PORT ANGELES — An economic development plan for Clallam County — the product of a $24,000 consultant-fee and a round of meetings — is complete.
Whether it will be put to use is now up to local governments and private business groups.
The plan outlines what needs to be done to improve the county’s economy and who will be responsible for getting it done within the next two years.
Completed last week by BergerABAM of Federal Way, the 69-page report was e-mailed Friday to the Clallam County Economic Development Council and other sponsors of the economic development effort that spawned the plan.
Mike McAleer, EDC president, said Saturday afternoon that he had not yet read the report, but was optimistic that it would be put to good use.
“I have a very positive feeling about this,” he said.
Now that it is completed, the report — paid for by the city of Port Angeles, Port of Port Angeles, and Clallam County, which each chipped in $8,000 — is expected to be reviewed by those three public entities and the EDC before it is put into action.
It is expected to be made available for public viewing.
Port Angeles City Manger Kent Myers and EDC Executive Director Linda Rotmark plan to meet Monday to discuss the report with the man who wrote it, BergerABAM Vice President John White.
Three-stage effort
The report is based on a three-stage effort that began with a community meeting and private community “stakeholder” interviews in April and a 4 ½-hour summit on May 11 at John Wayne Marina on Sequim.
The summit was attended by 29 representatives of school districts and the business sector, along with top members of city, county and tribal governments.
The report outlines five economic development categories that need to be improved and a total of 40 “action steps.”
The categories are listed as:
• ”supply chain,” bringing businesses that supply other ventures closer together.
• ”build a bank,” making it easier for businesses to obtain capital.
• ”bring on the tourists.”
• ”redefine educational achievement expectations.”
• ”knit the county together.”
The “supply chain” action steps are intended to create “business clusters” to concentrate businesses and their suppliers close to each other.
The EDC and port would be the lead agencies on these steps, which include:
• Identifying the business sectors that will most likely attract clusters.
• Creating a short-term task force of representatives of those businesses.
• Preparing a targeted recruitment package aimed at relocating suppliers.
Finance Development Authority
The “build a bank” action steps, headed by the EDC, are intended to create an Olympic Finance Development Authority.
McAleer said the finance development authority would be a single source of information on public and private loans for businesses.
He said it would encompass Clallam, Jefferson, Mason and Kitsap counties and would be funded through loans, grants and support from banks.
Representatives of EDCs from the four counties have already started creating such a finance development authority, McAleer said, and expect to have it off the ground by the end of the year.
The “build a bank” action steps involve getting the finance development authority off the ground and getting more lenders involved.
Tourism
The “bring on the tourists” category is intended to do exactly what it suggests: bring more tourists to the county.
Its action steps, headed by the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, include:
• Identifying “untapped opportunities” that would need little investment.
• Creating a hotel advisory committee.
• Creating a “to-do list” of high-priority tourism improvements.
• Identifying “missing ingredients” for attracting tourists.
The category regarding education would be in the hands of the public school districts and North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center Administrative Council, with help from Peninsula College.
They are tasked with providing the well-trained workforce that the economy needs.
Their action steps include:
• Creating a county-wide vision statement for educational achievement and measurable goals.
• Having private employers show students the skills needed to get a job in order to encourage them to stay in school.
• Creating a central calendar for all economic-related meetings.
The “knit the county together” category is intended to improve communication between the various public entities and private business-related groups.
The EDC will head this effort with help from the port, city and chambers of commerce.
Its action steps include forming a task force to identify ways communication technology can be better used and setting up an electronic calender “that allows input from multiple sources.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
