“Less than 20 percent of the applications got funding.”
— Paul Dennis, CWEDA president
The local projects that were submitted for New Markets Tax Credits consideration have not been chosen to receive funding.
Paul Dennis, president and chief executive officer of the Camas-Washougal Economic Development Association, said during the July 13 Washougal City Council workshop that most of the funded projects are based on the East Coast and Midwest.
“Less than 20 percent [of the applications] got funding,” he said. “Of those that received funding, over 80 percent were multi-state or nationally focused. Those that were locally focused were part of larger metro projects.”
A mixed-use library building in downtown Washougal was among the local projects proposed by the advisory board of the Community Development Entity for funding with New Markets Tax Credits. The program involves an indirect federal subsidy for business and development investment. Tax credits are awarded through annual competitive applications, and awardees sell tax credits to investors.
The other local projects submitted for funding consideration included a 30,000 square foot and a 60,000 square foot building in the Port of Camas-Washougal Steigerwald Commerce Center and a mixed-use commercial building in downtown Camas.
Dennis said the CDE advisory board plans to submit another application for New Markets Tax Credits in the fall.
“We will probably have a larger pipeline of projects,” he said. “We will start to look at some of those that have been inquiring within the port and continue building a network of other CDEs.
“We’re developing relationships with some of the larger banking institutions,” Dennis added. “This last go round, there was only one entity located in Washington and Oregon that got funded. We are in the process of setting up a really close relationship with them and have them assist us on the new application that we file in the fall, to try to increase our odds of getting an allocation.”
The CDE advisory board includes Cathy Garland, Western Washington regional director of the Children’s Home Society; Port of C-W Commissioner Bill Macrae-Smith, Wanda Nelson, center manager of The Meals on Wheels People Camas-Washougal; Camas City Councilman Steve Hogan, Amber Barnes, with the Jack, Will & Rob Boys & Girls Club; Lloyd Halverson, from the board of commissioners of the Vancouver Housing Authority; and Washougal City Councilman Brent Boger.
Meanwhile, the CWEDA board recently approved the hiring of John White and Eric Hovee to create a five-year strategic plan, by the mid-fall.
The cost, $15,000, is in the CWEDA budget.
The plan will include interviewing stakeholders who operate within the C-W area.
“We’re also interviewing and soliciting help from those that are from the outside that are looking in, so we aren’t just always looking internal to ourselves,” Dennis said. “We are also taking a look at how others perceive us.”
The action plan will include information about how CWEDA should be interacting with other organizations.
“Both cities have a downtown organization,” Dennis said. “We want to work with them in partnership and be collaborative with them, see what some of their endeavors are, what they want to do and how we can be of help to them.”
The next CWEDA board meeting will be held Thursday, at 1:30 p.m., in the port office, at 24 S. “A” St., Washougal.
