“Jobs in these industries tend to pay above the national average and above the average of other jobs in our region, so it obviously portends well for jobs and for economic growth in the area,” he said.
Optimism aside, Wyatt said one of the major obstacles to growing export and manufacturing jobs in the region that must be addressed is the availability of industrial land on both sides of the river.
“That’s one of the reasons we’ve been as focused as we are on west Hayden Island, because it represents an enormously valuable asset,” Wyatt explained.
“I think it (available industrial land) is a big challenge because it takes a long time to address,” he added. “I don’t have many people knocking on our door saying, ‘I need a 100-acre parcel of land and I’m willing to wait 15 or 20 years until all of the problems are resolved.’ It’s an urgent situation.”
Port of Vancouver growth
Though he is focused primarily on port activity on the south side of the Columbia River, Wyatt said the Port of Vancouver is doing a great job of focusing on building the necessary infrastructure for future development to occur.
“When you think of Terminal 5, that’s going to be a real well served terminal,” he said. “So fixing the West Vancouver rail bypass is critically important. Whether it’s BHP or someone else, having that kind of rail access will make the company and the port competitive.”
Problem solving
Despite the challenges and opportunities facing the region’s two largest ports, Wyatt said a greater opportunity will come from everyone recognizing and embracing the fact that the economies of Vancouver/Clark County and Portland/Multnomah County are clearly, irretrievably linked; that we, as a region, should address issues with that in mind.
For example, Wyatt said, “Intel is the fifth largest employer of Clark County residents. Well, Intel doesn’t have any facilities in Clark County. So what does that mean? It means people are commuting. So what happens if we don’t address our transportation challenges? Does that mean those Intel employees are sooner or later going to get sick of it and just move over here? What happens to things like housing prices and the value of real estate in Clark County if that problem isn’t addressed?
“It just seems to me that the things that tie us together are becoming more profound and more evident, and that is a trend that I expect to continue,” he added.
For more information about the CREDC’s upcoming luncheon with Bill Wyatt, visit www.credc.org.
