Sen. Murray discusses transportation, training

MOSES LAKE - From Grant County business and industry representatives to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray: We need rail.

The topic dominated a roundtable meeting Wednesday afternoon when the Democratic senator met with members of the Port of Moses Lake, Big Bend Community College, REC Silicon and other area businesses.

Matt Fearon, with Genie Industries, said that his company's exports to Europe currently go all the way south through the Panama Canal.

"If we can switch from trucks to rail, that would be helpful. Very helpful," he said. "Anything that could be done, we would be very supportive of."

Mike Harvey with Moses Lake Industries agreed, saying the ability to move product faster would decrease transportation costs dramatically.

The need for rail would also make the region more attractive to new business, such as Aviation Technical Services, an outsourcing business for aircraft repair.

ATS' Don Cook said that the company has been looking into Moses Lake for the past six months, and like what they see.

"This is the right area for us to be as we grow," he said. "We know Seattle's on the map, we know Spokane has been an aerospace center, and now we see Moses Lake as the next best location."

But transportation is still an issue, he said. His customers require access to parts quickly, and without rail in the area costs would stay high.

Still, he called Moses Lake "the next large area for aerospace growth."

Moses Lake Mayor Bill Ecret also had a seat at the table. He said the city recognizes the need for rail in the area, and a collaborative voice that joins cities, county and business will be necessary.

"We all feel very adamant about that," he said. "We would consider it to be a huge advantage to this area if we had rail, whether it be for a new big-box store, or whether it be for a new aviation company here at the Port of Moses Lake."

Grant County Commissioner Carolann Swartz said that the base of the county's primary income source has shifted from agriculture to industry, and that transportation needs need to keep up.

"All you have to do is drive across I-90 and see the numbers of trucks that are going over," she said. "That's very costly, not only for keeping up the roads, but also the economy."

Murray agreed, and vowed to continue to work on securing funding for a rail system in the area.

"This region has done the exact right thing, and looked out to say, 'Where do we want to be in the future?'" she said.

Another look to future needs is the up-and-coming employment pool.

As industry grows, all of the business representatives at the meeting said they're concerned about not having enough local workforce to draw from.

"I would like to see more, better training programs from Big Bend, the high school, and the surrounding communities," SGL/BMW representative Koross Hosieni said.

Big Bend Community College representative Gail Hamburg shared several grants and facility upgrades with those at the table, as well as new and forthcoming curriculum changes to better-suit the community's job needs.

Overall, Port Executive Director Patrick Jones said the conversation was broad and enriching.

Earlier in the day he gave Murray a guided tour of the Port's facilities.

Before that, Murray, who chairs the Senate Committee of Veterans' Affairs, met with area veterans, focusing on mental health, not only for all veterans, but especially for those returning from current wars.

The two meetings eventually dovetailed, as Murray said to the business roundtable:

"With a lot of young men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan who are not able to get a job, and who tell me repeatedly that don't write 'Veteran' on their resume. The reason they do that is they think employers will see them as not having skills or as having post-traumatic stress syndrome. And I'm here to tell you, that's not the case: Hire veterans."