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 prospects. CET reported that the projects it highlighted would create just under 900 direct jobs and that manufacturing has an estimated economic multiplier the presenter cited as 3.4.

On small‑business supports, the presentation said CET operates a locally hosted Small Business Development Center (SBDC) created after CARES Act grant work in 2020–21. Vogel reported more than 330 clients over a three‑year period and said CET is averaging substantial new client intake each year. He also described a Keep It Local program that the presentation credited with $665,000 in tracked promotional spending and with operating the county’s business directory and mobile app.

The presentation described a Ford Family Foundation–supported Grow initiative that CET administers on an MOU with the city of St. Helens and that the presenter said brings roughly $100,000 a year in funding to the local program (with 10% used for CET administration). Vogel said CET had facilitated eight Grow loans totaling about $450,000 since October and that the program’s loans have a simplified application process and 3% interest.

Sierra Trass, identified in the presentation as a small business specialist and Keep It Local director, was named as the staff member running the directory, seasonal promotional campaigns and local marketing work.

Vogel and CET board members on site — including former Commissioner Tony Hyde (chair), Senator Johnson (board member) and Mayor Joe Backus (board member) — emphasized that recruitment work is relationship‑driven and often requires coordination with utilities, landowners and state partners. The presenter said CET does not own industrial land but markets sites in cooperation with owners and brokers.

The board also received a short presentation from Eva Manderson, director of Northwest Regional Child Care Resource and Referral, who said her team supports about 60 programs in Columbia County and described Provider Appreciation Day events planned May 9 (regionally) and local training on May 17 at Groner Watts Elementary. "I lead a team that provides technical assistance, coaching ... to any early educator and childcare provider across Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook Counties," Manderson said.

Commissioners praised CET’s work during the discussion. "It's been wonderful to watch the growth of this economic team," Commissioner McGruder said. Commissioners also noted upcoming county events and public programs tied to tourism and small business outreach.

Votes at a glance

- Proclamation: Declare May 9, 2025 as Child Care Provider Appreciation Day (Board of County Commissioners proclamation). Motion moved and seconded; board vote: unanimous in favor. Outcome: approved.

- Consent agenda: Approval of select to pay for April 2025 and board minutes (work session 03/26/2025; special meeting 04/09/2025). Motion moved and seconded; board vote: unanimous in favor. Outcome: approved.

- Agreements/contracts: Approval of Amendment 18 to Agreement No. 180005 with the Oregon Health Authority (amendment 18) and Amendment 4 to public services contract C155‑2019 with Trinity Service Group for Columbia County Jail food service. Motion moved and seconded; board vote: unanimous in favor. Outcome: approved.

No other formal board directives were recorded during the CET presentation; commissioners expressed support for continued county investment and partnership with CET but did not adopt additional motions related to recruitment or the organization’s operational funding during the meeting.

The presentation included several numeric program details that CET and presenters supplied: CET reported nearly $4 billion in cumulative prospective investment across active projects (presenter’s figure), just under 900 direct jobs from those projects (presenter’s figure), more than 330 SBDC clients over three years, about $665,000 tracked promotional spending from Keep It Local seasonal campaigns, eight Grow loans facilitated totaling roughly $450,000 since October, and $385,000 in tourism grants that CET said it helped facilitate last year across county communities. Where speakers used approximate or programmatic totals in the presentation, the article reports those figures as stated by CET.

Columbia Economic Team staff provided contact information and QR codes during the presentation and invited commissioners and the public to CET events, including a small‑business resource fair and a community small‑business fair scheduled for May 3 in the county facility. The board’s formal proclamation for Child Care Provider Appreciation Day was read into the record and will be entered into the commissioners’ minutes for April 16, 2025.