PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners unanimously approved $125,000 for the county Economic Development Corp. at their meeting Tuesday.
The funding is the final of three installments totaling $425,000 in county Opportunity Fund proceeds over 2015-17.
There was no discussion during Tuesday’s meeting. The commissioners discussed the funding during their work session Monday.
Commissioners on Monday said they were pleased with the direction the EDC and its new executive director, Bob Schroeter, were headed.
“We were very pleased with the approval by the county commissioners today [Tuesday],” Schroeter said after the meeting. “We have some very high expectations on both ends, and we’re pleased to meet those new deliverables.”
Six existing goals — referred to as “deliverables” in the EDC-county agreement — include five that focus on existing businesses and organizations and the coordination of workforce development, while one goal hones in on “efforts at attracting businesses to the region.”
Additional requirements added to the agreement for this third year of funding include coordinating efforts with other economic development groups, collaborating with permitting agencies and providing updates to commissioners.
The EDC recently held town hall meetings in Forks, Sequim and Port Angeles with the goal of collecting ideas for economic development in Clallam County.
Schroeter said each meeting had a different dynamic and that the EDC is now working to categorize ideas into short-term, medium-term and long-term opportunities.
Then the EDC will bring the ideas from each city to their respective city councils, he said.
“The key is the ideas are coming from the local folks in Clallam County,” he said.
Schroeter took over May 1 from former EDC Executive Director Bill Greenwood, who retired after he and the EDC had the “mutual” idea to part ways.
From May 1-July 14, Schroeter attended 83 meetings, gatherings and presentations with county commissioners, service and business groups, and other presentations.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
Terry Ward, publisher of the Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum, serves on the Economic Development Corp. board of directors.
