Published July 2001

Funding for EDC’s 5-year plan on fast track

By Bryan Corliss
Herald Economy Writer

The Snohomish County Economic Development Council has far surpassed its fund-raising goal for a five-year program intended to create 4,000 new high-paying jobs.

As a result, the agency has moved up its timetable for hiring people to help companies with economic development projects, EDC President Deborah Knutson said.

The council had sought $700,000 a year in public- and private-sector money to fund a program aimed at recruiting new companies and retaining existing ones, training workers for them, and working with governments for services they would need, such as transportation.

Contributions have easily eclipsed the target, Knutson said. So far, the agency has firm commitments for about $805,000 in cash and $257,000 in “in-kind” contributions, which include anything from free printing to help from companies that will loan their executives to work on EDC projects.

That puts the five-year budget for the project, originally set at $3.5 million, at about $5 million, she said.

“The community really stepped up to it,” she said.

With money coming in faster than expected, the agency advanced its plan to hire a policy analyst, who will help companies work with local governments on zoning and transportation issues, Knutson said.

The analyst is the third new staffer hired with money raised by the fund-raising campaign. Earlier this spring, the agency added a marketing director and a work-force training coordinator.

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