Participants in an economic development summit Tuesday are expected to delve into the role that may be played by the financially strapped Clallam Business Incubator, said county Administrator Jim Jones, who is also an Incubator board member.
Whether the struggling business incubator will be part of the effort to jump-start countywide development is an open question given the results of the interviews and the April 1 public workshop that will form the basis of the discussion.
“I was surprised the Incubator was not brought up more,” said Linda Rotmark, Clallam County Economic Development Council executive director, who will be one of the summit participants.
Jones, who also will participate in the summit, noted that in consultant John White’s summary of interviews, a business incubator was mentioned among the characteristics that are “key to a successful economic development strategy.”
The Incubator board is “still looking at the summit to give some kind of indication of what the public expects or thinks or values about the Incubator,” Jones added.
“I am looking forward to hearing a discussion of the various economic development tools, and is the Incubator one, or if it isn’t, what is it that you find it could do that would be most valuable.”
The Incubator board decided March 1 to hear from residents on whether it should be part of an overall strategy for economic development and will meet in coming months to decide its future.
Clallam County is helping the Incubator cover $2,900 in monthly expenditures.
The Incubator will owe $48,193 this summer on a $750,000 federal Commerce Department loan and had $21,400 in the bank as of March 1.
The Incubator, headquartered at Lincoln Center, 905 W. Ninth St., in Port Angeles, provides rental space for beginning businesses and helps identify services for entrepreneurs.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladaily news.com.
