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| | | Message from Lisa Brown - July 2021 | | |
80 new programs entrusted to Commerce expand agency responsibilities and impact  The new fiscal year is underway, and Commerce is ramping up our work strengthening communities with dozens of new programs, additional funding and partnerships entrusted to us by the Legislature. Much of our work over the past year and a half was dedicated to pandemic response and recovery. The tremendous efforts and successes of our Commerce team spurred more responsibilities and opportunities for us to extend that work as Washington communities continue to rebuild and retool for the future. Our legislative and policy team is tracking more than 80 new programs across all of divisions and units. With that comes new faces and team members as we forge ahead with program development, contracting and implementation. Some highlights include: | |
Lessons from Malden teach volumes about community resilience  Commerce work with local leaders in a small town decimated by wildfire reveals new approaches to better serve communities in crisis. Imagine feeling the scorching heat as you stand, stranded on the nearest small patch of green alfalfa, helpless against flames consuming the house on your family's homestead settled generations ago. Or feeling a tightening knot in the pit of your stomach as you rush to the engulfed homes and businesses of your neighbors, making sure everyone is safe from the wildfire swallowing buildings whole. Imagine, then immediately shifting gears to lead rebuilding the devastated community, all while your own family is among those who lost everything. That was reality for the current town mayor Dan Harwood and volunteer firefighter and town councilmember Scott Hokonson last September when the Babb Road fire roared through the rural town of Malden, Washington and destroyed 80 percent of its homes and buildings in a matter of hours. Read the rest of the story on Commerce's Medium site... | Applications open for $43 million in Public Works Board broadband construction grants  The Washington State Public Works Board (PWB) is accepting applications for broadband infrastructure construction grants now through Oct. 1, 2021. Cities, towns, counties, special purpose districts and Tribes are eligible to apply. One important requirement is that applicants must contact local Internet service providers (ISPs) near the proposed project area a minimum of six weeks prior to submitting an application for funding to the board. This contact is to request the ISP's plan to upgrade broadband service in the project area to speeds that meet or exceed the state's definition of broadband service within the time frame of the proposed project. Applicants must submit documentation of this interaction with their application. | Reminder: Small Business FlexFund is a new resource to help grow your business  The pandemic has impacted all of our communities, but it has been especially hard on Washington's smallest businesses and nonprofits. The Small Business FlexFund, launched late last month, helps small businesses and nonprofits bounce back. The fund provides access to flexible working capital loans up to $150,000 at a competitive interest rate with .60- or 72-month repayment timelines. Funds can be spent flexibly, including on payroll, utilities and rent, supplies, marketing and advertising, building improvements or repairs, and other business expenses. Learn more and apply now | Manufacturing Excellence: Commerce partner Impact WA helps companies pivot during COVID  Early in the COVID-19 crisis when Gov. Jay Inslee put out the call for anyone able to produce critical protective gear, the state was not set up to vet all the manufacturers who responded. Bothell-based nonprofit Impact Washington became a "manufacturer matchmaker" in (Photo: 425Business/Impact Washington) fulfilling needs (like distilleries suddenly in charge of producing hand sanitizer, for example). In total, Impact Washington worked alongside the Washington State Department of Commerce to help more than 60 businesses adjust operations. Read the 425Business story | Breaking new housing ground in Port Townsend  Lack of affordable housing is a challenge statewide. Commerce is proud to support the first affordable housing project in Port Townsend since 2006. OlyCAP and a community-led coalition broke ground on a new project with 43 units for families and individuals in Jefferson County. Happy we could be there to help celebrate! Watch the video  A toast to persistence: Willapa Center is step closer to reality Another exciting groundbreaking happened this month in Raymond, thanks to decades of work by multiple community partners. Commerce is proud to have played a role in helping fund Willapa Center, bringing 40 units of affordable housing with an early learning center and nonprofit tenant office space to Pacific County. (Photo:The Daily World) Read more in the Daily World |  |
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