Colville WA

7/31/2019 Colville WA

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Forest Community ResearchNorthwest Economic Adjustment Initiative Assessment

Colville, Stevens County, WashingtonConducted by Lisa Tobe

NEAI Projects*

1. Key to Funding Sources: FS=Forest Service, RCA=Rural Community Assistance program, RD=Rural Development (U.S. Departmentof Agriculture), IRP=Intermediary Relending Program, CF=Community Facility Loan, RBEG=Rural Business Enterprise Grant,CTED=Community, Trade, and Economic Development.

Year Applicant Project Funding Source1 Amount

19941995

City of Colville Downtown Revitalization FS-RCA $20,000$7,200

1994 City of Colville Industrial Technical Training Center FS-RCA $250,000

1995 City of Colville Comprehensive Planning Under GMA FS-RCA $50,000

19961997

City of Colville Colville Industrial Park Infrastructure Signalization Project

Aladdin Water Main Project

FS-RCARD-RBEG

OGDF

$250,000$190,000

$75,0001997 NE Washington Rural

ResourcesHeadstart Facility RDCF $1,225,000

1999 NE Washington RuralResources

Headstart Facility RDCF $100,000

1998 Community Colleges ofSpokane Foundation

Northeast Washington Conference andConvention Center

FS-RCA $250,000

1999 City of Colville Rural Info Technology Center FS-RCA $50,000

County Projects

1994 Tri-County Economic

Development District

Northeast WA Business Incubator RD- RBEG $400,000

19951998

Tri-County EconomicDevelopment District

Revolving Loan Fund RD IRP $1,000,000$700,000

1997 Tri-County EconomicDevelopment District

Technical Assistance- Business specialist RD-RBEG $60,000


Business Retention & Expansion inNortheast WA

FS-RCA $80,000


Technology Assessment andRecommendation Report

CTED $10,000

* Project funding reects initial loan and grant totals. Final funding amounts may be different.


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2Forest Community Research Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative Assessment

Colville, Stevens County, Washington

Background Context

Located in Northeastern Washington, Colvillelies in the Colville River Valley at the foothills ofthe Selkirk Mountains. Colville is 52 miles from the

Canadian border and 72 miles from the city of Spo-kane. The county seat for Stevens County, and thelargest city in the tri-county (Stevens, Ferry, PendOreille) area, Colville has a population of 4,988(2000 Census). Located in central Stevens County atthe junction of State Route 395 and State Route 20,Colville serves as a tri-county regional economic andtransportation hub.

David Thompson, the rst European Americanin the Colville area, came in 1811 to explore the Co-lumbia River for the Northwest Fur Company. After

a water route from Astoria up the Columbia Riverthrough Canadian waters opened, the Hudson BayCompany established a trading post and farm (subse-quently ooded by Lake Roosevelt) near the presentcity site. This outpost, Fort Colville, was the majorEuropean trading center between the Rocky Moun-tains and the Cascade Mountains.

During the Colville gold rush in the 1850s, min-ers extracted placer gold from the sand bars and riverbanks of the Columbia and Spokane Rivers. Thisshort-lived gold rush dramatically increased settle-

ment in the area, with white newcomers encroachingon Native lands. In 1858, the United States begana massive, ruthless campaign led by Colonel GeorgeWright to subdue Native American uprisings in thearea (Bamonte 1999). In 1859, in an effort to main-tain peace between the current residents and newsettlers, U.S. forces established an army post with thesame name, but a different spelling, just a few mileseast of the old trading fort. The soldiers moved nativepeople onto reservations and arbitrated disputes con-cerning land rights among Anglo-European settlers

(Chance 1972). A town called Pickney City sprangup next to the site in the early 1860s as a civilian sup-ply point for miners, settlers, off-duty soldiers, andNative people (Graham).

When Fort Colville closed in 1882, the residentsand businessmen in Pickney City moved four milesSouthwest to a site with river access. They tore downthe buildings of Pickney City and the Fort and car-

ried them off to create a new town, Colville, whichwas incorporated in 1889 under territorial law (West-ern Historical Publishing Company 1904). Boosters

who opened an ofce in Spokane Falls to answerquestions for prospective citizens promoted Colville.Interest in the city grew after the railroad connectionwas established on October 18, 1889.

With the arrival of the railroad to the PacicNorthwest, businessmen constructed timber mills.Stevens County followed this trend and, by 1910,100 mills existed within its boundaries. The industryemployed 5,000 men and had an annual output of 62million board feet. Even in the early 1900s, increasedefciency and mechanization by larger logging opera-

tions caused the closure of many smaller operations(Bolm and Holstein 1983). Stevens County popu-lation tripled from 594 to 1,533 between 1900 and1910 (Western Historical Society 1904).

Linked to the railroad on its western edge,Colville served as a distribution center. Logging, ag-riculture, and commerce developed around this railstop. As the regional road system improved to a high-way network, Colville also became a shopping centerfor rural Stevens, Pend Oreille, and Ferry Counties.Downtown Colville served dozens of communities

and rural residents as the primary commercial centerfor most of the 20th century.Starting in the 1960s, competition from retail

shops in Spokane began to threaten the viability oflocal businesses in Colville. Spokane offered diverseproducts often at lower prices. The decline of rail asthe primary means for cargo transportation and therise of trucking dramatically changed Colvilles MainStreet.

Population, Household, and Employment Trends

The growth of Colville, which currently hasa population of 4,988, has been characterized bysubstantial spurts and moderate declines. This uctu-ation reects a reliance on resource-based industriesthat have been the areas economic backbone. Be-tween 1980 and 1990, the population decreasedslightly from 4,510 to 4,360 (Barrier, 1997). Since1990, Colvilles population has increased 14 percent


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Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative Assessment Forest Community Research

in a decade, largely due to retirees and urban refugeesseeking to live near the outdoor recreational oppor-tunities and the amenities that the region provides.During this same period the population in Ste-vens County has increased twice as much as that of

Colville (30 percent).

Colville serves as the primary governmental,commercial, and medical center for the region. Tra-ditionally, the regions economy has been dominatedby timber, mining, and agriculture. As these resourcedependent industries declined precipitously in the

1980s and remained at in the 1990s, the primaryemployment sectors have become retail, medical, andgovernment jobs (TEDD 2001). In 1995, Colvillehad 384 rms with approximately 3,664 employees.By 1999, the total number of rms had increased to524, with the total number employed increasing to3,913. Twenty-two of the 38 manufacturing rmsfocus on lumber and wood products, constitutinghalf of the non-agriculture workforce (WA LMEA2001).

Major EmployersVaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc.Vaagen Brothers Lumber began operation in the

1950s with a portable sawmill. By 1973, they beganoperating a mill in Colville, adding a green chain in1977 and a co-generation facility in 1979. In 1982and 1983, the company purchased mills in Republicand Ione (52 and 40 miles from Colville, respective-ly). In 1989, the purchase and utilization of the HewSaw allowed the company to obtain more wood fromeach log and decrease the number of workers in the

mill. In the early 1990s, Vaagen Brothers permanent-ly laid off approximately 30 employees. Currently,the company employs approximately 120 people atthe Colville mill and 89 in the Republic mill. Theirco-generation facility has produced income for themill over the years, averaging $35,000 per month.During a six-month period in 2001, at the height ofthe energy crises, the facility earned almost 10 timesthat much, supporting the two mills as they struggledto deal with a lagging timber market.

Boise CascadeIn 1957, the merger of two small lumber com-

paniesthe Boise Payette Lumber Company ofBoise, Idaho, and Cascade Lumber Company ofYakima, Washingtonestablished Boise Cascade.Today, Boise Cascade produces and distributespulp and paper, provides a business-to-businessdistribution of ofce products, and manufactures

Figure 1: Major Colville Employers

Company Service Employed

Stevens County CountyGovernment

373

Aladdin HearthProducts

Stove Production 260

Colville SchoolDistrict

Schools 257

Mt. CarmelHospital Hospital 215

Vaagen BrothersLumber

Lumber 210

Wal Mart Retail Store 204

NEW RuralResources

Nonprot 175

U.S. ForestService

FederalGovernment

155

Colmac Coil +Industries

Coils, DryCleaning Equip.

150

Safeway Grocery Store 113Source: Tri-County Economic Development, April 2001

The number of households has increased morerapidly than the population. Census data shows asmaller average household size reecting the increaseof a combination of more seasonal residents, retirees,and older, empty-nested residents. In 1990, the aver-age household size in Colville was 2.4 people. Thisdecreased slightly in 2000 to 2.3 people (Census

2000). As in 1990, roughly 18 percent of the Colvilleresidents are 65 years old or older, compared to 12.9percent for the County (2000 Census). Colvillespopulation is 93 percent Caucasian and two percentAmerican Indian, as compared to the county whichis approximately 92 percent Caucasian, 5.8 percentAmerican Indian and 2.6 percent Hispanic (Census2000).


