EDC looks back and to future

The Lincoln County Economic Development Council (EDC) had a busy 2013. Here are a few of their activities and events:

• The EDC served as the Lincoln County Visitor & Convention Bureau for the fourth year. An agreement between Lincoln County and the EDC requires the EDC to submit a proposal and budget for advertising that utilizes the County’s Lodging Tax funds. A few new ideas implemented in 2013 included brochures in kiosks at rest areas along I-5, signs at the Telford and Sprague rest areas, and advertising to central Washington. Some repeat promotions included event posters, The Inlander and Out There Magazine, radio coverage on KEYG out of Coulee Dam and ads in WFWD fishing and hunting pamphlets.

• The EDC partnered with Lincoln County on a broadband planning grant to form a Local Technology Planning Team and to explore broadband access and adoption on a countywide scale. The EDC also administered a $100,000 round of Rural Development Fund grants on behalf of the Lincoln County Commissioners, resulting in the funding of six projects.

• The EDC partnered with WSU Extension to bring WSU’s Rural Pathways to Prosperity Conference on Entrepreneurship to Lincoln County. It was so successful that they have committed to be a host site for the annual conference in 2014.

• A partnership with USDA-RD resulted in a Community Assessment for the Town of Wilbur. The resulting report was presented to the Wilbur Town Council on January 15 and was introduced to the public at the Wilbur Chamber banquet on January 16. The assessment led to a business plan challenge at Wilbur High School that was featured on the WA Dept. of Commerce website. Both the assessment and the business plan challenge are pilot projects that we hope to repeat in other Lincoln County communities.

• We celebrated the grand opening of the USDA Processing Plant in Odessa; the Emergency Response Center in Sprague; and the groundbreaking for the first phase of the Inland Northwest Railroad Museum – all three projects that the EDC had been involved with.

• Continue to host countywide meetings for mayors, including a regional forum on brownfield remediation with guest speaker Michael Echanove, mayor of Palouse, who has just completed a brownfield clean-up in his community.

• The EDC has increased up promotion of the online Available Commercial & Industrial Properties List to regions outside of Lincoln County. This is a free service to Lincoln County property owners.

Thanks to the support of our EDC membership, our local governments, and the Dept. of Commerce, the EDC is moving full steam ahead into 2014. Watch local newspapers for press releases on most events involving the EDC. If you are interested in being a member, contact us. We are a non-profit and dues are tax deductible. For more information, email the EDC at edcinfo@centurylink.net or call (509) 725-1170.

Tourism campaign approved

A proposal from the EDC paves the way for a robust tourism campaign in the coming year. Commissioners gave final approval to the EDC to administer $14,470 in County Lodging Tax funds during their regular meeting on January 21. This will be the fourth year the EDC has contracted with Lincoln County to act as the Visitor & Convention Bureau and to administer Lodging Tax dollars on their behalf.

The 2014 campaign includes print, radio and online advertising and targets tourists all over the state. A couple of the promotions planned are:

• Advertising in The Inlander and Out There Magazines during peak season to reach the Spokane and Kootenai County markets. Radio coverage during the Spokane Boat Show will specifically target the region’s boaters. Posters for business windows and public bulletin boards will again be distributed throughout the region and will feature the lake, our community event calendar, and the QR code and address for our tourism website.

• Ads in the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Guide and the Eastern Washington Visitors Guide will target tourists coming from central Washington and the I-90 corridor. A peak season radio campaign on Grand Coulee’s KEYG classic rock station will target the same four-county market.

• Brochures featuring Lake Roosevelt and its recreational opportunities will be distributed in kiosks at WSDOT rest areas along the I-5 corridor and on Snoqualmie Pass. Brochures will include the QR code and address for our tourism website where folks can find information on boating, camping, houseboat vacations, lodging, dining, attractions and a community event calendar.

• Lincoln County will be featured in Fish & Wildlife’s hunting, fishing and bird and waterfowl regulations pamphlets, again connecting folks to the tourism website where related info and maps are available.

The bulk of the advertising will feature Lake Roosevelt, which generates the lodging tax funds that are paying for the campaign. In turn, our cities and towns benefit from the traffic generated by lake tourism. The EDC believes this will be especially true now that there is a 15-year contract between Dakota Columbia Rentals, LLC and the National Park Service and they are stepping up advertising to support it.

County lodging tax is collected as sales and use tax on houseboat rentals, vacation rentals, campgrounds and RV parks and is paid by the tourism customer. The EDC receives no administration fee for their role as the Visitor & Convention Bureau; 100 percent of the funds go for advertising.

Lincoln County’s event organizers are encouraged to get 2014 event information to the EDC as soon as possible for inclusion on posters, in the Inlander, on the radio and on the website. Contact edcjoyce@centurylink.net or call 725-1170 for more information.