Darren Raines, executive director of Greater Grays Harbor, told the Aberdeen City Council on Jan. 8 that the organization has launched a two‑year project funded by a $500,000 Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to reduce the prime‑age employment gap for residents aged 23 to 54.

The project, Raines said, will bring together stakeholders including Grays Harbor College, Pacific Mountain Workforce Development and neighboring Pacific County to produce a plan to pursue EDA funding for infrastructure and workforce interventions. "That prime age employment gap is huge for Grays Harbor," Raines said, noting the county's rate was higher than the national average in the data the group has reviewed.

Greater Grays Harbor described four ongoing priorities: business retention and expansion, entrepreneurial development, business attraction and tourism economic development. Raines said the organization has helped roughly 112 businesses through on‑site visits as of September and estimated the total assisted businesses approached 260 by the end of 2024, through startup support, export assistance and training. "We plug them into the business support ecosystem," he said.

Raines highlighted marketing and tourism work, including the Discover Grays Harbor microsite and social accounts. He said the website had been visited "over 60,000 times in the last 12 months" and reported roughly 69,000 users. He also cited broader digital metrics for the countywide marketing effort.

The presentation named several ongoing constraints to attracting investment: regulatory obstacles at the state level and local utility limits, including developers requesting large, firm electrical capacity ("like a 100 megawatts of power"). Raines said those limits can make it harder to recruit projects that require guaranteed, high‑capacity power.

When a councilmember asked whether housing shortages were hampering efforts to recruit workers and medical staff, Raines confirmed housing is a major barrier. He said Greater Grays Harbor is including incentives for residential development among its legislative priorities, and that the group will lobby on those issues in Olympia.

"We want to work for everybody and help them however we can," Kyle Polly, chairman of Greater Grays Harbor's board of directors, added during the presentation. "We're a clearing house for business in Grays Harbor."

Nut graf: The presentation framed Greater Grays Harbor's strategy as a mix of short‑term assistance to local firms and a long‑term EDA‑funded effort to identify infrastructure and workforce investments that could attract employers and decrease the county's disparity in prime‑age employment. The council did not take formal action on the presentation.

Background and details

- Recompete grant: Raines said the EDA project (the "recompete" effort) started in September and will run two years; the consultant named in the presentation is Rocket Project Management.

- Workforce and education partners: Grays Harbor College and Pacific Mountain Workforce Development were listed as lead partners for training and recruitment work.

- Business services: Raines listed state and federal support partners available to local businesses, including the Washington State Department of Commerce, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the state's Small Business Development Center.

- Entrepreneurship and youth work: Greater Grays Harbor said it held a youth hiring summit at North Beach High School in 2024 and provided 41 startup supports across the county.

- Tourism marketing: The organization maintains the Discover Grays Harbor site and social channels to promote lodging, dining and local attractions; Raines said the site has an active audience beyond the immediate county.

Questions and next steps

Raines said Greater Grays Harbor will convene city and county leaders and reconvene a local "jobs team" and a strategic advisory committee of business and public leaders. The two‑year study will conclude with a plan the group will return to the EDA to request implementation funding for projects such as roads, sewer or power upgrades, depending on the plan's recommendations.

Ending: The council heard the presentation and asked questions but did not vote on any measures tied to Greater Grays Harbor at the Jan. 8 meeting. The organization encouraged local officials and businesses to make referrals to its office for services and for participation in the EDA project.