EDC reports on achievements

Goals developed for 2015 and steps taken to accomplish them are discussed in this article by Margie Hall.

Key goal 1: Retain, expand and recruit businesses

During 2015, the EDC provided assistance or training to 53 businesses, ranging from start-ups to established firms. We also hosted our second business-to-business networking dinner to help owners and managers from across the county get to know each other’s products and services.

One of the training events we hosted was the Washington Rural Pathways to Prosperity Conference, a virtual conference focused on growing rural small businesses and supporting rural entrepreneurs (http://waruralprosperity.wsu.edu/.) A national expert on rural economic development heads the statewide conference and regional resource providers participate as well. We had one of the highest levels of attendance in the state and did have largest number of elected officials in attendance. That is important to note because awareness of local government officials to the needs of their business community is critical in small towns.

Some of the key outcomes for attendees: the importance of shopping local to keep sales taxes here; the need to strengthen our Chambers and encourage their collaboration; and the need to support our entrepreneurs in every way possible. This conference is a partnership with WSU Extension which received an award for their innovative virtual conference format. Watch for a third Rural Pathways to Prosperity Conference in 2017.

An example of supporting entrepreneurs would be a 2015 project involving intelliPaper, a local tech company with a temporary facility in Edwall. The EDC administered a grant to do a site evaluation study for the construction of intelliPaper’s permanent facility. The goal of this business retention project is to see the growing company’s permanent facility built here in Lincoln County, adding much needed diversity to our job market and providing local jobs for some of the commuters who currently leave the county for work. The Community Economic Revitalization Board (Dept. of Commerce) funded 75 percent of the project, with the remaining 25 percent coming from intelliPaper. Because the EDC is not an eligible applicant for Revitalization grants, Lincoln County’s Commissioners agreed to partner with us as the applicant. The final report is now being reviewed by the Board.

In 2015, the EDC contracted with Lincoln County to act as its Visitor & Convention Bureau for a sixth year. The goal of the bureau is to increase tourism-related commerce. Using county lodging tax dollars and social media, we advertise Lincoln County’s wide range of events, attractions and recreational opportunities. Since 2010, the county has seen annual increases in lodging taxes collected, primarily from houseboat rentals. We expect to see even greater increases, as 2015 brought a major change to the management of Seven Bays Marina and Keller Marina and Campground. Last year, national firm Guest Services, Inc. took over the 15-year National Park Service concessionaire’s contract from Dakota Columbia. The new marina operators are rebranding the marinas as “Lake Roosevelt Adventures” and plan to significantly expand marketing of houseboat vacations. You can follow the changes at lakerooseveltadventures.com. In addition, 2016 is the National Park Service Centennial, and a campaign is in place to encourage people to visit a national park this year. The EDC has contracted as the visitor bureau for 2016, and we look forward to a busy and prosperous tourism season. If you or someone you know has an idea for a seasonal tourism business, this might be the year to start it up!

Key goal 2: Build our workforce

Doug Tweedy, our region’s economist with the Employment Security Department, contacted us with new data on our workforce and their commute patterns. It is estimated that 3,051 workers (approximately 60 percent of our workforce of 5,000) commute outside the county for work each day; 1,343 commute into the county for work; and only 1,167 live and work here. If you struggle to fill positions within your company, now you know one of the reasons. We continue to work with Tweedy to drill down to the “where” and “what” of those jobs, and we welcome direct feedback from out-of-county commuters. Ideally, we would like to match commuters’ skills to local positions as often as possible.

This news also means that change is in the air. A high degree of economic integration as measured by the number of commuters between adjacent counties – with one having an urban population of 50,000 or more - makes Lincoln County a candidate for absorption into the Spokane-Spokane Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area. That absorption process is automatic and generated at the federal level. Both Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties were absorbed in 2013. That expansion brought the population of the area to 532,253, making the Spokane-Spokane Valley area 100th out of 381 and bumping it into the top quarter of U.S. metro markets. National firms use this data to determine where to expand.

We learned from local businesses about another barrier to filling job openings in 2015. Lincoln County faces a shortage of child care options. A broader survey of businesses supported what we’d heard from a few: A lack of licensed child care services in Lincoln County makes it difficult to recruit and retain employees and causes employees to miss work.

The EDC and WSU Extension held a public forum on the subject and strong attendance made it clear that it is not only an issue for businesses, but for parents as well, with some forced to take their kids to Spokane County day care centers. We learned that there are plenty of people willing to be providers; however Washington’s onerous regulation is a huge barrier. The Dept. of Early Learning was invited to the forum and approved us to hold an orientation for in-home child care centers in Davenport. One new center did open in Davenport, but we were unsuccessful in Reardan and Odessa, where there are no approved day care centers.

