Illinois Valley News

The most recent figures available showed Josephine County with a 15 percent unemployment rate.

But that doesn“t scare Michael Smith, of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc. (SOREDI). He insists that he“s up to the challenge of trying to turn that around.

Smith is assigned to Josephine County through a contract it has with SOREDI to handle various economic development projects. SOREDI is a 23-year-old private nonprofit organization based in neighboring Jackson County.

One of his projects is to form a long-term economic strategy. Josephine County never has had such a plan.

To achieve that aim, Smith said that he plans to approach the county commissioners with a proposal to form an economic development steering committee. Smith said that group would consist of volunteer citizens and business owners, and would spend at least six months drafting a five to 10-year economic development plan for the county.

Approximately 16 people have been nominated or have volunteered for the committee, he said. He added that he hopes to have it formed within the next couple of months.

Once formed, that committee also could aid Smith in another of his tasks, establishing performance measures for the county“s economic development grants. Smith said that process thus far has been at the “will and whim“ of the commissioners.

“Seldom has there been any true evaluation by the entire board or any expert outside of that board,“ he explained.

Because of that, some of the economic development grants previously approved by the commissioners have become the center of political controversy. An $85,000 grant to spur the growth of a biofuels industry has become a convenient point of attack for opponents of Commissioner Dave Toler, who is running for a second term.

The grant was awarded to Josephine Soil and Water Conservation District (JSWCD), which was charged with its administration. JSWCD gave some of the funds to a Eugene-based firm that later filed for bankruptcy.

Smith said that establishing performance measures for the grants and having them reviewed by a committee would “take some of the pressure“ off of the three commissioners. The committee and the performance measures, he said, could provide an “objective evaluation“ and “bigger picture view“ of the grant proposals.

Another of Smith“s main missions has been to upgrade the infrastructure at the North Valley Industrial Park in Merlin. Future development, expansion and investment in the site is prevented by a lack of adequate sewer capacity, Smith said.

“There is no backup system on the system that they“re using out there,“ he said. “That“s the only thing holding that back.“

A preliminary permit has been issued for a sewer system to service Merlin, Smith said, but must be approved by the state Dept. of Environmental Quality.

Improving sewage capacity to the North Valley Industrial Park is especially crucial, because that area is one of very few in the county zoned for industrial use.

Smith also is working on an industrial land survey, and said that commercial and industrial zoning comprises only 7.58 square miles in the county. That includes parcels of land already developed and in use, Smith said, which “takes us off the map for many companies that want to come here.“

An industrial park zoning also is included on the Illinois Valley Airport property. Smith said investment there might be spurred by offering to give the land away to someone willing to develop some parcels. He said the former Kauffman mill site, with around 66 acres located on Illinois River, also could be utilized to create employment opportunities for Illinois Valley residents.

“There just are not enough jobs out there,“ Smith said. “I think there“s some opportunity in Illinois Valley that could be realized.“

One project that has been completed is consolidation of two separate Enterprise Zones in the city of Grants Pass and rural areas of the county. The county zone consisted of only 1.58 square miles, Smith said, which was added to the existing Grants Pass zone and included in an electric commerce overlay.

Smith said that the enterprise zone provides property tax breaks on capital investments for three to five years to companies that do business outside of the area. Under the e-commerce overlay, he added, a firm that does at least 51 percent of its business through the Internet can receive a 25 percent tax break on investments totaling more than $1,000.

There are only 50 Enterprise Zones and 10 e-commerce zones in the state, Smith said.

Although the national economy has faltered for the past few years because of the recession, Smith said that he is optimistic that companies could start expanding their operations soon.

“We“re seeing them take a few steps towards some additional hiring, some investments,“ he said. “We“re seeing that there are some opportunities here that have not been embraced in the last couple of years.“

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