PORT ANGELES — A $24,000 consultant’s “action plan” report for economic development in Clallam County is due today.
John White of BergerABAM of Federal Way, who declined Thursday to discuss specifics of the report, is expected to meet Monday with Linda Rotmark, executive director of the Clallam County Economic Development Council, and Port Angeles City Manager Kent Myers to discuss it.
White said he may e-mail the report today to the county EDC, which sponsored the summit and organized White’s visits.
The report is based on a three-stage effort that began with a community meeting and private community “stakeholder” interviews in April and a 4 ½-hour summit on May 11 at John Wayne Marina on Sequim.
Last week’s summit was attended by 29 representatives of school districts and the business sector, along with top members of city, county and tribal governments.
The report, which will be made available to the public, outlines suggested directions on five areas of development or “initiatives” that White presented at the summit.
They are: encouraging tourism, bringing business supply chains closer to the North Olympic Peninsula, improving communication among geographic communities, making it easier for businesses to obtain capital and creating new expectations for schools.
White said his action plan “gives a template and a model to use to create some forward momentum on a lot of these issues.”
Rotmark said Thursday that she and Myers would meet Monday with White.
White’s efforts to provide an economic road map were discussed at Thursday’s meeting of the county EDC’s board of directors.
Board President Mike McAleer, a summit participant, said the initiatives already were being addressed by the EDC, public school districts, the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau and elected officials.
McAleer added that the fate of the financially-strapped Clallam Business Incubator wasn’t, but still needs to be, dealt with.
EDC board member and Forks Planner/City Attorney Rod Fleck, also a summit participant, also lamented that the Incubator was hardly discussed at the summit — although Fleck did bring it up there.
“I was under the impression it was one of the tools in the toolbox,” Fleck said.
The Incubator board will meet at 3 p.m. Monday in the Haller Conference Room at Lincoln Center, 605 W. Ninth St. in Port Angeles.
The agenda includes a discussion of the summit.
The Incubator will owe $48,193 by July 1 on a $750,000 federal Commerce Department loan and had $21,400 in the bank as of March 1.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