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and distributes building products. The company,headquartered in Boise, Idaho, owns or controlsmore than three million acres of timberland (http://www.bc.com/corporate/index.htm). It manages280,000 acres of timberland in the region, which

supplies one-third of its timber needs. Boise Cascadesoperates a plywood plant and two pine sawmills inKettle Falls, 10 miles outside of Colville. An employ-ee estimates the company employs just under 400people, and approximately one-third are Colville resi-dents. The mills obtain the bulk of their timber fromprivate lands, including those owned by the Colvilleand Spokane Tribes.

Aladdin HearthIn 1998, HON Industries purchased Alad-

din Steele, renaming it Aladdin Hearth Products.HON Industries, Inc., incorporated in 1944, hadits headquarters in Muscatine, Iowa. The companyis the third largest ofce manufacturer in the Unit-ed States and the nations leading manufacturer andmarketer of gas and wood-burning replaces (http://www.honi.com/History.htm). Founded in Colville in1979, Aladdin Heart Products manufactures wood,

pellet, and gas burning stoves and replaces. Afterpurchasing Aladdin, HON decided to consolidateits stove operations2 in Colville after the communi-ty lobbied for it to remain local. This consolidationmeant the development of a new factory on Colvilles

north side and the creation of 60 new jobs to operatethe manufacturing lines that had been transferred toColville. As production increases, Aladdin continuesto hire more employees to meet the demand. Nowwith 260 employees, Aladdin is the second largestemployer in Colville. This business helps offset someof the job losses experienced in the region.

UnemploymentWhile unemployment trends for the county tend

to parallel the state, the countys rates tend to be at

least three percent higher between 1990 and 2000(Figure 2). According to the 1990 Census, Colvillesunemployment rate of 11.2 was 36 percent higherthan the countys 8.2 percent and more than twicethe state unemployment rate of 4.9 percent. A total of112 people worked in Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing/Mining, which is eight percent of those employedover 16 as compared to 70 Colville residents, repre-

1990 2000

> HS 20% 16%HS 35% 35%

Some College 31% 34%

College Degree 15% 16%

Figure 3: Education Levels in Colville in 1990 and 2000

2. HON operated two stove manufacturing sites their recently Purchased Aladdin Hearth in Colville and another site in Iowa.

Figure 2: Washington State and Stevens County Unemployment 1990-2000

12

10

8

6

41990 19951991 1992 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Colville

Stevens

WA State

11.2 11.3

8.2

3.7 10.3

8.79.5

10.8

9.1 9 8.79.5

5.24.8

6.56.47.8

6.4

4.9

7.86.4

4.8 4.7


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senting 3.8 percent of those employed in 2000. Themanufacturing industry had a similar decrease from355 jobs (21 percent of those employed) to 256 jobsor 13.9 percent of those employed. Income earnedby Colville residents in Lumber and Wood Products

Manufacturing rose steadily and almost doubled be-tween 1990 and 1999, rising from $43 million to$84 million despite taking a $9 million dip in 1995.According to the 1990 Census, 15.1 percent of allColville families lived below the poverty level, com-pared to 13.6 percent of all Stevens County families.

Colville residents 25 and older had the followingeducational background: 20 percent had not gradu-ated from high school, 35 percent had earned a highschool diploma, 30 percent had attended some col-lege, and 15 percent had graduated from college or

pursued graduate or professional degrees. These per-centages are comparable to the county as a whole. By2000, Colville residents were more likely to have at-tended or graduated from college (Figure 3).

Key IssuesTimber in Stevens County

Several factors affect current timber productionin Stevens County. Perhaps one of the most impor-tant is the year 2000 expiration of the agreement thatlimited Canadian imports. Believing that Canadi-

an wood was being shipped below market prices, theUnited States applied tariffs to that commodity, whichconsisted of dimension lumber that directly com-peted with operations like the locally owned VaagenBrothers. Over-harvesting, and federal forest policeshave decreased timber supplies (Figure 4). Previousto the implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan,Boise Cascade received 10-15 percent of their timber

from the Forest Service. This has been reduced to al-most two percent. Although modernization of millsincreased productivity, smaller mills often failed tocomplete these up-grades forcing them out of busi-ness. Despite this, the three large mills (Boise Cascade,

Stimsons and Vaagen Brothers) in Stevens County sta-bilized timber related employment in the area.

Wal-MartIn 1993, Wal-Mart built a store at the north end

of the city. The announcement of its impending arriv-al divided community members, some of whom sawit as a threat, while others saw it as an opportunity.Wal-Marts arrival galvanized downtown merchants tobegin a revitalization process, generated increased taxrevenue, forced the closure of some small businesses,

increased the citys draw as a regional shopping area,and provided generally low-paying jobs for displacedworkers. Wal-Mart recently announced its intent tobuild a superstore, a large expansion of their currentfacility and once again residents have taken opposingpositions. Almost every interviewee mentioned Wal-Marts arrival during discussions.

Transportation IssuesWith the passage of the North American Free

Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, cross-border

commerce increased. State Route 395, an importanthighway route for Canadian products entering theU.S., passes through downtown Colville. Consequent-ly, Main Street has seen trafc volumes growing at arate of ve percent per year for the past few years, andis now experiencing volumes of up to 16,000 vehiclesper day. Due to freight trafc from Canada and thelumber and resource industry, heavy trucks represent

Figure 4: Colville National Forest Timber Harvest Volume 1986-2000

Source: Colville National Forest, 2001

MBF

Year

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

150

100

50

0


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nearly 14 percent of the trafc (Colville 2000 Report,2000). In its 1995 Corridor Study, the WashingtonDepartment of Transportation proposed a downtownbypass to address the trafc bottleneck. This idea hasled to conict between residents. Perhaps most im-

portantly, the conict created a division among Main

Street merchants during a crucial time when down-town revitalization efforts required collaborationamong business owners. In 1998, the Colville 2000committee had been working to address the trans-portation issues. This is discussed further later in the

report.

NEAI Projects and Programs

Washington Community Economic RevitalizationTeam (WA-CERT)Institutional Structure and Function

The development of the State Community Eco-nomic Revitalization Teams served as one of theprimary mechanisms for implementing the Northwest

Economic Adjustment Initiative. SCERT coordinatedthe delivery of state and federal assistance and workedwith tribal and local governments, as well as with pri-vate and nonprot agencies. During monthly meetings,WA-CERT staff discuss current and proposed projects.According to a state employee in the early years, peoplethought that WA-CERT would add another level ofbureaucracy and were suspicious of the process.

Annually, WA-CERT brings together techni-cal teams and community teams for a three andone-half day symposium to work on project ideas.

WA-CERT switched to this approach in 1996 afterwhat one source describes as being sick of talk-ing head conferences and wanting to do somethingthat added value to the communities. WA-CERTalso implemented another key change that year toenhance technical assistance; they changed fromscoping agencies to scoping agents. Although WA-CERT originally assigned a countys top threepriorities a scoping agent, this policy has recentlychanged. We would work our way down the list asresources allow, a state representative said.

Organizations interested in being included onthe WA-CERT list in Stevens County submitted atwo-page pre-application to their Board of Com-missioners. The County Commissioners invite thosewith applications to participate in an annual priori-tization process. Commissioners and participantswork together during an informal process to deter-mine county priorities. In the early years, few of the

smaller cities were aware of the process until they col-laborated with the city of Colville to address GrowthManagement Act Issues. One participant felt thatdiverse projects limited competition, ensuring a non-confrontational process.

In general, Colvilles participating agencies

seemed satised with the process, stating that it hadbecome so ingrained in how they do things that theyrarely thought about it. Interviewees attributed sev-eral important functions to the WA-CERT processincluding:

providing local input; helping communities become aware of

other local projects; informing state and federal agencies

about community priorities; and

linking funding streams.

Regardless of ranking, most local organizationscontacted state and federal funding agencies directlyto lobby for project funding.

WA-CERT Funded ProjectsComprehensive Planning Under the GrowthManagement Act

Colville adopted its rst Comprehensive Planin January 1976 and updated it in 1980 and 1986.

The City improved the plan to meet new state re-quirements between 1989 and 1993. This processincluded a citizen survey conducted by the ColvillePlanning Commission, open planning commissionwork sessions, an open house, and a planning com-mission retreat. The City used the information tocompose a vision, develop a set of goals, and createsteps to achieve these goals.


