactive. Discussion of the potential loss of the retail store has stirred for months.

"The town is sitting on more than a half-million in industrial development funds and $60,000 in another economic development fund. There's no reason the mayor or council members should not be in Bentonville today," Aubrey said Friday, referring to Wal-Mart's headquarters in Arkansas.

Taylor said he talked with Wal-Mart representatives Thursday, as well as the property owners from whom Wal-Mart leases its building.

The lease on the Homer store expires in August. Serious consideration was given to either extending the lease or building a new store, Erickson said in his letter.

"After reviewing more than a decade worth of financial data related to the store, we determined that neither option made financial sense for our business. This is disappointing to our company, and we know, to your community. We will do the best to ease the transition out of the area, including continuing our support of local charitable and community organizations through 2007," the letter states.

Homer's Wal-Mart employees will be eligible for positions at other Wal-Mart stores. Those who choose not to transfer will be eligible for a severance package.

Arcadia Mayor Eugene Smith said he had heard "rumors" that a Wal-Mart Supercenter was going to be built somewhere near his town, perhaps near the Interstate 20 interchange. He's put in calls to Wal-Mart's Bentonville office, but has gotten no response. "So as far as I'm concerned, it's just rumors," he said.

Without Wal-Mart, Homer shoppers will have to be content to choose between Dollar General, Family Dollar or Bill's Dollar in their hometown, or make the nearly 20-mile trip to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Minden.

Aubrey fears most people will turn to Minden, thus diverting even more tax money away from the town since it will become convenient to purchase gas or eat out during trips to the neighboring city.

"The ripple effect of Wal-Mart closing will be felt in the city's coffers within 60 days. "» The School Board will be the next to feel it, ranging from the loss of a place to purchase school uniforms to the loss of participation in school and community endeavors. Within a year, I assume the town will have to reduce its work force. And that doesn't even touch the jobs that could be lost in the trickle down," Aubrey said.

The city of Mansfield almost found itself in a similar situation two months ago. With the lease on its store in the DeSoto Plaza Shopping Center about to expire, Wal-Mart officials began looking for alternatives, including closing the store or building a small Wal-Mart Supercenter in another section of the city.

Residents turned out in great numbers at a public hearing in April where a landowner was granted a zoning change that would open the door to Wal-Mart's proposed smaller Supercenter. A realtor and an engineer associated with Wal-Mart said then that they are proceeding with the project, with construction likely to start construction early next year. The only hiccup would be if construction costs make the project too cost prohibitive.

© 2006 Shreveport Times

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