Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
EDEASK outlines staffing, SEDS implementation and separate housing/economic-development funding pots
Summary
EDEASK told the Skagit County advisory committee it is prioritizing workforce services, childcare pilots and SEDS implementation while noting the county set aside separate $3 million housing and $4 million economic development pools for this funding round.
John Sturmlich, chief executive of Economic Development Association of Skagit County (EDEASK), briefed the county—s advisory committee on May 30 about the organization—s staffing, recent programs and a new role implementing the county—s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (SEDS).
Sturmlich told the committee that the local program—s revenue mix supports staffing and programming and that EDEASK currently has two open staff positions. He said the county—s 0.09 economic development funds come out of the state—s portion of sales tax and are not an additional local tax. He also described workforce development and childcare as continuing priorities.
The discussion came as commissioners set aside two separate pools for this funding round: $3,000,000 retained for workforce housing proposals and $4,000,000 for other economic development projects. Sturmlich described the housing money as a one-time retainage from multiple years of funds rather than a recurring appropriation.
Why this matters: EDEASK was asked to take on ongoing benchmarking, reporting and facilitation to implement the SEDS. Sturmlich said implementing the strategy will require a tracking tool, benchmarking metrics, steering-committee assistance and a communications plan to keep partner organizations and the broader public informed. He said the first-year implementation effort will be heavier and therefore more expensive than ongoing years.
Committee members asked about EDEASK—s revenue diversification. Sturmlich said public facilities contracts cover a large portion of personnel costs, municipal contracts and grants supplement the budget, tuition covers about 10% and the State Department of Commerce historically provides about 8–9%.
Next steps: the advisory committee proceeded to hear applicant presentations for both housing and public-facility economic projects and will make funding recommendations based on the separate housing and economic-development pools.
