PORT ANGELES — Positive attitudes and lightening up on bureaucracy are the keys to growth, three panelists told a Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce audience Monday.
Bill Feeley, a construction company owner and North Peninsula Building Association board member, told the group of about 80 that he polled about 150 people around town.
“The bureaucracy has to work with us and not against — these are not my words, but the words of the people I talked to,” he said.
“I love this town and I love the people in it.
“We all want the best thing for it.”
He said everyone he talked with cited the main reason why more people don’t come to Port Angeles is because of lack of jobs.
“It all comes down to jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.
Feeley said new jobs require new businesses and the process of obtaining permits needs to be simplified to allow those businesses in.
Alan Barnard, a Port Angeles real estate broker, said he had polled agents who worked with customers moving in and out of Port Angeles.
“The first idea why people move here, other than retirees, is for jobs,” he said.
Although some retail jobs might be open, those types of jobs do not pay enough for newcomers to afford a house in Port Angeles, Barnard said.
Some areas, he said, need some beautification.
“The painting of the downtown was good, but other areas need sprucing up,” he said. “The east side of Morse Creek to the downtown, for example.
“The east side is a lot cleaner looking since the curbs and sidewalks were installed, but there is more room for improvement — maybe planting more trees along the way so that the impressions of those people coming in are better.”
Barnard also said there is a perception of too many barriers to new industry coming in.
“There is the perception that [area governments] are trying to find ways to keep them out rather than bringing them in — and this includes not working with businesses that are already here,” he said.
He also encouraged the city to finish the Waterfront Promenade along Railroad Avenue, saying it could be a draw for tourist-type businesses.
Dan Gase, also a Port Angeles real estate broker, said he viewed negative attitudes as one major barrier to growth.
“Finding that right niche and allowing it to be built and productive is the key,” he said.
“We can’t stay stagnant.
“If we don’t increase any job growth and just rely on natural forces, people die, jobs dry up and stores will close and continue downward.”
He asked how many people believed the overall attitude of the community was positive about the town itself, and about three people raised their hands.
Gase said positive attitude about the community would be necessary for any significant growth to begin.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