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In 1990, Washington enacted the Growth Man-agement Act (GMA) to reduce the inappropriateconversion of land to sprawling, low-density devel-opment. Focused on encouraging urban growth inurban areas, reducing sprawl, and meeting a dozen

other quality-of-life goals, the GMA directs all citiesand counties to take basic actions including the pro-tection of environmentally critical areas, and, often,the completion of a full set of other requirements.These included county-wide planning policies, urbangrowth areas, comprehensive plans, and developmentregulations.

In 1994, Colville developed an interlocal agree-ment with the ve other incorporated cities in StevensCounty to create the Small Cities Consortium of Ste-vens County. Since state agencies allocated monies

according to city size, the Consortium members re-alized the benet of pooling their resources. As theonly city with a planning staff, our [Colville] mayorand city council recognized and agreed that we weregoing to subsidize some of the other cities, a formercity of Colville employee said. This allowed the Con-sortium to access larger grants and be more successfulin developing comprehensive plans. We feel that asa group we can get more done towards our goal thanwe can individually.

In 1995, the Forest Service-Rural Community

Assistance Program provided the city of Colville with$50,000 to develop its GMA plan. The Consortiumsubsequently hired outside consultants to assist withthe development of comprehensive plans that wouldmeet the GMA requirements. As the only munici-pality in the Small Cities Consortium with full-timeplanning staff, the city of Colville took the lead inworking with Stevens County to develop County-wide Planning Policies and identify Interim UrbanGrowth Areas. One consortium member felt thatColvilles assistance proved instrumental in their com-

pletion of the growth management plan. We wouldprobably still be struggling with it if we hadnt part-nered with Colville, the consortium member said.

In 1996, the State Planning and Envi-ronmental Review Fund gave the Small CitiesConsortium $99,000 to facilitate the integration ofthe environmental analysis required under the StateEnvironmental Policy Act (SEPA) into the planning

process. In total, the Washington Growth Man-agement Division provided $280,700. While theInitiative monies only represented 10 percent of thefunds utilized to develop the plans, a former Colvillecity employee argued that this money allowed the

Consortium to develop comprehensive plans with allof the required components.With representatives from each community, the

Small Cities Consortium held monthly meetings overthe course of more than three years. To actively en-courage public participation in the land use planningprocess the consortium held a series of public meet-ings. As each element was completed, it was reviewedby staff and forwarded to the Planning Commis-sion. In June 1997, a public workshop with ColvillesPlanning Commission and City Council was held to

review the completed drafts of the ComprehensivePlan and Zoning and Land Division Ordinances.In place since 1998, the GMA Plan has served

as the outline used by the city of Colville for allplanning activities and drives all the decisions we[Colville Planning Department] make right now, aColville staff member said. Funding from the For-est Service enhanced the Consortium communitiesabilities to effectively create a comprehensive devel-opment plan.

Main Street Program/ Colville 2000In 1988, the Local Investment District funded arevitalization project on Main Street that resulted innew sidewalks and landscaping. Wal-Marts arrival in1993, combined with the regional downturn in theresource industry, caused many business owners tofeel threatened and spurred them into action. UponWashington Ofce of Trade and Economic Develop-ments (OTED) suggestion and nancial assistance($2,000), the downtown merchants and the ColvilleChamber of Commerce began working with the

Washington Main Street Program to set goals. Theirmission was to, enhance the value of our communi-ty through a unied effort in revitalizing the businessdistrict and restoring its original historic beauty. Thecommittee developed the Colville District DesignPlan, which included recommendations for buildingfacade restoration, sign improvements, painting, andlandscaping.


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In response to a request for assistance, the city ofColville secured a $20,000 Forest Service Rural Com-munity Assistance grant in 1994 to complete facadeimprovement for six businesses, one of which becamelisted on the National Historic Registry. The grants al-

lowed one business, which was eventually forced torelocate because of high costs associated with build-ing maintenance, to complete renovations they wouldnot have otherwise been able to afford. According tothe Forest Service Accomplishment Report and in-terviewees, these projects served as the catalyst forimprovements in ve other buildings, which were sup-ported by low interest loans from local banks. Thisproject increased momentum because it put action be-hind the words, said a merchant. Additional ForestService funds nanced three 13-foot welcome signs,

which were hung on lamp posts along Main Street.The signs featured the Colville logo and metal sil-houettes constructed by Industrial Technical Centerstudents.

In 1995, OTED provided monies for promotion-al activities, including merchant training, developmentof an image campaign, a business directory, and news-letters. The trainings taught business owners betterways to display their merchandise and service tech-niques. Several merchants were pleased with the effectof the program on their businesses and, according to a

former city employee, those who took advantage of theservices can now compete with Wal-Mart. The MainStreet Committee capitalized on this energy in Octo-ber 1995 and secured $65,000 from OTED to fund

18 months of a coordinators salary.During an initial program review in 1996, the

state noted that most Main Street participants saidthey when referring to the program, indicating alack of ownership by the merchants. The state urged

the director to improve communication as a step to-wards developing broader support, and suggesteddiversifying the Main Street Program funding base.

These reports also advocated that they oper-ate independently of the Chamber. The Main StreetProgram subsequently secured nonprot status sepa-rating operations from the Chamber. Disagreementsincreased tensions causing the Main Street Programand the Chamber to draw up a formal agreementon organizational roles. Division among merchantsover the Chambers roles and a truck route propos-

al caused the Main Street Program to receive fewerdues, leaving them nancially unstable. In 1997,with the resignation and departure of the Main StreetBoard president, the Chamber started a promotionscommittee and pulled the program back into its or-ganization. A former city employee involved in theprogram felt that a cooperative effort could havemade Main Street successful. We need to be ableto bring everyone together so we dont have factionsbeing threatened.

That same year, the truck route proposal spurred

the development of Colville 2000. The AdvisoryCommittee, consisting of business leaders, councilmembers, staff members, and other citizens, identi-ed two primary goals:

Project Funder Amount Year

Colville District Design Plan OTED $2,000 1993

Facade restoration grants USFS $20,000 1994

Provided monies for signage USFS $7,200 1995

Promotional activities OTED $12,000 1995

Hired an executive director for 18 months OTED $65,837 1995

Figure 5: Main Street Projects and Funding Sources


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1. Restore Downtowns economic role as a local

and regional mixed-use shopping center.2. Facilitate the efcient ow of through-trafcon Highway 395.

The City secured $45,000 from diverse sourc-es to facilitate the development of the Colville 2000Downtown Revitalization Plan. Published in August1998, parts of the plan drew from work complet-ed through the Main Street Program. The Citycompleted construction on Phase I, Wynne Streetredevelopment in 2000. They rebuilt the roadway,

adding curbs and sidewalks, a center median withlandscaping, installed period lighting and construct-ed a rockery with a staircase to an elevated parkinglot. Trafc volume on Wynne Street immediatelyincreased, relieving Main Street of some of its conges-tion. Phases II IV are still in process. The City didnot use any Initiative dollars for this project.

Some questioned the viability of having thistype of program in a small city with so few nan-cial resources. There needs to be a stronger economybecause it does take resources both to support the

economy and improvements, a former city em-ployee said. The Main Street program increased themerchants access to nancial capital, subsequent-ly improving physical capital in the downtownarea. Merchant training increased human capital,enabling some businesses to develop a marketingstrategy to compete with Wal-Mart and stay in busi-ness. The program also provided some background

for Colville 2000, which has had a positive effect

on the downtown corridors appearance and physicalinfrastructure. Unfortunately, failure to clarify orga-nizational roles alienated merchants from each other,causing the end of the formal Main Street program.The programs nonprot status currently lays dor-mant.

Industrial Technical Training CenterIn 1994, the Community Colleges of Spokane

(CCS) Foundation acquired an abandoned highschool and six acres of land in Colville through a

land swap with Colville School District to create anexpanded community college facility. The Commu-nity College Foundation formed a collaborative withthe Institute of Extended Learning, Colville Center,the city of Colville, regional businesses, and privateindividuals to develop an Industrial Technical Train-ing Center (ITTC) in 1994. Then they constructedan 8,000 square foot building using foundation andcommunity college resources; cash contributions;and pledges from regional businesses, industries, andindividuals.

