EDCO urges Prineville to boost regional membership support as Crook County posts rapid growth

Kelsey Lucas, Crook County director with Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), told the Prineville City Council that the Central Oregon metropolitan area and Crook County have seen strong recent economic growth and that EDCO seeks increased municipal support to expand advocacy and regional services.

Lucas said the Central Oregon MSA ranked fourth among small metros in the Milken Institute’s 2025 rankings and that Crook County posted “a remarkable 52.5% growth in GDP” over five years, along with workforce and household income gains. “Moving forward, we must stay ahead of the curve on addressing housing availability and innovative infrastructure solutions to attract and retain talent here,” Lucas said.

John Stark, EDCO chief executive officer, described EDCO as a regional economic development organization with a hub in Bend and local directors in the three-county area. He said EDCO’s current $2.1 million budget is funded by private membership (about 37%), public contracts (about 33%), earned revenue from events and some grants. Stark said EDCO’s budget and staffing have grown in recent years to meet increased demand for services.

Michael Warren, EDCO board president, asked the council to consider a larger, recurring local contribution: “I get tons of compliments … talking about how easy it is to do business in Prineville,” Warren said, arguing that stable annual funding would allow EDCO to retain staff and provide consistent services to local businesses.

EDCO asked the council to consider two specific adjustments to local support: raising the local membership level referenced in EDCO’s materials from “50” to “60” (the presentation did not specify currency or units for those numbers) and adding an EDCO “platinum” membership at $10,000 to support statewide advocacy and regional marketing. Lucas and Stark said the membership and advocacy request would be incorporated into the city’s next biennial budget process, which begins July 1; city staff confirmed the proposal will be considered during budget deliberations.

Council members voiced general support and asked procedural questions. Council President Uffelman and Mayor Beebe thanked EDCO for the presentation; Councilor Sumner said the materials supported EDCO’s request. Council members asked for the request to be reviewed in the normal budget process and for additional documentation to be provided to city finance staff.

EDCO representatives outlined several programs and performance metrics they said support the request, including a list of top employers to be released soon, industrial space developed in Tom McCall Industrial Park, and enterprise zone filings EDCO manages. Lucas said EDCO recorded multiple traded-sector leads in 2024 and that the organization supports targeted recruitment, entrepreneur services and regional advocacy.

EDCO said it partners with statewide and regional organizations including Business Oregon, the Oregon Economic Development Association (OEDA), the Association of Oregon Counties and the League of Oregon Cities to advance legislative priorities around infrastructure, workforce development and incentives. “We work on this every day,” Stark said.

The council did not take a formal vote on EDCO’s membership request during the meeting; city staff said the request will go into the upcoming biennial budget cycle for review. Council members and EDCO agreed to follow up with staff and provide additional budget detail ahead of formal budget hearings.

Ending: EDCO will provide written details and a proposed budget figure for the council’s review during the city’s upcoming two-year budget process; councilors said they expect to consider the request with other budget priorities before any funding decision is made.