Published December 2000

EDC plan offers
a course of action

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

Details of a new vision for creating “a diversified 21st-century economy” in Snohomish County have been unveiled by the Economic Development Council in a sweeping document, dubbed the 2001-2005 Economic Development Initiatives and Strategic Plan.

Board Chairman Reid Shockey presented the plan to members at the EDC’s annual meeting Nov. 27 at the Mill Creek Country Club, and explained ways in which the organization plans to accomplish its mission.

The plan fleshes out a preliminary report issued in May, when more than 60 private and public leaders in the county recommended the EDC raise $3.5 million to invest over the next five years in four strategic areas:

Marketing and recruiting: $350,000 annually; $1.75 million over five years.

Retention and expansion: $150,000 annually; $750,000 over five years.

Work-force development: $50,000 annually; $250,000 over five years.

Infrastructure and land use: $150,000 annually; $750,000 over five years.

Funds committed to each designated area will be determined by specific programs and cost estimates submitted to the EDC’s Board and Investors Council. The EDC will report progress quarterly to investors, participants, partners and the general public.

The largest portion of the EDC’s $3.5 million budget for its five-year plan is $2.5 million for marketing, recruiting, retention and expansion initiatives.

Program goals include updating the Snohomish County Industrial Land Use Inventory, providing economic research to guide local economic policies and profiling the county’s economic, demographic, employment and quality-of-life information.

The EDC also will identify the availability of technically trained workers and employment training opportunities, catalog the availability of bandwidth and power to support high-tech industries, research employers seeking to expand and regularly share information about office and industrial space with the brokerage community.

According to the report, the EDC believes the county can ensure a strong, globally competitive economy by retaining and growing the existing quality work force and building on the existing base of high-tech industries.

The EDC plans to attract an “increase of intellectual capital and resources, be a strong advocate for capturing venture/investment capital, increase export markets and create a labor force that will continue to be competitive in the new economy.”

Another priority, promoting the county’s image, will involve a marketing and media campaign to entice technology and manufacturing companies to come to Snohomish County, stay here or expand here, the EDC plan states.

The EDC also will work with news media to create a positive Snohomish County identity as a premier business location for high-tech industries, building on the long list of companies already in the county, particularly in the Technology Corridor. One example will be an annual event to showcase the county’s high-tech, biotech, software and electronics companies.

The present EDC Web site (www.snoedc.org) will be expanded to offer links to all Snohomish County Web sites and other relevant cyberspace destinations. Digital business cards — mini-CDs pared to card size — will promote Snohomish County’s high-tech profile and link card users directly to the EDC Web site.

Along with hosting familiarization tours of the county for consultants, developers and real estate brokers, the EDC’s efforts include recruiting technology-based businesses through aggressive regional and national campaigns.

Plans to help retain existing businesses and encourage their growth will include the EDC’s proactive business visitation program, business surveys to catalog manufacturing and high-tech industry clusters, and fostering partnerships between cities, chambers of commerce and businesses.

The EDC also will assist local businesses in obtaining financing options for their enterprises, tap into state and federal programs that help businesses deploy new technologies and assist businesses in expanding their market share by exporting products to targeted countries.

The Workforce Development Initiative, budgeted at $250,000 over the five-year period, will help create and sustain “a globally competitive, adaptable and skilled work force” for the county, its corporations and organizations by promoting cooperation between the education and business communities.

As many as 4,000 new jobs, with annual salaries ranging from $38,000 to $45,000-plus, are anticipated as a result of the work-force initiative, including 1,080 in manufacturing, 400 in electro-mechanical fields, 400 in automation, 500 in electronics, 550 in information technology, 635 in biotechnology and 485 in emerging technologies.

The $750,000, five-year Infrastructure Development Initiative includes EDC plans to “aggressively pursue” creation of a “county-wide physical infrastructure” to promote quality economic growth — including ample broadband data networks to support high-tech companies and improved road networks needed by all businesses in the county.

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