In 1994, the Forest Service Rural CommunityAssistance Program provided a $250,000 grant to thecity of Colville to purchase technical training and ed-ucational resources (equipment and computer basedtechnology) for the ITTC. Several major timber andmining industries, utilities, nancial institutions, andlocal stores, as well as a host of community leadersand private individuals, contributed over $450,000

Part of the Downtown Revitalization Plan


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to the construction of the facility, well over the 20percent match required by Forest Service. Accordingto a Colville employee, the City collaborated on theproject because it felt like the ITTC addressed dualneeds: it helped an economically unstable communi-

ty retrain its workers, and established the communitycollege as a community resource.Following the recommendation of a local advi-

sory group representing business and industry, theInstitute of Extended Learning, Colville Center de-veloped and implemented a millwrights program, aswell as expanded their welding program. Completedin January 1995, the Training Center subsequent-ly leveraged a $40,000 Workforce Training grantto retrain dislocated timber and mine workers fromRepublic, Washington. Washington Employment

Security Department provided transportation for stu-dents to receive training at the ITTC in Colville.An Alcoa worker chosen to participate in his

companys millwright apprenticeship program foundhimself returning to the college to brush up on previ-ously learned welding and academic skills. During histhree-year apprenticeship program, he also learnedhydraulics, robotics, and coupling. The new, cleanershop offered him industrial technology opportunitiesnot previously available.

Early investments by Aladdin in the center have

been benecial to its business. In 1998, the Commu-nity Colleges of Spokane secured $74,000 from thestate through their rural economic development planto implement specialized training for new Aladdinemployees hired to run two new product lines trans-ferred from HONs other division. Aladdins goal forthis project was to have its new employees ready tobuild stoves on their rst day.

Aladdin staff worked with the ITTC to developa mock assembly line where participants practiced alljobs associated with building stoves. Everyone went

through the same steps, so people could try skills theyhadnt had before, an Aladdin employee said. Thishelped one employee, hired as a painter, learn thatshe had natural welding skills. This class gave me achance to do something I never would have thoughtabout, she said. Aladdin also required all new em-ployees to participate in a non-credit soft skills classon their own time. This college class has successful-

ly transitioned to in-house training for all new staff.ITTC infrastructure and personnel helped the collegequickly develop and implement this individually tai-lored program.

Since its inception, the center has provided a

needed resource to the community. By providing re-training locally, the program has increased humancapital and decreased travel time for dislocated work-ers hoping to transition to a new job.

One of the challenges that ITTC has recent-ly faced has been a decrease in regional demand formillwrights and welders. Changes in timber policy,competition from foreign markets, and increased au-tomation have caused several mills to close regionally.This has signicantly decreased the demand for tim-ber workers, including the millwrights. In 2001, a

magnesium plant, Northwest Alloys/Alcoa, locatedin Addy, a small town 14 miles south of Coleville,closed its doors, laying off 240 workers. These clo-sures, combined with an outpouring of skilledworkers from the Training Center, has saturated themillwrights and welding market, calling into ques-tion the efcacy of continuing the program. Programdiversication and a closer analysis of employmenttrends/projections may help the ITTC prepare forcurrent training needs.

Until recently, development of this center has

allowed workers to be trained in skills that enabledthem to work locally. This college, like other ruralcommunity colleges, nds itself struggling to meetthe retraining needs of displaced natural resourceworkers who want to nd family-wage jobs in an areathey consider their home. With these jobs leaving andno concentrated demand locally, ITTC must now de-cide how to use its current resources and adapt to thecommunitys changing needs.

Community Conference and Convention Facility

The Community College of Spokane Founda-tion remodeled approximately 70 percent of the oldhigh school facility to create a local Community Col-lege. In a joint effort between the College and theregions Employment Security Ofce, the Founda-tion renovated an additional portion, which is usedas a regional Career Center. Envisioning a commu-nity conference and convention facility, the college


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began to refurbish the gymnasium rst by addingrequired re and security upgrades and then develop-ing a 160-seat community technology theatre.

After acquiring almost 70 percent of its resourcesfrom the College and Foundation, as well as securinglocal in-kind and nancial donations, the Foundation

secured a $250,000 Forest Service Rural CommunityAssistance grant to complete Phase III of the proj-ect. The Foundation used these funds to completethe actual conference rooms, serving kitchen, andequipment storage room. The total cost for the threephases was just over $837,000.

In its application, the Foundation stated that thefacility would provide, a signicant technologicaland physical capacity to support the regions econom-ic development activities. Specically, they arguedthat the center would:

accommodate 30-40 conferences andconventions each year,

be nancially self-sustaining, provide a positive economic impact on

the community, and provide employment for one full-time

and four part-time staff.

Although utilized as a local meeting facility for di-verse activities such as monthly ambulance trainings,

Forest Service seminars, Christmas parties, and train-ings for local businesses, the Foundation has not yetmet its goal of being a regional conference center. Nev-ertheless, in 2000, the facility hosted approximately 90events, over a quarter of which related to Forest Serviceprogramming. In 2001, they hosted 123 activities.

The Community College employs at least threepeople part-time to coordinate the center activities

using fees drawn from the centers utilization. Thecenters fee schedule is based on the Community Col-leges of Spokanes required meeting room fee. Thecollege estimates that they charge fees for approxi-mately 85 percent of the events, with 33 percent ofthese paying full prices. The center currently sup-

ports itself with these monies.According to a college administrator, the confer-ence center directly and indirectly facilitates economicdevelopment. First the center provides employmentfor those who coordinate its activities and for com-munity businesses who cater to its events. Secondly,by providing training space for local businesses, it in-creases employees capacities, while at the same timedecreasing travel costs. Finally, by providing space forlocal and regional meetings, the center assists commu-nity groups in their community development efforts.

This physical capital positively affects Colvilles abilityto address local business and community needs.

Colville Industrial ParkVaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc., the city of

Colville, and state economic development ofcialsworked for a decade to develop an industrial parkin Colville. Aladdin Steele, currently known as Alad-din Hearth Products, purchased land in the park andHaney Lumber completed a land exchange for a parkparcel. The resolution of wetland issues caused sig-

nicant delays and encumbered large expenses. In1995, after resolving these issues, the Department ofTransportation informed the owners that they wouldwithhold the certicate of occupation until the inter-section leading to the property had a stop light andrailroad crossing.

When Vaagen Brothers approached the Cityto apply for federal monies to complete the project,

Three Phases of Facility Development

A computer based One-Stop-Shop Career Center offering transitional services includingassessment, job skill development, resume preparation and job search capability

A 160 seat Technology Theater with the capability of providing satellite downlink or compressed

video conferences for employers, medical community, dislocated workers, agencies, or othercommunity groups has been funded through local efforts.

A conference/convention facility capable of holding 250-350 with meeting rooms.


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the City agreed. We want to help create jobs for theeconomy, a City employee said. The City of Colvillecompleted a series of construction projects between1997 and 1999 in the Colville Industrial Park. In1997, the Community Economic Revitalization

Board, a state program that promotes economic de-velopment throughout the state, provided $167,649in loans and grants to construct the frontage roadand water and sewage infrastructure. Vaagen Broth-ers contributed $50,000, and the City allocated theremainder for the $381,220 project.

The city of Colville also completed the secondproject, the Highway 395/Canning Drive Signal-ization Project, in 1997. The city secured a RuralDevelopment Rural Business Enterprise Grant($190,000), a Forest Service Rural Community Assis-

tance grant ($240,000), and a grant through the OldGrowth Diversication Fund from OTED. The Cityused this money to create turn lanes on Highway 395,add a public railroad crossing, and install a red light.Businesses affected by the stoplight and railroad cross-ing provided approximately $50,000 in matchingfunds. With $437,818 in expenses, the project camein approximately $100,000 under budget.

With these extra funds, the City completed athird project as part of an incentive package to HONindustries to convince them to centralize its two

manufacturing plants in Colville. Constructed in1999, the Aladdin Water Main Project extended thewater line around the site providing additional reprotection services. HON contributed $10,000, andthe total project cost $111,090.

Although purchased by HON in 1998, Alad-din Steeles founder was invested in insuring thatthe company remains local so that it could con-tinue to have a positive impact on the community.Other Colville institutions also lobbied HON toconsolidate its stove manufacturing in their city. A

Community Colleges of Spokane video developed torecruit the company emphasized Colvilles quality oflife and pro-business atmosphere. This video becameinstrumental in the recruitment process. Despite bidsfrom three other areas, HON chose Colville becauseof its available workforce and land with appropriateinfrastructure. According to an Aladdin employee,HON would not have consolidated their operations

in Colville without the completed infrastructure.They (Colville) wouldnt have even been in the ball-park, he said.

In 2000, HON Industries consolidated itsHearth Technologies Division in a newly built

123,000 square-foot manufacturing plant on a 17-acre parcel in the Colville Industrial Park. Since1998, the number employed by Aladdin has grownfrom 130 to 260. On average, its approximately 180hourly employees earn $11.74 per hour. Its remain-ing workforce, line managers and middle to upperlevel management, earn yearly salaries ranging from$33,000 to $80,000 per year.

