Olympia invites involvement and feedback on Olympia Strong economic programs

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Olympia is inviting community members to attend two open house meetings to learn and give feedback on the city’s Olympia Strong plans for developing economic opportunity.

There will be an online meeting on Monday, June 12, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and an in-person presentation at the City Council Chambers on Wednesday, June 14, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. where city staff will discuss the Olympia Strong roadmap on the Olympia’s Economic Development work plans and provide updates to the Economy and Housing chapters of the City of Olympia’s Comprehensive Plan, Olympia 2045.

“Our community is performing really well by many measures – the organizations here are doing a lot of good work,” said Project Manager Amy Buckler in a city statement.

Buckler also pointed out the need for more work on the project, saying that there are still too many people on the “fringe” living in “gaps” and that there is a need for more inclusive pathways for them.

The two open houses will focus on four areas identified by the community which will inform Olympia’s Economic Development and will be used to guide decision- and policy-making as well as partnerships and investments for the next twenty years:

  • Education and Workforce Pathways
  • Housing and a Sense of Security
  • Business Enterprise Resources and Support
  • Community Pride, Lovability and Resilience

Community members can contact Economic Development Project Manager Mike Reid at mreid@ci.olympia.wa.us or visit the Olympia Strong website for more information.

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  • KarenM

    City government can support a healthy economy by providing services and infrastructure for a great place to live. Employers and investors want to bring their jobs and money to a community that has safe streets, great parks and trails, clean water, and reliable fire and police services. I'd like to see more focus on City services and infrastructure. Neighborhoods keep asking for walking safety projects and code enforcement for problem properties. These relate to community pride, lovability and sense of security. We keep hearing that there is 'not enough money' to respond to neighborhood requests, while this looks like a build up of a whole new list of staff and projects.

    The breadth of the topics described in this program seems out of scale for the size of our City budget. Of course when people are surveyed they likely would respond that the community could use education and workforce pathways or business support. But the respondents may not even know that there are existing programs at the Economic Development Council, Chamber of Commerce and local education institutions working on these same topics. Creating new programs for just the City of Olympia seems narrow and expensive.

    Tuesday, May 30, 2023 Report this