Greetings and welcome to Friday! While there aren’t that many topics in this week’s update, many of them are “deep dives” into significant projects that may factor significantly into our work over the years to come.
Here’s our EDALC update for the week:
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Rural Opportunity Initiative – Much of my time this week was spent refining our potential projects and application partners for this Business Oregon program. I also had a long meeting with Melissa Murphy to strategize the best way to move this forward to get a positive determination on our application (which is due the 3rd week of September). Melissa will help critique and refine our application along the way. Next week will be a number of meetings to shore up support for this application and then getting a draft of our project outline to Melissa.
EDA Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Grant – We had several meetings on this ARPA funded grant program this week – to explore and evaluate what could evolve into a strong application. This morning, quite a few stakeholders met on Zoom to discuss the NOFO (and how it’s different from what we originally anticipated) and what might be some strong contenders for local and regional projects. I think there are some solid ideas out there, and we’ve shot some questions off to Wes at the EDA to help us clarify some options and priorities. Next week, we’ll have a few smaller meeting and then convene the large group together in early September to solidify and determine if we will move forward with an application.
O2IH – EDA Build Back Better – I had several meetings this week relating to O2IH and a potential application to the EDAs Build Back Better ARPA funded grant program. This program is nationally competitive, but with an effort to distribute awards geographically. The Phase One application (a smaller grant with no required match) is due by October 19th, which is a preparatory grant to lay the groundwork for a much larger Phase Two application and project. It’s likely that OSU will be the lead applicant, and I’ll probably work to develop the language on one or more sections and/or subsections. It’s quite exciting seeing aspects of O2IH crystalize together into an exciting and potentially very impactful project.
Newport Airport Development – I had a followup meeting this week on the ten acres of development-ready land just outside the fence on Newport airport property. It looks like there will be some build-to-suit options there (something I was hoping for). I also had another meeting with some state folks on how the Enterprise Zone works with new real property on sub-leased (though long-term) land. I also reached out to a business that I’ve been working with and there might be a perfect fit for them at this location.
Business Oregon Infrastructure Summit – Bob and I (and some other key players) had a meeting this week to discuss a Blue Economy panel we’ll be presenting as part of Business Oregon’s Infrastructure Summit (https://theoregonsummit.com/) on the morning of September 13th. It will be a great opportunity to educate and inform elected officials statewide about the Blue Economy (and how it doesn’t just relate to the coast) and what’s going on with the Oregon Ocean Innovation Hub.
CWEDD Grant – Online Strategic Plans – I’ve set up the initial WordPress hosting website (using our “thinklincolncounty.com” URL) and had the first progress meeting with Mike of 1DesignDevelopment – the software developers creating our first-in-class WordPress plugin that will allow multiple organizations to share their strategic plans of work with community stakeholders.
Community Website Program – I had a meeting today with Leslie Palotas to talk through an application to the Ford Family Foundation for us (Lincoln County region) to join their Community Website Program. It is also our hope to bring our work with the WordPress plugin to them and this program statewide.
SBA’s Shuttered Venues Grant Program – A huge congrats to Carrie and the Aquarium for receiving an award from the SBA’s Shuttered Venues grant program! While it certainly does not make up for revenue lost during COVID, it’s a heartening step to keep vital attractions like the aquarium and other local venues alive and thriving in our community. Here’s an article on the local grant awards: https://www.newportnewstimes.com/news/county-venues-to-receive-4-9-million-in-federal-funding/article_3599e3ca-ff9a-11eb-91ee-bb5bb5d0d284.html?fbclid=IwAR0A44KhSn_2pP4ozm4a8O698IJFCG9JJzgSdhci8opJELJdG_OzYQ9–9c
As a reminder – your Board of Directors resource page is here:
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Also wanted to share with the board that right now, I absolutely LOVE my job and the work we’re doing! We have our scaffolding in place of the priorities we should focus on over the next several years, and it feels like our efforts are building the foundation we need to be a strong, results-driven organization that strives to simultaneously serve our community and innovate within that service mission. Huzzah!
Thanks for ALL that you are doing out there! Please reach out to me if you need anything at all.
Cheers,
-Paul 🙂