Haney Lumber, the only other tenant in theindustrial park, has beneted as well. Despite themarket decrease since the move into the new build-

ing, Haney Lumbers ability to serve more diverseclients has helped its gross sales increase from $3.5million to $4 million. The number of employees hasincreased from ve to 12.

This successful public/private venture providedbenets to all of the groups involved. With the down-turn in the timber industry, and to provide nancialbacking for its remaining mill, Vaagen Brothers Lum-ber, Inc. needed the income generated from sellingland within the Industrial Park. Aladdin Hearth andHaney Lumber needed infrastructure and access to

Highway 395 before they could relocate to the site.Their businesses have in turn provided jobs and taxrevenue to a city working to diversify its economy. Astate employee involved in the project tagged this ef-fort as visionary and worth the seven-year effort.

Tri-County Economic Development DistrictTri-County Economic Development District

(TEDD), a private, nonprot organization formedin 1969, served as one of the rst economic devel-opment districts in Washington. The organization

formed to encourage regional economic developmentand to seek resources for planning infrastructure im-provements for the communities within Stevens,Ferry, and Pend Oreille Counties. TEDD serves asa federally recognized Economic Development Dis-trict, the lead agency for Washington State economicdevelopment programs and initiatives, and the leadagency for the Regional Transportation Planning


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Organization. As the regions designated federal andstate economic development agency, TEDD receivesbetween $20,000 and $60,000 annually in govern-ment allocations to complete its development tasks.The agency has been involved in several Initiative-

funded projects.

Loan ProgramsIn the late 1980s and early 1990s, mainstream

economic development institutions started to sup-port local business start-ups and expansions byproviding nancial and technical resources. Econom-ic development planners identied the inability ofmany businesses to obtain bank loans as a key stum-bling block for many rural areas. By the time NEAIwas launched, small business and micro-business loan

programs had become an increasingly accepted eco-nomic development tool.Many of the funds lent to small and micro-busi-

nesses through the NEAI were disbursed throughRevolving Loan Fund (RLF) programs. Funders sup-port these programs by giving or lending money toan intermediary lending organization. The interme-diary lender, typically a non-prot or public agency,then re-lends the money to businesses or individuals.The intermediaries also lend re-paid loans and inter-est to other businesses or individuals. The loan fund

becomes self-perpetuating when the payback rate andinterest rates are sufciently high to cover costs. Typ-ically, RLF monies are lent to local businesses thatcannot obtain private nancing. In many cases, RLFfunding is tied to job creation/retention potential ofthe business receiving the loan. TEDD manages sev-eral loan programs.

Economic Development Administration (EDA) Re-volving Loan Fund

EDAs Revolving Loan Fund program was initi-

ated in the 1980s. Under its Economic AdjustmentProgram, the EDA provides Revolving Loan Fundgrants to intermediaries, who then lend out the mon-ies to local businesses. The objective of the RevolvingLoan Fund grant program is to support job-creationby local businesses with the ultimate goal of eco-nomic diversication. Since Economic DevelopmentAdministrations RLF monies come as grants instead

of loans, intermediaries who acquire them are able totarget higher risk borrowers. The EDAs RevolvingLoan Fund grants are administered by the EconomicDevelopment Districts. An EDA revolving loan ini-tiated by TEDD in 1985 has provided $1.4 million

in loans in Colville, half of which occurred between1993 and 2000. TEDD did not secure any newmoney between 1993 and 2000 for this program.

Intermediary Revolving Loan ProgramThe USDA-RDs Intermediary Relending Pro-

gram nances business facilities and communitydevelopment projects in rural areas or cities withpopulations of less than 25,000. Rural Develop-ment provides loans to intermediaries, who establishRevolving Loan Funds. Intermediaries must have a

successful record of assisting rural business and indus-try and can provide repayment assurance. Recipientsmay be private or public organizations or individuals.Both intermediaries and recipients must be unable toobtain the proposed loan elsewhere.

TEDD secured $1 million for their IRP loanfund in 1995 and $700,000 in 1998. Seven business-es in Colville collectively received $810,000 between1994 and 1999. The ve remaining businesses, an as-sisted living center, Arbys, a building supply store,and a tness center, all supply diverse services, pro-

viding employment for approximately 87 people.When the owner of Colville Fitness decided tobuy out his partner in 1999 and purchase their cur-rent building, he went to TEDD for a loan because heknew about their services and couldnt obtain the fullamount he needed from a traditional lending institu-tion. He utilized the monies to renovate the building,thus expanding the business. Colville Fitness current-ly employs ve full-time and seven part-time staff.This represents a signicant increase from one full-time position in 1999. The Fitness Center serves over

2,500 members, provides a large employee wellnessprogram for Boise Cascades, and works collaborative-ly on therapy programs with local physicians.

Incubator ServicesIn 1994, TEDD used a $400,000 Rural De-

velopment RBEG grant to purchase a 14,000square-foot building for an incubator project. The


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building accommodates seven units ranging from1,000 to 1,200 square-feet. This project assistsbusinesses by offering affordable lease rates, busi-ness counseling, support services, workshops, andfacilitating networking with other businesses. The

incubators goal is to reduce the start-up costs of therst three years of business while combining one-on-one assistance in order to improve the survival rate ofsmall businesses in Northeast Washington. TEDDestimated the creation of 20 jobs initially, growingto over 60 within two years. Ten of the 12 business-es utilizing the facility have remained in business,while seven have moved to other sites. According to aTEDD employee, the incubator provides a benet tothe local business community, but does not have thecapability to offer important technical assistance such

as accounting and marketing.One business owner that has been with the in-cubator since its inception started as a manager foranother business that left about two years ago. Al-though he took it for granted at rst, this intervieweecredits the incubator with his ability to remain inbusiness. He has an EDA loan through TEDD andreceived business counseling from their business spe-cialist. In the beginning, he could not get approvedfor credit through a traditional lending institution,but his good credit history built by repaying TEDD

has changed that. He currently employs three full-time and one part-time staff.In 2001, EDA awarded TEDD an $880,000

grant matched by $225,000 from a local bank toexpand its current Business Incubator. The projectentails the purchase of additional property to in-cubate up to ve new businesses. The new facilitywould include a 70 to 80 seat Call Center, a commu-nity commercial kitchen, two light industrial spaces,and space for commercial retail. In November 2001,Washington Dental Service of Delta Dental Plan

based in Spokane, conrmed that it would locate inthe new incubator where it will do data and claimsprocessing. This partnership with EDA has the po-tential to create up to 250 new jobs.

Business ProgramsIn 1997, Rural Development granted TEDD

$60,000 to hire a Business Specialist to provide tech-

nical assistance for intermediary loan recipients towrite business and marketing plans, as well as to un-derstand cash ow, balance sheets, basic accountingor other business skills. TEDD expected that the in-dividual would:

Meet with at least 50 businesses peryear for a total of 100 businesses (209served),

Provide at least 12 companies per yearwith at least 40 hours of service each,and

Coordinate at least four business work-shops and seminars per year, serving atleast 80 people annually.

During the programs 2.5 years, TEDD modiedand implemented a home-based and micro-basedbusinesses course in Colville and Republic. TEDDoffered 12 seminars and 75 people attended the12 seminars with some individuals participating inmore than one seminar. The Business Specialist alsohelped to establish a Rural Enterprise EmpowermentZone for surrounding areas outside of Colville. SinceTEDD worked with all three counties in their ser-vice region and data does not provide a breakdownof where services were rendered, discerning impact

specically in Colville is difcult. A former TEDDemployee estimated that 65 percent of the clientswere Colville residents. He added that the ability toaccess the loan programs and use the incubator pro-vided an advantage to new businesses.

In 2000, TEDD secured $80,000 from the For-est Service Rural Community Assistance Program tohire a consultant to help retain existing businessesand assist other businesses wishing to expand into theregion. A consultant has been working with TEDDand its service communities to diversify the economy

by creating information processing opportunities. Aspart of this project, each county has a team of com-munity members trained by their consultant on howto recruit businesses and highlight their assets dur-ing site visits. Recognizing that this employmentrequires different skills and resources than havecharacteristically been used in timber dependentcommunities, TEDD and the Rural Information


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Technology Center (RITC) (see following section)have been collaborating on employment training andinfrastructure development.

This project serves a four-county area in which theindividual counties are often competing for the same

businesses. To equitably address this issue, the con-sultant markets the area, not an individual county orcommunity. According to the consultant, companiesare looking for tangible commodities from a commu-nity and that helps guide their marketing strategy.

