Columbia Economic Team lays out recruitment pipeline, small‑business programs; county proclaims Child Care Provider Appreciation Day

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ore. — The Columbia Economic Team on April 16 told the Columbia County Board of Commissioners it is pursuing several industrial recruitment projects and expanding small‑business programs that the team says together could yield nearly $4 billion in cumulative investment and about 900 direct jobs in the county.

The presentation outlined long‑term industrial recruitment work alongside shorter‑term small‑business supports — from a locally hosted Small Business Development Center to Grow technical assistance grants and low‑interest Grow loans — and emphasized child care, housing and other local services as business issues that affect retention and expansion.

"The cumulative investment of those projects is almost $4,000,000,000," Paul Vogel, representing Columbia Economic Team, said during the presentation, naming several active prospects by shorthand and describing timelines that often run 14–24 months. He said the projects include a large clean‑energy proposal in North County, a new sustainable forest‑products operation, and multiple manufacturing prospects being shepherded through site, financing and regulatory steps.

Vogel described Columbia Economic Team (CET) as a nonprofit membership organization that markets industrial land, administers small‑business programs and serves as the county’s tourism DMO. He said the group is operating multiple projects (named in the presentation as Project Spice, Clean Energy, RestorCap, Sile, Project Arcadia and others) and is working under nondisclosure agreements with some…