However, we created a listserv (electronic mailing list) of stakeholders from the project that remains active and has proven valuable: The listserv connected a preschool and day care in Wilbur with a successful candidate for director, preventing its closure. The child care project is ongoing. Please contact us if you want to be added to the list or have questions or solutions.

We worked with several schools to address youth outmigration by educating students about the career opportunities here at home, largely by engaging them in Global Entrepreneurship Week. Two student-centered events were held during the week: a local career fair at Odessa High School co-hosted by the FBLA chapter and the EDC and attended by students from six area schools and the third annual Business Plan Challenge for seniors at Wilbur High where the “challenge” is to identify the community’s strengths and opportunities and use that information to develop new businesses for their community.

Key goal 3: Provide infrastructure necessary for resource delivery and economic growth

Lincoln County’s municipalities are facing a new barrier to eligibility for grants and low-interest loans historically used to fund critical infrastructure projects – projects that typically cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and that would go undone if not for grants. Recently released figures used to determine eligibility reflect an unfounded increase of income levels to the point that seven of our towns are no longer eligible for CDBG grants and low interest loans or loan forgiveness from the Departments of Health or Ecology. The burden is on the community to prove what the correct income level is and the only accepted way to do this is through an income survey of residents. The EDC is assisting two of our municipalities with income surveys now, the goal being to save them money over hiring an outside consultant and to expedite the process so that they don’t miss out on grant opportunities. If the process is a success, we will assist other communities – two are on a waiting list already.

The EDC continues to maintain an online list of Available Commercial & Industrial Properties in Lincoln County at http://www.lincolnedc.org/businessresources/commercial-properties/. The goal of the list is to get businesses into those empty storefronts. Property listings are free of charge, and readers are directed to contact the owner or realtor, not the EDC. The list of properties is advertised locally, on the west side of the state and to targeted areas out of state.

If you have commercial properties sitting idle in your community, please tell the owner about this free service, because the downside to empty storefronts is not only a loss of commerce and the appearance of abandonment, but also the possibility of disintegration by neglect. A case in point is the historic two-story hotel building in downtown Sprague. Owner neglect left the building in such a dangerous state that the city was forced to close the streets around it. Attempts to save the building have failed (including a place on the WA Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2014 Most Endangered Historic Properties list) and soon it will be demolished at a cost just south of $100,000. Remember this lesson as you look at your own business district. An owner should not be allowed to neglect their property to the point that it damages the buildings and businesses around it. Make sure your community has the necessary policies in place to prevent this from happening in your town.

Key goal 4: Unite stakeholders for increased economic development

The EDC hosted or participated in 27 community-focused forums or other structured meetings. Some examples follow.

The EDC participated in the county’s Shoreline Master Program Update to ensure that our economic goals for agriculture and tourism are supported in the face of increasing regulation regarding shoreline use.

The EDC continues to host quarterly mayors’ meetings, providing valuable opportunities for our area mayors to share solutions and successes and to discuss issues and needs. These meetings will be especially important in 2016 with four newly elected mayors in place as of January 1.

We host a minimum of one workshop each year that focuses on development of non-profit organizations and their leadership. In 2015, we provided professional training on Strengthening Board Leadership. This year, on April 14, we will be hosting Communication: Marketing Your Organization and Its Impact, where you will learn how to “sell” your nonprofit – something most are neither comfortable with nor skilled at. Watch for details on our Facebook page and on our web calendar at http://www.LincolnEDC.org.

The EDC continues to monitor the politics and funding of broadband expansion in rural areas. There was some good news in 2015: Local Internet provider Odessa Office Equipment has been successful at accessing NoaNet fiber and is now offering high speed Internet to several communities in Lincoln County, including Reardan and Davenport; T-Mobile erected cell towers in some of our most underserved areas and the Harrington Public Development Authority has partnered with a provider to expand NoaNet fiber access throughout their business district.

The EDC will be updating the countywide economic development strategy in 2017. Every one of the key goals covered here was determined to be a key goal because of feedback we received from citizens when writing the original strategy in 2012, available at http://www.lincolnedc.org/lincoln-county/lincoln-county-economic-development-strategy/. We encourage you, your family, your business and the organizations you work with to help us determine the key goals for 2018-2022. Opportunities to participate in the update process will be publicized.

We encourage all of Lincoln County to follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lincolncountyedc/?ref=hl and follow our news feed of issues that affect our region at http://www.lincolnedc.org/blog/.

EDC Board of Directors: The Economic Development Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates solely to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for the citizens of Lincoln County. The organization is managed by its Board of Directors: Cesar Godinez, Rex Harder, Scott Hutsell, Jamie Manchester (Secretary), Lori Mann (Treasurer), Staci Moses (Vice President), John Nelson (President), Don Phillips, Doug Plinski, Jim Pope and Dale Swant.

We encourage all of Lincoln County to follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lincolncountyedc/?ref=hl and follow our news feed of issues that affect our region at http://www.lincolnedc.org/blog/.