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About Coast river business journal. (Astoria, OR) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2022)
BUSINESS COMMENT 12 • JULY 2022 COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL CEDR updates the business community on busy fi rst half of 2022 Clatsop County c hild c are a dvisory c ommittee that has been meeting for the past year, and we are very excited about the $500,000 funding recently approved by the Clatsop County c ommission from the Amer- ican Rescue Plan Act f unding, as well as $100,000 from Providence Seaside Hospital and $20,000 from Columbia Memorial Hospital to support grants that will support child care providers. Details will be forth- coming soon, and both CEDR and the Clatsop SBDC will have key roles in rolling out and sustaining the program. • Columbia-Pacifi c Economic Development Dis- trict is the federally designated Economic Develop- By Kevin Leahy Executive Director Clatsop Economic Development Resources T he year is fl ying by, and I wanted to update the b usiness c ommunity on the fi rst half of 2022 activities and results of Clatsop Eco- nomic Development Resources , Clatsop Small Busi- ness Development Center and the Clatsop WORKS summer paid internship program. CEDR updates • CEDR and Clatsop SBDC are members of the Is your Business Ready to Grow? The Small Business Management Program can get you there! The path to successfully run and grow a business is filled with a variety of challenges and the journey can sometimes be overwhelming. You don’t have to do it alone! The Clatsop SBDC’s comprehensive 9-month business program is designed specifically for current business to take their business skills to the next level! Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to join the 2022-2023 SBM cohort , where you will lean from and work with expert in business, finance, management and operations. Where your business is the textbook! 15 Sessions + 1:1 Coaching = You at the Next Level Next cohort begins Fall 2022 $699 | Scholarships available! Call 503-338-2402 or visit OregonSBDC.org/Clatsop ment District for Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and w estern Washington counties . Work began in Feb- ruary to update the CEDS (Comprehensive Eco- nomic Development Strategy) for the region for 2022 and beyond, with an action plan and results driven approach. CEDR is a member of the steering com- mittee representing the interests and priorities of Clat- sop County. • Collaborated with Astoria, Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce and Astoria Downtown Historic District Association to host a c ommunity l iv- ability f orum on March 23 at the Liberty Theatre . Over 450 community members attended. A follow-up meeting for b usiness l eaders presented by CEDR, the c hamber and ADHDA was held on April 5 at the Fort George Brewery Lovell Showroom to address spe- cifi c concerns of d owntown Astoria business owners and leaders. • Participated in a March 30 visit to Hyak Tongue Point, WCT Marine & Construction and Bergerson Construction with state Rep. Suzanne Weber and other partners. I gave testimony on April 2 to the Ore- gon Department of Transportation committee which prioritized Connect Oregon grant dollars. Rep. Weber and former state Sen. Betsy Johnson were instrumen- tal in securing funding for this project. Funding was approved, and an e nterprise z one application is the next step. Fifty-one full-time jobs at Hyak with aver- age salaries of $78,400 will be added, resulting in $6 million in total payroll. This will be a huge economic driver in years to come! • CEDR met with the North Coast Regional Solu- tions team early in the spring, and the agenda included craft brewery wastewater discharge issues in Astoria, which will signifi cantly impede the growth of this sec- tor without a solution. There were follow-up meetings with the Astoria City Council and everyone is work- ing together on potential solutions. • Worked with Business Oregon and Clatsop County to fund an e conomic study from Col-Pac that reinforced the importance of the f ermentation s ector to the Clatsop County e conomy. There are currently 13 fermentation businesses that employ 520 with $18 million in annual wages in the county. • Working with Meg Leatherman, the Astoria c ommunity d evelopment d irector, the Astoria-War- renton Area Chamber of Commerce and local devel- opers to give input on c ode a mendments for housing that can help address the chronic shortage of housing in Astoria (and Clatsop County!) and allow for more density and solutions that add more housing while keeping the livability of Astoria. Attending Planning Commission and City Council meetings to represent the voice of the business community. • The Clatsop Job & Career Fair was very success- ful, after a two-year break because of COVID . Six hundred and fi fty students from seven high schools Kevin Leahy participated in the morning sessions, and the energy was very high, with over 80 employers participating. The afternoon session was for the public and Clatsop Community College students. • The CEDR a wards e vent was held on May 26. Thirteen awards were given, including the fi rst Skip Hauke Spirit of Business: Community Supporter award to Margo Lalich, Clatsop County’s interim public health director. A very special evening for all! • Gov. Kate Brown’s $200 million Future Ready Oregon 2022 workforce investment is an opportu- nity for community colleges, industry and workforce training programs to receive funding to enhance and improve current off erings. Clatsop Community Col- lege President Chris Breitmeyer, the college a ca- demic/career technical education leadership and our team are working together to break down the fund- ing opportunities available for our students and busi- nesses in the region. • Gave testimony to the Oregon Department of Forestry Board on June 8 regarding the proposed h abitat c onservation p lan , which would substantially reduce harvests in Clatsop County on ODF land. The average wage in the forest products sector in Clatsop County is $70,599, an 85% diff erential between the annual wage in the county and the forest products sec- tor. This is especially critical, as we are a rural and under served community. The proposed reduction in ODF harvests would be have a t sunami eff ect on our local economy. A fi ve -year average of $24.2 million in timber revenue comes back to the county, and funds schools, rural law enforcement, roads, Clatsop Com- munity College, Oregon State University Extension and many others. A dramatic reduction here would devastate Clatsop County. Clatsop SBDC updates • At a recent Clatsop County c ommission work session, Clatsop SBDC results from the beginning of COVID in 2020 to now were presented. High- lights: 701 small-business clients served; 3,000 See Page 13
