Reading this newsletter is a good thing, having your news included is even better. Just send us your economic development news, including activities, events and anything else of interest in the five county area by the third week of each month. Send it directly to Layne at: layne@mcced.org

THANK YOU!!

With a loan of $50,000 from MCEDD and the help of the Columbia Gorge Community College Small Business Development Center, Silas and Amy are now the proud owners

On July 15, participants in the Oregon Solutions effort for the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center were joined by members of Governor Kulongoski's office for the signing ceremony of the Declaration of Cooperation. The Declaration outlines action items that participants will be completing to assist the Discovery Center. The goal of the project was to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Discovery Center by encouraging new partnerships, improving the governance structure, and developing a collaborative business model to help alleviate the debt burden carried by Wasco County and attract future funding for the Discovery Center.

The Oregon Solutions process was partially funded by a grant from the Oregon Investment Board. MCEDD staff participated primarily through their work with the Wasco County Economic Development Commission. In the Declaration, MCEDD staff pledged grant writing assistance as well as assistance with completion of a Business Plan. The Business Plan work has been funded through generous donations of staff time by Wasco County Economic Development Commission and funds from Travel Oregon, Oregon Economic and Community Development Department and Port of The Dalles.

Overall Federal Stimulus Spending
The Recovery Board oversees Recovery Act spending and maintains www.recovery.gov . The site contains up to date information including a new mapping capacity that will give the American people a road map on stimulus spending as well as other stimulus information and data.

• As part of its Organizational Sustainability Plan, the GTA recently conducted a survey on the growth of technology-related businesses in the Gorge in order to document the importance of this sector on the Gorge's economy. The GTA thanks all 62 people who took the survey - the valuable information collected will be summarized along with additional research and a white paper is expected to be available sometime in August.
  

• The GTA Board recently reelected Nancy White and Kent Heighton as President and Vice-President, respectively. Mark Daly with Insitu stepped down from the Board after several years of great work in developing the website and logo. Those interested in the Board vacancy should contact Jessica Metta.

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) recently received grant funding from EDA and USDA to continue its Outreach Project to communities in the Gorge, with a goal of connecting private equity investors with promising entrepreneurial companies. Funds will support PubTalk events already in progress and the Gorge Angel Conference in Hood River, among other activities. For more information about the OEN, visit oen.org.

MCEDD, through its pooled technical expertise, offers grant administration, grant writing, federal and state regulations compliance, and report processing services to our five-county region. Currently we are administering two grants:

Construction on the High Prairie Fire Station is now moving quickly with an expected completion date of December 2009. Funding for the new fire station is a $600,000 Washington Community Development Block Grant. MCEDD provides grant administration, including navigating the process of monitoring and complying with all federal and Washington state labor standard provisions.

Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) Grant Program
USDA Rural Housing Service has announced the availability of approximately $6.2 million of competitive grant funds for organizations providing financial and capacity-building technical assistance entities undertaking housing, community, or economic development projects. RCDI grants can range from $50,000 to $300,000. The deadline for applications is September 24, 2009. Oregon applications should be submitted to the Oregon State Office. Further details about the RCDI program along with application rules can be found in the official Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) here. Application materials can be downloaded here.

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Grant money available from L&I for safety and health improvements
The Department of Labor and Industries is accepting new grant applications for improving safety and health at Washington workplaces. A total of $4.1 million dollars will be made available during the next biennium for Safety and Health Investment Projects (SHIP) grants for projects that seek to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses, save lives, and educate workers and employers about workplace hazards and safe workplace practices. Application deadline is August 31, 2009. Click here for more information.

The City of Goldendale (County Seat) is located in South Central Klickitat County along Highway 97 and just North of Highway 14. It sits at an elevation of 1550 ft. which moderates the summer temperatures and lowers the winter chill. The city population is approximately 3600.

As with most rural communities Goldendale has experienced a period of economic trauma; particularly since the local aluminum smelter went out of business a few years back displacing 750 employees. The City has a fully developed industrial park of 108 acres. Major tenants are Puget Sound Energy, A.M. Todd (mint oil production), Central Telephone and Iberdrola Energy (wind farm operators). There are 14 lots available for immediate construction (water, gas, electrical, sewer and telephone are in-place). There are additional industrial zoned properties privately held near the City and adjacent to the local airport. Housing rentals are currently at a premium due to the influx of wind farm workers; there are a few residential lots available and planned subdivisions are in-work.

The Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee is working with the City and Klickitat County to revitalize the downtown core and promote new business development. Washington State Department of Transportation and the University of Washington are jointly providing planning and facilitators in support of this effort. The City is currently updating their Comprehensive Plan and reviewing local zoning and ordinances with a view to making development more achievable.

MCEDD provides a monthly profile to support a regional understanding of the Columbia River Gorge communities. This profile was provided by Ray LaFond, Washington Chamber of Commerce, MCEDD Board Member.

Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) released the 2009 population estimates on July 1. The OFM Forecasting Division develops official state and local population estimates for use in the allocation of certain state revenues and for use in growth management and other planning functions. OFM is the state agency responsible for administering the U.S. Census Bureau State Data Center Program in Washington State.

Klickitat County -
2009 Population estimate: 20,200 (4.66% increase from 1999)
Skamania County -
2009 Population estimate: 10,800 (9.09% increase from 1999)

A chart of 2009 county and city population estimates is available at:
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/pop/april1/finalpop2009.pdf

The full report can be viewed at: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/pop/april1/default.asp

July 2009 Events

• July 30: GTA Summer Party, Bambinos Learning Center, Hood River, OR, 6 p.m.
  

August 2009 Events

• August 4: MCEDD Loan Committee Mtg, 8 a.m., MCEDD Office, The Dalles, Oregon
• August 5: MCEDD Executive Committee Mtg, 4 p.m., MCEDD Office, The Dalles, Oregon
• August 7: Columbia Gorge Bi-State Renewable Energy Zone, 10 a.m., Port of Hood River
  
• August 18: MCEDD Loan Committee Mtg, MCEDD Office, The Dalles, Oregon
• August 19: Oregon Investment Board, 10 a.m., Port of Hood River, Oregon