March 25, 2009

Team sees hope in stimulus
Changing federal landscape offers opportunities


     As billions of stimulus dollars await spending in Washington, D.C., the rules of engagement have changed, say members of the outreach team representing The Dalles and Wasco County.
     Most of the team members are old hands — and successful hands — at lobbying for federal funding to help the local community. They’ve been working together for the past eight years to bring federal spending to bear on local projects. But the billions flooding into governmental departments mean a new kind of pressure to spend.
     “Right now in the country there’s a huge pressure to spend the stimulus money,” said Dr. Frank Toda, president of Columbia Gorge Community College. “But it’s not being spent, the reason being that President Obama has said it must be spent properly and with accountability. If they don’t, they will be giving the money back.”
Wasco County Judge Dan Ericksen offered an example of the differences in agency spending between last year and this.
     “When we went to the Department of Energy, the person we talked to said they had $3.1 million last year; this year they have $5.4 billion to give away with complete accountability in a short amount of time,” Ericksen said.
     That means federal agencies must first develop the rules and requirements that go along with that accountability.
     The message was similar wherever the outreach team went.
     Even so, the team found reason to be optimistic about its chances of garnering more funding for local projects.
     “They’ve given us money before and we’ve performed above expectations,” said Andrea Klaas, executive director of the Port of The Dalles. “We’re very much in the competitive bidding.”
     That’s a big difference this year. Before, the outreach team has received funding through the earmark process, or through departmental funding. This time around, agencies have made it clear that awards will come through a competitive bidding process.
     Even so, team members found reason to be encouraged by their reception in the nation’s capitol.
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     The group advocated for a number of projects with organizations including the departments of Labor, Energy and Education, as well as the American Wildlife Federation, the Office of Historic Preservation, and legislators from both Oregon and Washington. Among the projects: Brewery Grade reconstruction, renewable energy training, nursing training, a new armory, a combination tour boat and commercial dock in downtown The Dalles, commercial renewable energy, and a new 9-1-1 and emergency operations center.
     Part of the funding they sought was to help develop skill sets that would lead to national certification for wind energy technicians. Columbia Gorge Community College is one of four organizations working on the project from Washington, Oregon and Idaho, along with the National Wind Energy Association.
     “Welders, mechanics, nurses, EMTs all have certifications, but not wind technicians,” said Dan Spatz, executive director of resource development at CGCC.      Spatz also represented The Dalles City Council on the visit, as did former mayor Robb Van Cleave on past team visits.
     Spatz pointed out that jobs are waiting in the renewable energy field and the college has had a 100 percent success rate in placement.
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     The renewable energy program has also garnered attention from a somewhat less expected prospective partner: the National Wildlife Federation.
     “They recognize the link between climate change and rural economic development,” Spatz said, “and that link is renewable energy.”
     Spatz and Toda said the college’s reputation in the field preceded them to their meeting with the Wildlife Federation. The organization wants to use the college program as its “poster organization,” Spatz said.
     “They said, ‘We don’t have money yet; we haven’t got our grant criteria written yet, but you’re in a good position,’” added Ericksen.
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     College officials also went to Washington, D.C., to seek accelerated funding for construction of a new Oregon National Guard armory on the eastern portion of the college campus.
     The project has already received $960,000 in design funding. Construction is budgeted in the 2011 federal fiscal year, but officials are hoping they can prevail in directing a portion of $50 million in stimulus spending targeted at National Guard facilities toward the project.
     U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) offered assistance in that effort, writing a letter to the secretary of defense and the director of the Army National Guard for the $17 million project.
     “The Oregon Military Department has indicated that this project is ready to execute now and will help the local and state economy by providing jobs in construction and maintenance during the period of construction, and supporting the local economy after construction,” Walden wrote.
     He estimated the number of construction jobs from this project to be between 750 and 1,000, involving 62 subcontracts.
     Walden also pointed out that the project offered a unique partnership between the college and the military, providing classrooms available to the college during the week.
     Spatz added that tying the project with renewable energy ties it in with President Obama’s goals.
     The building will be constructed to LEED standards for energy efficiency, and could also include solar arrays and an urban wind turbine.
     “Our other goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of the building, potentially to the point of putting power back into the grid,” Spatz said.
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     Before the outreach team had even left the capitol, Congress’ omnibus spending bill had yielded an expected $3 million for local projects, including reconstruction of the Brewery Grade intersection, equipment and relocation of 9-1-1 Dispatch and Emergency Operations centers (see related 9-1-1 sidebar), and the prospect of at least partial funding for a new training nacel for the college’s renewable energy training program. Details of some of the funding are still being sorted out.
     Toda said the community delegation cast a “huge shadow.”
     “I think going as a community gets everybody’s attention,” he said.
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     In addition to representatives of the city, the county, the port, the college, The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Mid-Columbia Council of Governments, the outreach team had a new member this year: Bill Ward, representing Northern Wasco County PUD.
     Outreach team representatives came to the PUD in December, asking for a delegate to the group. They said power was a significant portion of the economic development landscape and Washington officials had been asking why it wasn’t represented on the team.
     Ward, who regularly represents the PUD in state and national lobbying efforts, came away with a number of questions that he shared with the group at a meeting this week.
     “I did not have specific action with the group as to what role do we play as the PUD in this overall picture,” Ward said.
     The PUD is involved with a number of lobbying efforts on behalf of the power industry, which may not always jibe with the goals of the outreach team, he noted.
     “If I was to take a position on some of it, I was going to be in opposition,” Ward said.
     He offered the definition of hydropower as an example. Discussion of defining only the portion of hydropower that supports wind energy as renewable, is contrary to what the PUD advocates, which is that all hydropower is renewable.
     From Ward’s perspective, the goal of the PUD’s involvement is to support the economic development efforts of the community and leave specific energy lobbying to the industry itself.
     “You don’t go to Washington, D.C., to argue,” he said, adding that he is dedicated to doing a good job for the community and the PUD.
     Ward also pondered the definition of “community,” noting that the outreach team represents a variety of jurisdictions, from the five-county council of governments to the city limits, and others in between. The PUD district itself stretches out into rural Wasco County.
     “There are different dynamics in terms of where does my input go in reference to different things,” he said.
     Ward also questioned why North Wasco County School District isn’t involved in the group.
     “K-12 education is a valuable asset to our community,” he said. “So goes it, so goes our community. The employers, that’s the first thing they’re looking at — where are my kids going to go to school? K-12 is struggling. Why wouldn’t they be back there as a team. This is a community.”
     Ward hopes his questions and criticism will make this group stronger in future visits.
     “We’re very much a part of the community,” Ward said of the PUD. “We want to be a part of this and try to do the best we can do at that.”