Positive steps in business call for optimisim in 2006

Business leaders ring in with hopes for new year

MOSES LAKE — For Terry Brewer, this was a busier year than most for inquiries into Grant County.

There's been more activity than any other time in his eight years as executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council, Brewer said. The council actively worked on 43 projects with businesses eyeing locations in the county, with the majority resulting in site visits.

"We're still very active with one-third of that number," Brewer said, crediting a generally good world economy with generating the interest in the area.

Brewer said one shortcoming has been the lack of empty and available building space to show inquiring companies, like empty buildings of 40,000 square feet or greater. For example, one of the buildings previously shown now houses Richards Brush. The same goes for space in the Port of Ephrata, which now houses windmill tower manufacturer Katana Industries.

"We are what we are." Brewer said, adding the council sells the county's assets and attributes, like low-cost power. "We work around it."

Working with representatives from the state's departments of transportation, ecology and community trade and economic development, Brewer said he keeps hearing, through feedback, the council is the busiest group in the state.

"That's flattering," he said. "It's good to know they recognize us for that."

In 2006, the council will survey industrial companies in order to determine what their needs might be, Brewer said. This will enable the council to work with would-be applicants to get their skills up to par and meet those requirements.

As an example, he said there may be a shortage of welders in major construction. More people trained with industrial-related skills would be needed. The council will be working with programs like Work Source, Skill Source and Big Bend Community College to aid people in learning those skills.

Delone Krueger, president of the board of commissioners for the Port of Moses Lake, said area business made real progress in 2005, pointing to the stabilization of Grant County Public Utility District rates and the council's efforts.

"I am encouraged by our renewable energy opportunities," Krueger said, noting those opportunities include material for photovoltaic applications, and ethanol. "I think the country needs to get serious. We can't just depend on fossil fuels."

It's a sentiment Big Bend Economic Development Council executive director Bill Riley echoes. Earlier this year, Riley announced engineer Ron Baker, North Columbia Community Action Council director Ken Sterner seek to open a small biodiesel producing facility with him as a partner.

"The Columbia Basin is not an island; we're part of a much larger economy, and our economy is in trouble on a national basis and a state basis," Riley said, pointing to a November-reported $69.9 billion trade deficit. "That's the largest trade deficit in history, and 30 percent of that is from Chinese goods coming into the United States."

All the products coming into the U.S. means they're not made in the country, Riley said, including agricultural products, which impacts an agricultural economy like the Columbia Basin's.

He pointed at situations like a $4.9 billion deficit in the state retirement program, and a propensity in the state to raise taxes, as having an impact upon the economy.

"This state has got to start living within its means," Riley said. "As soon as I talk to businesses, the first thing they ask me is about the tax structure in this state. Some of these legislators in Olympia have got to realize that taxing and spending is not going to bring prosperity."

Riley said he sees two projects in the Basin with "the best potential I've seen in the 10 years I've been here."

The first is the Columbia Basin Development League's pursuit of development of the second half of the Columbia Basin Project, which Riley said would ultimately open up additional irrigated acres to produce different crops.

While the mainstay of crops has largely been potatoes and wheat, the introduction of irrigated crops on what was once dryland farming would bring in new, high-paying crops, including oilseed crops, he said.

While not a new process, Riley and company think the focus needs to be on small plants in rural communities that can provide "from the very canola or oilseed they grow the biodiesel fuel that they can power their tractors with, power trucks with, power GTA buses, power county vehicles. Some people even heat homes with it."

It's a crop that can be grown and processed here, Riley said. Simple chemistries are involved and people in the area already doing it on their own.

"It looks to me like there's going to be a paradigm shift in how we fuel our vehicles here in the United States, and it's exciting to work with these people from these various agencies from the small communities and look at the potential that it offers," Riley said, adding there are hopes for an energy symposium at some point in the early spring to discuss biofuels, solar and wind power, as well as energy conservation. "These are all things that are within our grasp and today are cost-effective."

