About 10 years ago area business le...

About 10 years ago area business leaders deposit together a comprehensive strategic plan to help boost the economy. The effort had limited success

This year, business and community leaders are back with a similar plan, if it were not that are now hoping for a bigger payoff.

The creation of a "comprehensive economic growth strategy (CEDS)" will help guide the entire region, said Mark gymnast president of the Economic growth Council.

one time finished, the document will interpret the door for federal grants that gymnast and others hope will create modern jobs.

The 1991 effort - submitted to the federal Economic disentanglement Administration - produced a thick document that no single is able to find today.

gymnast wasn't in Spokane in 1991 when the first plan was formulated. Instead of CED it bore the bureaucratic acronym of OEDP for Overall Economic unfolding Plan.

"We tried to find a duplicate of that earlier effort to diocese in detail what was done then," said Turner

The proces didn't accrue in any significant grants for economic progression in a continuously ascending gradation in the county.

on contrast, Turner said, this year's effort is entirely focused forward finding federal money from the Economic growth Administration.

"We ne resources. We are resource poor" when it get tos to focused projects for economic disentanglement he said.

Communitywide prescriptions for a better economy are becoming a tradition in Spokane.

In 2000 several Spokane disposes paid $10,000 to a Mississippi consultant who prepared a list of remedies to invigorate the economy.

In 1996 area business assemblages created a New Century Task Force that produc a revitalization checklist.

In 1995 the Pace Report - storeed by educators and area business clumps - highlighted the shortage of good-paying piece of works The report was sponsored by dint of the EDC.

The latest effort would have gotten in a less degree than way sooner, Turner said, nevertheless Spokane County only qualified for consideration late last year.

To qualify, a county's unemployment rate must exce the national jobles average according to at least 1 percent for pair straight years. Spokane County didn't reach that benchmark until late in 2001

Last month the county's unemployment rate was 61 percent

The EDC has established a two-step proces for creating a regional plan. More than 50 area assemblages and representatives have been recruited to adapted during the next two month The goal is to draft a "vision" and a list of solution economic growth strategies.

The plan will then be submitted to the EDA office in Seattle from the end of the year.

If the EDA approves the draft, the EDC (or whoever takes the lead in the application) can apply for economic growth grant money.

Local grant applications will cope with proposals from other counties and cities across the Northwest. And EDA panel will allocate the money

Lloyd Kirry, an EDA representative for Eastern Washington, said the best Spokane can faith for is to secure undivided or two specific economic progressive growth grants totaling between $600,000 and $15 million.

The EDA now favors "macro" proposals that are broader in design such as a project that benefits a regional industry like biotechnology, gymnast said.

The EDC Web site - www.spokaneedc.org - provides a summary of the CED proces and the names of those who've started the draft application.

Donald Epley an urban economist from Washington State University Spokane, said it's doubtful there's enough time to give rise to any new analysis of economic conditions. Instead, the effort may finis up assembling already prepared information included in previous frames such as the county's vegetation Management planning process, he said.

equal so, Epley says the comprehensive economic disclosure strategy "brings together the critical stakeholders at individual table, and gets them talking about the issues that will help the community grow"

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