PORT ANGELES — Clallam County saw $518 million in taxable sales last year, Colleen McAleer, executive director of the Clallam Economic Development Council, told members of the Port Angeles Business Association at its meeting Tuesday.
“These are the things we track to see how our county is doing,” she said.
According to the Washington State Department of Revenue, there were 6,991 total licensed businesses in Clallam County: 3,004 in Port Angeles; 2,892 in Sequim/Carlsborg; 652 west of the Elwha River; and 443 licensed but located outside the county.
Retail lead all sectors with $229.5 million in the second quarter of 2024 (the most recent available data), down from $235 million in the second quarter of 2023 — a decrease of about 2.5 percent.
Accommodations and food accounted for about $60 million in 2024 second quarter revenue, of which restaurants accounted for $19 million.
Construction companies made up around 15 percent of county businesses and generated about $101 million in taxable revenue.
McAleer said that among the challenges to growing the timber economy on the North Olympic Peninsula has been the lack of rail infrastructure and a reliance on trucking, which makes transportation costs higher.
It is why, McAleer said, the EDC has been actively exploring solutions.
“We are leaning into barging,” McAleer said. “If we can barge out of Clallam Bay or Sekiu or Neah Bay, that’s a game-changer. It opens up all kinds of opportunities and changes the economic calculation for businesses.”
The Port of Port Angeles, for example, received $6 million to purchase an ocean-going barge, a skip barge for the Puget Sound region and a spud barge. The spud barge operates like a temporary platform for on- and off-loading materials, alleviating the need for the construction of an expensive permanent pier.
The EDC has been in conversations with McKinley, whose paper mill closed Aug. 25, 2024, about the possibility of reopening, as well as with other companies about locating to Port Angeles, McAleer said.
“We have a lot of different entities that are interested in the site,” McAleer said. “It has a terminal that is privately owned and that is really, really important” because it is not covered by an International Longshoreman Workers Union contract.
“The reason why so many entities want it is because of that terminal they could ship their products out of to where they need to go without the ILWU,” McAleer said.
Among the EDC’s recent projects was helping establish the Clallam Bay Early Learning Center that opened Feb. 3. The facility provides much-needed childcare to West End families and parents who work Clallam Bay Corrections Center. There are currently 20 children enrolled in the center and capacity for up to 45 and when it is fully staffed.
The EDC is the lead on writing grants to fund studies, assessments and projects that contribute to workforce development and the county’s economy. Among its core activities are assisting startups; providing businesses with access to funding; offering programs like the APEX Accelerator, which teaches businesses how to win government contracts; and holding events and workshops.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
