PORT TOWNSEND — In order to recover the 1,000 jobs lost during the Great Recession, Jefferson County needs to concentrate on attracting business owners, county commissioners were told Monday, and the county’s economic development council is asking for $50,000 to help make it happen.
“If we could grow by 1,000 jobs, we’d be thriving,” said Peter Quinn, CEO of Team Jefferson, the county’s economic development council.
“The key to all this is attracting business owners to build, encourage, train and support these efforts to encourage them to start a business here.”
Quinn said that Team Jefferson has attracted some businesses to the county and prevented others from leaving, but the organization is just breaking even, taking in and spending about $108,000 annually.
Jefferson County currently allocates $25,000 to the organization, and Quinn requested that the county double that amount as a way to invest in the future of area business.
The commissioners took no action and did not promise any support, although County Administrator Philip Morley said that it was likely that no additional allocation would occur before the 2016 budget.
“The $25,000 level is certainly solid,” Morley said.
“We need to look at their request in the context of the county budget. Increase is more likely after the turn of the year, but we haven’t done the analysis yet.”
Quinn said that he didn’t expect to get the additional allocation on the spot.
“All I was trying to do is stress the importance of providing an infrastructure for economic development that will continue to be sustainable for the next decade.”
Other revenue sources for the council are the Department of Commerce, $42,000; the city of Port Townsend, free office space; Port of Port Townsend, $25,000 plus past office space; the Herbert Jones Foundation, $25,000; and $2,600 in revenue from classes.
The amount over $108,000 from those sources accounts for what is spent on Quinn’s insurance benefits.
Expenses include payroll, consulting services, utilities, supplies and insurance, leading to a situation that Quinn describes as “break even, sort of.”
Quinn said that he’s always collected his salary from funds left over after all expenses were paid.
This will change July 1, when he scales back as CEO to three days a week and will spend the remainder of his time on other business ventures.
Another change is the relocation of Team Jefferson to a new location at 2409 Jefferson St., in a building to be shared with the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, the visitors center, the Small Business Development Council, the Olympic Development Council and Jefferson County Homebuilders.
This is to create a one-stop shop for economic information to be called the Jefferson County Business Resource Center.
The move-in date is estimated to be May 1, according to Teresa Verraes, the chamber’s executive director.
Quinn said one of the county’s main advantages is its livability, and how technology allows people to work where they want to live rather than being tied to a specific urban location.
“In the past you had to live somewhere and then move somewhere nice and hope that you lived long enough to enjoy the life you wanted.
“We have challenges, there will always be challenges, but we have the ability to attract businesses with our high level of connectivity.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