Moses Lake Business Association executive director Sally Goodwin said she sees national trends calling for unique downtown business experiences, and said businesses and the community are working hard to provide the infrastructure and atmosphere for success.

"We need some customer loyalty; we need customers from our community who come downtown first," Goodwin said. "If they want this to be the heart and soul of Moses Lake, we need their support."

Many businesses are reporting positive years for 2005, including a good Christmas season — although Goodwin said one merchant called it a "non-event" — and a non-traditional one at that, she added.

"When you think that you're going to have a good week, it's not, but the next week is," she reported. "It's different, but it's been good in most cases. (Retailers would) like to see it more thought of as a destination, not only for shopping but for entertainment, services and all the things that could possibly be provided."

As the times change, merchants need to change with them. There have been new developments downtown as others have come to a close, Goodwin said.

"We've got a lot of things new, and has everybody checked it out?" Goodwin asked. "I hope so."

Businesses that have opened on Sundays for the holidays have found success. Extended hours on Thursday evenings will take a while, but are growing, Goodwin said.

"If the consumer wants downtown open one evening a week, they need to support it," she said.

Goodwin and Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce president Jacie Daschel both point to the recent approval of the MLBA by the state as a participant in a tax incentive program, allowing the organization to target big businesses and encourage them to donate money for downtown revitalization.

Those businesses can take a 75 percent tax credit for their donations to the MLBA for the year of 2006, Goodwin said.

"That's a wonderful benefit for them, and it will also help their community," she said. "Communities have to apply for this and you have to have things in order, and we worked hard on getting this in. It's a real coup that we did get approved."

Daschel called the association's approval a "really big deal," because Washington corporations can receive a 75 percent reimbursement of monies they give to the MLBA.

"We've been working hard with very little funding, and now we have a funding source to do some things with," Daschel said. "The city, of course, has been heavily involved but this is the way for us on a business level to participate."

Daschel said there's no reason not to be optimistic about the coming year, with many good prospects for continued growth within the community, pointing at a strong year for housing in 2005 and more commercial investments in 2006, and predicting continued improvement of the community at all levels — economic, social and community-oriented — in the coming year.

Vision 2020 chair Alan Heroux echoed Goodwin in voicing the need for stronger citizen dedication to support local business.

"We get way too much hemorrhaging of business to Tri-Cities, Spokane," he said. "Sometimes you have to go outside Moses Lake for a service. You just do, there's no two ways about that, but the way I look at it is, if there's any way possible to support local businesses … we have to do that as a community, or those businesses won't be here to support us."

In 2005, some businesses were down, but overall it was fairly strong, Heroux said, pointing at a very good year for the real estate community.

He also sees a stronger sense of community, although it is a slow process.

"I see more people involved, more people interested in supporting the community, although we could do a lot better," he said. "I think we're gradually getting back to a sense of selflessness in the community."

Heroux said there's a point where an individual feels safe and secure in his or herself, they are able to support other people in a stronger fashion. The stronger the community is, he said, it supports the individuals, who in turn support the community.

"The small group of naysayers — there are negative-minded people out there in every aspect of life that only see the negative side of things, and I'd like to see that changed," he said when asked about negatives from the past year. "Because a vocal few can change the attitude of a quiet majority. I've sat in meetings before and had a good idea go by the wayside because of a vocal few people."

But Heroux also called for a good year, pointing at the redesign of downtown Moses Lake, remodeling of Interstate-90 exit 176 and projects to bring consensus to wayfaring and entrance signs to the city. Projects like these will get underway in 2006, he said.

Heroux also called for people to think about getting involved.

"Even downtown redesign, which has been supported by most folks, there are still a few that go, 'No, it's a bad idea,'" he said. "But it'd be nice to have those folks involved all through the process. The way I look at it is, we're a democracy here and the majority is going to determine what we do or don't do."