Is this an endorsement of Wal-Mart coming to New Prague, or is it just a look-on-the-bright-side type of deal? 

In the Nov. 22 issue of the New Prague Times, this editorial appeared:

On Monday, the New Prague City Council considered a petition from a group of five landowners southwest of the city limits to annex 75 acres of property in the city limits. While it wasn't mentioned in the petition, it is common knowledge that the land is the site of the proposed Wal-Mart store that has been talked about over the last few months.

Nearly 50 people packed the council chambers for Monday's meeting, many of them local business owners who are understandably concerned about what a big box retailer such as Wal-Mart could do to the economic environment of the city.

None of the city council members was in favor of simply granting the petition for annexation. At least one spoke against it, and several expressed concern about the impact a large retailer would have not only on the economic climate of the community, but the demand it would place on the city's infrastructure.

In the end, the council tabled the annexation request and directed the council to prepare parameters for a feasibility study that would examine the impact of such a development in several aspects. Those aspects could include infrastructure, especially in terms of the city's waste treatment plant. It could also include the economic impact not only on New Prague, but of the entire region.

Some in the audience asked the council to take things slowly and to give some thought before approving the annexation. There is some merit in that. The city needs to take time to study all of these factors.

What this proposal has done is give New Prague an opportunity to study where it is going and what its residents would like it to become. The city may or may not be able to stop Wal-Mart from coming to town, but if the city can control the circumstances, the environment and the timing of Wal-Mart's arrival, it might be able to soften any negative impact on the existing businesses and even put them in a position where they could benefit from the added traffic the retailing behemoth would bring to the community. If Wal-Mart were to locate elsewhere, for instance, in Belle Plaine, Lonsdale or Elko New Market, that same traffic could lead shoppers elsewhere.