ConclusionInitiative projects run by TEDD have increased

nancial and physical capital and facilitated thedevelopment, expansion and retention of several busi-nesses in Colville. Despite staff turnover, TEDD has

managed to continue to serve as an economic devel-opment anchor in the community by collaboratingand providing support to other agencies working onsimilar issues. Putting resources in rural communitiesis denitely important, a former TEDD employeesaid. Local businesses would be further disadvan-taged when competing with metropolitan areas without their [TEDDs] resources, he added.

Rural Information Technology CenterIn 1999, the city of Colville secured a $50,000

WA Community, Trade, and Economic Developmentgrant to develop the Rural Information TechnologyCenter (RITC). This start-up money paid for ofcespace, computer hardware and software, and a coor-dinator. The centers mission, to coordinate training,resources, and opportunity for local citizens, agencies,and companies in the area of information technology,has several objectives:

1. Provide a packet of services, includingnetworked computer facilities, training

programs, and support services, to enablelocal citizens to obtain employment.

2. Develop and coordinate a training pro-gram for a technology specialist.

3. Develop employment opportunities inNorthern Stevens County for trainedworkers in information technology.

4. Recruit information technology workers

to telecommute from Northern StevensCounty.

5. Recruit businesses to use the RITC for in-formation technology services.

Infrastructure DevelopmentIn February 2000, RITC held a public meet-ing to introduce the program to the community andto discuss telecommunication problems facing thisregion. Over 65 business, agency, and educationalleaders attended. Participants developed a 12-membertelecommunications steering committee representingbusiness and industry, education, health, and the li-brary district. This committee has focused much ofits efforts on developing adequate bandwidth and re-dundancy.

In 2000, Tri-County Economic DevelopmentDistrict (TEDD) assisted RITC by securing $10,000from the Forest Service to conduct a survey of localbusinesses regarding their present and future tele-communication needs, as well as to develop an actionplan to increase redundancy and bandwidth in Ste-vens County. Of the 108 organizations responding,64 percent indicated an increase in their need for datalines, 80 percent utilized the internet and 52 percentrated the internet connection as very important.They completed the telephone survey of over 100-

area businesses in April 2000 and used the results intheir testimony before the Washington Utilities andTransportation Commission in April 2000.

A partnership between RITC, TEDD, andQWEST Century Tel improved bandwith accessibili-ty by providing access to ber optic lines and capacityfor several hundred T-1 lines. In March 2001, Centu-ry Tel nished the installation of eight miles of berto complete a route from Colville to Spokane thatwould serve Stevens County.

In a settlement with the State of Washington,

QWEST agreed to provide approximately $5 milliondollars in infrastructure development for rural com-munities throughout the state. Working with TEDD,RITC secured a $1.1 million grant to fund the instal-lation of a ber line from Deer Park to Spokane thatwould provide redundancy for all of Stevens Coun-ty. QWEST planned to complete this by the end of2001.


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Training ProgramsIn collaboration with Washington State De-

partment of Rehabilitation, Community Colleges ofSpokane, and Rural Resources, a local social actionagency, RITC implemented a 12-week ofce software

training program. RITC recruited and trained nineunemployed individuals, none of whom had beeninvolved with the timber industry, most with mini-mal computer skills and limited work experience.Students met for three four-hour training sessionsweekly. According to their nal report to the ForestService, the program cost of $1,100 per person, in-cluded classroom materials, classroom instruction,testing costs, tutoring, and assistance in nding em-ployment (http://www.ritc.org/).

Microsoft donated computers used by partici-

pants at their homes for practice and homework.According to one participant, practicing at homehelped her to learn faster, because she could reviewwhat they had learned in class. Despite the extra assis-tance, most participants had to take the certicationtests two or three times before passing. While six peo-ple eventually earned certication in Microsoft Wordand ve in Microsoft Excel, only ve found jobs.

One graduate felt that the training gave her theskills to get a job, but a physical disability held herback. Its about as easy to nd a job part-time as it

would be to nd a place with an accessible bathroomand entry, she said. Disappointed with the dif-culty participants had earning certication in Wordor Excel and frustrated by limited employment op-portunities for the graduates, RITC decided not tore-offer the course.

By partnering with a local private consult-ing company, county government, the conservationdistrict, and two consultants that specialized in Geo-graphic Information Systems (GIS), RITC helpedprovide training to create a regional Geographic In-

formation Systems database to serve area agencies.RITC secured a $100,000 software grant from ESRIto set up a regional GIS for public agencies. TheConservation District secured a $220,000 WIREgrant from the Washington Department of Ecologyto complete GIS work on the watershed. In the fallof 2000, RITC trained data input operators. Elevenpeople from county government, the conservation

district, and Community College and Work FirstProgram participants received ve days of classroomtraining and 60 hours of paid on-the-job training forPhase I (http://www.ritc.org/). Williamson Consult-ing supervised the training.

Shortly after the initial training, RITC providedanother training in which CTED paid for six WorkFirst participants. Four passed the competency exam.Based on comments from previous participants thatthe training moved too quickly, the second traininghad some self-paced, web-based modules. One par-ticipant, a recent graduate from a local high school,said the training gave her an opportunity to learnnew skills and to explore a career in which she was in-terested. Although only two people had secured GISthrough this program as of September 2001, a RITC

employee felt that GIS had the potential to be an ex-panding employer in the region.

Teleworker ProgramBecause of RITCs work, its selection of telework

as a major initiative and the participation of RITCsboard president on the Washington Telework Coali-tion Task Force, Washington State University selectedColville as one of three communities to participate inthe Washington Rural Telework Project. The projectfocuses on persuading Westside companies to move

all or part of their operations to rural communitiesby identifying potential companies and providingthem with awareness, education, and assistance to re-locate to rural communities. Colville has already seenthe projects benets. A large call center slated to em-ploy 70 is prepared to move into a newly developedtechnology incubator site made possible by the newtechnology infrastructure created in part by RITCsefforts.

RITC decided to forgo its goal to directly pro-vide employment opportunities for residents, and

focus instead on training and technology infrastruc-ture development. Since its inception, RITC hassuccessfully increased social, human, and physicalcapital. Their work has forged increased collabora-tion between Washington State University and otherlocal entities, increased technical skills among unem-ployed residents, increased technology infrastructurein Colville, and most importantly inuenced state


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policies which will increase funding for technologydevelopment in rural communities. This innovativeproject demonstrated advocacys importance in ruraldevelopment. RITC is part of a group thats try-ing to address economic development from bothsidesrecruiting businesses to come to town, as wellas training a workforce that could do the work forthem, a RITC board member said. None of thiswould have happened without the Forest Service

Grant.

Head StartBegun locally in 1965, Colvilles Head Start

serves 36 three to four year-old children per yearwho meet income qualications or have specialneeds. The program provides preschool classroomexperience consisting of language, social, self-help,physical, cognitive, health, and nutrition education.Head Start encourages family involvement and pro-vides developmental, health, and dental screening of

all children.For diverse reasons, Head Start has relocated

several times. Finding rental locations that t the re-quired health and safety guidelines for its programproved cumbersome, time consuming, and costly.Frustrated by the disruptions and lost staff timecaused from frequent location changes, NortheastWashington Rural Resources secured a $197,000

loan from Rural Development to purchase andrenovate its own facility in 1997 and an additional$100,000 in 1999. This 3,000 square-foot build-ing from the 60s has been used as a doctors ofce,the tri-county health facility, and an alternative highschool. Higher than anticipated bids forced RuralResources to request an additional $150,000 tocomplete renovations on the new facility.

Having its own facility has provided Head Start

with the security to do planning, develop new ideas,hire a cook, and build an adequate playground. Dur-ing the rst two years in the new building, HeadStart has served 72 despite limitations of square foot-age and operational regulations. Despite the benets,the new location has not provided Head Start withas much additional space as needed, forcing the or-ganization to wait-list eligible children. Aware thatthe building size would be limiting, Head Start con-sidered purchasing a larger facility, but could notafford to with its current per-pupil payment schedule

from the Department of Health and Human Services($7,000 per participant).

One mother, a Head Start volunteer, saw thather childs participation in the program made himmore likely to be successful in kindergarten by expos-ing him to other children and teaching him to payattention. The mother gained both parenting andleadership skills and currently works as a paid pro-

Colvilles Head Start purchased and renovated its own facility in 1997.


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gram aide. I took cool parenting classes on givingthem choices and learned neat ways to deal with thekids, she said. It was good to see it at the school.

Although the new facility has not allowed HeadStart to serve more children, it has provided a con-

sistent foundation from which to develop futureprogramming, as well as decreased costs associat-ed with continuous moves. While Rural Resourceswould have continued to serve low-income families,some of which include dislocated workers, the RuralDevelopment loans helped stabilize Head Starts op-erations making it more cost effective.

Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA)The Job Training Partnership Act, effective

October 1983, provides job-training services for

economically disadvantaged adult and youth, dis-located workers and others who face signicantemployment barriers. The federal government al-located these national discretionary funds tostates based on population and need. Title III, theEconomic Dislocation and Worker AdjustmentAssistance Act, authorizes employment and train-ing help for dislocated workers. Workers who losetheir jobs in mass layoffs or plant closings, and oth-ers who have been laid off and are unlikely to returnto their jobs can take advantage of the following

services: early intervention programs, occupationalskills training, job search assistance, support servicesand relocation assistance.

The state of Washington provides similar ser-vices. The Washington Legislature formed theGovernors Rural Community Assistance Team(GRCAT), originally known as the Timber Team in1990, when Governor Booth Gardner allocated $9.4million of funds under his discretion. The monieswere slated to mitigate the impact of the economiccrisis on timber communities adjusting to decreased

timber harvest. The Governors ofce designed atimber packagea combination of 20worker, com-munity, and business assistance programs for the1991 legislative session.

In 1995, legislation proposed by Governor MikeLowry reauthorized the team, renamed it, and broad-ened its role. In addition to the timber focus, the newGRCAT includes assistance to shers and addresses

salmon-related problems in communities around thestate.

As part of this benet packet, the legislature au-thorized a Timber Training Benets program thatallowed those dislocated from the timber industry

to qualify for additional unemployment and train-ing benets. This program has expanded to servesheries and aeronautical employees, subsequentlychanging its naming to Training Benets. All of thosewho qualify may receive 22 weeks of benets in ad-dition to their regular unemployment and trainingallotment.

Colville Work Source provides a majority of thedislocated worker services in the area. With severalprograms from which to draw to provide benetsto dislocated workers, the agency has never applied

for the additional funding allocated to the Initiativecommunities. Between 1993 and 2000 they served174 dislocated timber workers, 37 of them Colvilleresidents. While 81 percent secured jobs (three atAladdin), the wages decreased from an average of$9.61 per hour before dislocation to $8.40 an hourafter.

Community CapacityCommunity capacity is the collective ability

of residents in a community to respond to external

and internal stresses, to create and take advantage ofopportunities, and to meet local needs. Communi-ty capacity consists of ve dimensions: (1) physicalcapital, which includes a community physical infra-structure (e.g., sewer systems, business parks, capitalassets such as equipment, housing stock and schools);(2) nancial capital, which includes money, credit,and other nancial resources available for local use;(3) human capital, which includes the skills, educa-tion, experiences and general abilities and capabilitiesof residents; (4) cultural capital, which includes the

myths, beliefs, norms, and lifeways that serve to or-ganize groups and facilitate survival; and (5) socialcapital, which includes the willingness of residents towork together toward community goals (and not justself-interested goals). Evaluating the impact of NEAIprojects on the capacity of Colville thus requires acloser examination of these various dimensions of ca-pacity.


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Head Start Building Industrial Park Development

Convention Center Technical Training Center Facade Improvement Technology Infrastructure.

Figure 6: Physical Capital Associated with theInitiative

Physical and Financial CapitalInitiative grants and loans increased Colvilles

physical capital. The Revitalization program pro-vided facade improvement grants, entrance signs

to the city and other Main Street enhancements.These physical improvements initiated a rippleeffect, thereby encouraging other merchants tocomplete improvements and increasing communitycondence. Forest Service and Rural Developmentmonies facilitated the completion of roadwork, util-ity infrastructure, and installation of trafc signals(on highway 395), which allowed for the expansionand retention of businesses around that intersection.This, in turn, created new jobs.

Employment training lead to improved pro-

ductivity and reduced work-related injuries, both ofwhich improve local business prots. TEDD has pro-vided seven local businesses with $810,000 worth ofworking capital, which has saved or created 87 jobs.Finally, RITC has secured additional grants, leverag-ing and further increasing money in the community.

The Initiative provided funds to build tradition-al and technological infrastructure, thus increasingphysical capital and enhancing local business oppor-tunity. It has improved employment training optionsand increased community pride by assisting in the

beautication of the downtown corridor. Thesechanges have affected nancial capital through theprovision of jobs to residents and an increase in thelocal tax base.

Social CapitalInterviewees credit the WA-CERT process for

increased collaboration among agencies on diverse

projects, stating that the prioritization process forcedthem to discuss and develop interrelated projectsinstead of competing for the same money. This col-laboration enhanced local opportunities to secure

needed resources and ensure programmatic success.These examples reect well on the community:

1. The Industrial Technical Training Center,which created a partnership between thecity, community college, private industry,and residents to secure monies, as well asdevelop and implement programs bene-cial to students and businesses alike.

2. The GMA project shows Colvilles abilityto partner with other cities to accomplish

a goal.3. The Colville Industrial Park demonstratesa private-public partnership that had dualbenets. The city supported grant admin-istration and project completion and thebusinesses provided the matching sup-port.

4. The Rural Information TechnologyCenter created a collaborative amongdiverse agencies including: Tri-Co,the Conservation District, Washing-

ton State University, the Chamber ofCommerce, local businesses, and Wash-ington Employment Security. Theworking relationship among agencies, aswell as agreements about mutual benetssupported the application and implemen-tation of this program. Separating tasksinto specialties and backgrounds expe-


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dited project completion despite initialbarriers (lack of bandwidth and redun-dancy).

Despite initially drawing linkages between down-

town merchants, the Chamber of Commerce, thestate, and the city, Downtown Revitalization createdtension among merchants due to divergent opinionsabout a proposed truck route and the roles of the twoagencies in the revitalization efforts. These divisionswere strong enough to end the Main Street Programdespite nancial and technical support from the state($85,000), as well as grants through the Initiative.Colville 2000, primarily a transportation project, haseffectively taken over some of the work of this earliermovement, addressing design and transportation is-

sues discussed throughout revitalization. However,Colville 2000 does not address marketing and eco-nomic restructuring for this area, which could benetthe community as a whole.

In most instances, existing social capital helpedensure program success for Initiative Projects, andthe Initiative appears to have continued to increasesocial capital by developing new relationships or en-hancing others.

Human Capital

Initiative resources produced a more qualiedworkforce. RITC, ITTC, Employment Security,Rural Resources, and the post secondary institutionshave worked to provide opportunities for residents toimprove their employment skills. With funds fromthe Initiative, ITTC developed specialized programsto address local industrial training needs and WSUhas provided technology training.

TEDD and the Main Street Program providedmerchants with an opportunity to increase diversebusiness skills. Merchant training helped some busi-

nesses compete with Wal-Mart and remain open.While TEDDs technical assistance programs forlocal business increased human capital locally, abso-lute impact remains difcult to discern because ofaggregated service numbers across three counties.

Effects of NEAI on WorkersIn 1995, Employment Security partnered with

the Community College to develop a technology in-frastructure for a regional Career Center to provideassessment of unemployed and dislocated workers.

The partnership received a $128,009 grant from thestate and co-located at the new community college.The Center, completed in July 1995, serves dislo-cated workers referred by area agencies and providesa referral point of contact for the assessment of dis-located workers. In many cases, these workers arecounseled and offered programs through the collegeand the ITTC. Other regional service providers in-clude JTPA, Employment Security, the Departmentof Social and Health Service, and Northeast Wash-ington Rural Resources.

As a regional center with a fairly diversied eco-nomic base, Colville has been buffeted from most ofthe timber industrys downturn. The community lostvery few industry jobs and those have been replacedby jobs in other sectors. While smaller mills haveclosed, the three major mills in the area have laid offvery few people. According to Colville Work Source,only 37 Colville residents who are dislocated woodsworkers have applied for benets. While these num-bers do not reect the absolute numbers of jobs lost,it does provide a gauge.

Only one of the Initiative projects specicallytargeted dislocated timber workers. Those interest-ed in changing elds or improving their millwrightor welding skills have had access to the IndustrialTechnical Training Center since 1995. Job creationand retention facilitated by Initiative-funded infra-structure and business development projects haveprovided local employment opportunities for dislo-cated timber workers. Aladdin Hearth Products alonehas increased its workforce by 130 since 1999, eas-ily recapturing jobs lost in the timber industry. And

nally, the Head Start Facility has allowed Rural Re-sources to provide early childhood education in amore cost effective manner, increasing services tolow-income families, some of which may includetimber workers.


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Socioeconomic Condition and Effects of NEAI Projectson Community Well-Being

The county per capita income has grown by 34percent from 12,974 in 1990 to 17,316 in 2000

as compared to the states 51 percent growth from20,026 in 1990 to 30,380 in 2000. Stevens Coun-ty income was 57 percent of the state average andranked 38 in a state out of 39 counties (WSU Co-operative Extension 2001). Transfer payments inthe county increased 26 percent from 18.6 in 1990to 23.5 in 1999 (WSU Cooperative Extension2001).

