Town, county should support new EDC

I was very leery two months ago when I learned the Lower Columbia Economic Development Council and Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce were going to discuss a merger.

I worried about whether or not the two groups' missions are compatible enough to form an organization that will be able to handle a variety of economic development projects while still doing the community activities and promotions that the Chamber conducts.

Instead, I should have been worried about whether or not local government would continue to support county wide economic development.

County Commissioner Blair Brady has suggested for some time that WSU Cooperative Extension could handle economic development activities. On Tuesday, he presented that suggestion again.

Colleagues Lisa Marsyla and Dan Cothren indicated dissatisfaction with the merger of the EDC and Chamber, but they said they wanted to learn recent details about the new organization's direction before allocating any money to the new group, and they voted to do just that. The funds in question come from state sources and sales taxes specifically set for tourism promotion.

As Marsyla commented, the commissioners should go over the new group's budget and plans with a fine tooth comb and control tightly the use of any funds the county might appropriate.

Down the street from the courthouse, Town of Cathlamet officials are voting today on a budget that at one point last week included no funding for the EDC.

Instead, Mayor George Wehrfritz has proposed channeling the town's economic development funds into new initiatives--a job search training program at the library and the Main Street Development Initiative.

These are new ideas, signs of change, but I doubt they'll have the impact that an economic development group can have.

For example, the EDC has prepared a successful grant application to US Department of Agriculture for the renovation of the town library, and it also secured a $143,000 grant for the upgrading of the street lights in Cathlamet. And when the mayor's economic advisory committee needed funds for for printing and mailing a survey about economic attitudes to county residents, they went to the EDC, which provided the funding even though it wasn't involved in the program.

I'm getting to be such an old timer that I can remember life in Wahkiakum before the EDC.

In the economic downturn of the early 1980's, people asked the county commissioners to take the lead in trying to attract new business to the county.

Commissioners found themselves hamstrung by public meeting requirements and limits on how public money could be spent. In other words, they couldn't "wine and dine" prospective new businesses. An economic development council can.

The town and county need to support the new economic development organization, what ever it's named, and they need to work with the other public entities and private individuals and businesses that will form the new EDC.

The individual initiatives may have some merit, but everyone still needs to work together for the common good. The town and the county need to participate, and fund, the new organization.

Year end salutes

At this point, it is time to recognize the following individuals for their contributions to the good of the community:

--With the merger of the EDC and Chamber of Commerce, EDC Executive Director David Goodroe and Administrative Assistant Donna Westlind are leaving their jobs. Goodroe has held his job for over three years, and Westlind has had hers for close to 16 years. They've worked hard to promote business and industry in the county.

--Sheriff Dan Bardsley is turning in the keys to the patrol car after working in local law enforcement since 1979. Bardsley has always strived to treat citizens with respect and to have his officers do the same. Most of the time, it has worked, and Wahkiakum County residents have been fortunate to have the law enforcement officers that we've had. Thanks and good luck, Dan!