Sales tax revenue in Colville has increased 77percent since 1991 as compared to a 54 percentgrowth in Stevens County. The highest sale/use tax

was in 1998 at $108,200 (Figure 7). In 1994, Wal-Marts rst full operating year, sales tax increased45 percent.

Colville schools have had a 10 percent growthin their student population between 1990 and

2000 from 2,310 to 2,536. With variable growth,the schools showed their largest enrollment dur-ing that time period in 1994 (2,649) declining to2,406 in 1998. Free and reduced lunch rates havealso been variable among the elementary schools,with Onion Creek consistently having the highestpercentage of eligible students (Figure 8). It is im-portant to note that Onion Creeks enrollment issubstantially lower (60) than the other elementaryschools (over 400). At least two of the schools freeand reduced lunch rates have doubled. Looking at

the aggregated rate for all schools, free and reducedlunch participation has increased by 46 percent,from 47 to 68.5 percent.

Figure 7: Colville Local Sales/Use Tax 1991-2000

$120,000

$100,000

$80,000$60,000

$40,0001991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Colville Stevens Co.

Figure 8: Colville Elementary Schools Free and Reduced Lunch Rates 1994-1999

AsterHofstetterOnion CreekFort Colville


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Patterns and Themes of Successful Interventions

Colvilles economic development success stemsfrom many factors, summarized below:

Existing capacity facilitates successful outcomesExisting capacity served as the foundation for thedevelopment and implementation of several Initiativeprojects. The dedication, experience, knowledge, andvision of community leaders assured program fund-ing. Highly effective leaders developed a vision, drewon residents skills and knowledge, and created buy-infrom community members. Consistent and capablestafng also facilitated success. Many projects leadershave been involved in their agencies or their commu-nities for several years.

Local businesses provided nancial resourceswhen able (ITTC, Colville Industrial Park, Down-town Revitalization) and secured funding whenneeded (IRP, Colville Industrial Park, BusinessExpansion and Retention). Employees of local gov-ernment and nonprot organizations had the skillsneeded to plan and complete large-scale infrastruc-ture projects (Colville 2000, Colville Industrial Park,ITTC) and loan programs in a timely and effec-tive manner. Just as important as the human capitaldemonstrated in these various projects, the diverse

agencies have worked collaboratively to address localneeds. Publicprivate partnerships in at least fourprojects provided mutually benecial outcomes forall participants, including community members.

Local resources offset downturnsDespite having higher unemployment and lower

per capita income than the state average, Colville hasnot been buffered by changes in the timber industry.Locally developed businesses such as Aladdin HearthProducts, Colmac Coils, Vaagen Brothers and Mt.

Carmel Hospital provide a fairly diverse economic

base in a community with a history of resource de-pendency. As the county seat and the largest city in athree-county region, Colville has a fairly large govern-

mental infrastructure that provides basic services to abroad population beyond their community. BoiseCascade, a large, multi-faceted corporation, operatesthree mills just 10 miles outside of Colville in Ket-tle Falls and employs several Colville residents. Thesefactors, along with state and federal nancial supportto develop the GMA comprehensive plan and an an-nual economic development document have allowedColville agencies to work proactively and collabora-tively to utilize local resources and address perceivedneeds.

Workforce Development in a Saturated MarketCommunity colleges usually provide the bulk of

local workforce development options in rural com-munities, which are driven by the local needs of boththe industrial base and anticipated student popula-tions. Community college enrollment rules also limitthe ability to run a class with less than twelve stu-dents. Changing industrial needs force local collegesto continually up-date their curriculum. For the Com-munity Colleges of Spokanes Colville campus, market

saturation forced the school to abandon establishedprograms such as the millwright and welding certica-tion programs. This calls into question the efcacy ofestablishing technology training centers in rural areaswith limited populations and small industrial base.The ITTC in Colville cost approximately $700,000to establish in 1995 and several thousand to maintainduring the last ve years. This investment contribut-ed to the skills development of residents within theregion. Now Colville must decide the best way to con-tinue utilizing a center geared towards training the

workforce for an already saturated market.


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Conclusion

Existing community capacity facilitated Colvilleseffective utilization of Initiative resources. Skilled com-munity leaders and existing social capital helped local

agencies obtain diverse grants, which enhanced infra-structure and increased human capital. Strong localbusinesses (Vaagans, Boise Cascade, Wal-Mart andAladdin) and Colvilles role as the primary govern-mental, commercial, and medical center for the regionserved as protective factors, which helped the City me-

diate the timber industrys downturn. The Initiativefunds also proved vital in the Vaagans Brothers andothers success in developing the industrial park. The

park in turn, helped keep Aladdin Hearth in the com-munity and thereby retaining or establishing over 200jobs. Colville represents an excellent example of whereNEAI projects added to and built upon a relativelyhigh capital community, further advancing and lever-aging additional investment and successes.


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References

Bamonte, Tony and Suzanne. 1999. Spokane and the Inland NW. Spokane: WA.

Berkholtz, Karin. 1994. Economic Adjustment Initiative for the Pacic Northwest and Northern California:Implementation in Washington State. Portland OR.

Berkholtz, Karin 1995. Economic Adjustment Initiative for the Pacic Northwest and Northern California: ASampling of Success Stories from Washington State. Portland OR.

Berkholtz, Karin. 1996. Economic Adjustment Initiative for the Pacic Northwest and Northern California:Implementation in Washington State. Portland OR.

Bohm Fred C. & Holstine Craig E. 1983. The Peoples History of Stevens County. Stevens Historical Society:Colville, WA.

Boise Cascade Corporation.(http://www.bc.com/corporate/index.htm)Burke, Anita. April 5 2001. Colville, a Little Town That Could. Journal of Business. Spokane, WA.

City of Colville, 2000. GMA Treasurers Report

Chance, David. 1972. The Place of Colville. Chapter IV in Colville Collection: Book I. Graham, Patrick ed.

Harrigan, JC. Little Journey Around the Town. Northeast Washington Genealogical Society: Colville, WA.

Kusel, J. 1996. Well-Being in Forest-Dependent Communities, Part I: A New Approach. In Sierra NevadaEcosystem Project: Final Report to Congress. Volume II, Assessments and Scientic Basis for Management Options.University of California, Centers for Water and Wildland Resources: Davis, California. Pp. 361-374.

Kusel J, et.al. 2001. Assessment of the Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative: Program Report. Forest

Community Research. Taylorsville, CA.

Regional Industrial Technology Training Center Project. September 1, 1995. Accomplishment Report. CommunityColleges of Spokane. Colville, WA.

Rural Information Technology Center. http://www.ritc.org

Tom Hudson Company. August 1998. Colville 2000: Downtown Revitalization Plan. Colville, WA.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1990. Census of population and housing. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2000. Census of population and housing. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Unknown. 1904. History of North Washington. Western Historical Publishing Company: Spokane, WA.

Washington Sate Employment Security, Labor Market and Economic Analysis Branch. November 27, 2001. 1999Private Covered Employment and Wages by ZIP Code and Industry. Olympia: WA. www.wa.gov/esd/lmea.

Washington State University Cooperative Extension web cite (put in web site) source: Regional EconomicInformation System, Bureau of Economic Analysis. May 2001 Table CA05.


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Interviewees

Earl Davenport Vaagen Brothers Lumber

Jerry Davis Kettle Falls Mayor

Harlan Elsasser City of Colville, Director of Public WorksJaymi Erdman GIS Graduate and employee

Mark Freiberger Colville City Engineer

Malcolm Friedman County Commissioner

Marilyn Haney Haney Lumber, Owner

Susan Kemp Director, Washington Main Street Program

Al Kowitz Rural Information Technology Center Director

Rene Kubiac Finance Manager, Tri-County Economic Development District

Richard Langford Washington Employment Security Department

Bobbi Linn Aladdin Hearth Products Employee

Lisa Lyons MOUS graduate

Sandra Madson Former Colville City Planner

Sue Meyer Rural Information Technology Center Employee

Herb Munro Dean, Community College of Spokane

Curtis Ott ITTC Student

Issabelle Parazoo Aladdin Employee

Steve & Karla Ramsey Owner, The Book Depot

JoAnne Rice Washington Employment Security Department

Kerry Rodkey Simmons Ofce of Trade and Economic Development

Tom Schwartz Loan Manager, Tri-County Economic Development District

Donna Jo Smith Community College of Spokane Employee

Joe Tortorelli Cons

Documents

Colville WA