Director Fong highlights housing, technology, economic development during two-day trip



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*Director's travels:*

*Wenatchee and the Methow Valley*
Commerce employees during the Mid-Columbia tour

Director Mike Fong and other Commerce employees stop for a photo during the Mid-Columbia Energy Policy Tour in April outside of Wenatchee.

Wrapping up a busy month, Washington State Department of Commerce Director Mike Fong visited North Central Washington in April. The three counties that comprise North Central Washington (NCW) — Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties — are unique for both their geographic beauty, and the challenges and opportunities that face the people who live there.


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New tech leads to green energy 

Rocky Reach Dam

The Columbia River carves through the counties and provides vital hydropower and water.

During the trip, Director Fong joined the Mid-Columbia Energy Policy Tour, hosted by Chelan, Douglas and Grant PUDs, with several state legislators and employees from Commerce, as well as staff from Maria Cantwell’s senate office. The tour included Grant PUD’s transmission and substation infrastructure improvements, Chelan PUD’s Rocky Reach Hydroelectric Project and its spillway gates, and Douglas PUD’s new hydrogen electrolyzer and hydrogen powered cars.

"This electrolyzer shows what utilities can do to achieve Washington's climate goals," Fong said. "We're excited for it to come fully online, and for other utilities to upgrade their transmission infrastructure."

The hydrogen electrolyzer is the first owned by a Washington utility, said Commerce policy advisor Marie Davis, who also attended the tour. Testing will begin this summer and it will come online by the end of the year. Once the project is fully operational, it will generate 5 mW (two tons per day) of green hydrogen, and the site has the potential to support 80 mW production capacity as the green hydrogen industry continutes to grow.


Hydrogen car

"First photo: An aerial view of the Rocky Reach Dam during the Mid-Columbia Energy Policy Tour."

"Second photo: A tour attendee checks out Douglas PUD’s hydrogen -powered car."

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Healthy choices help make healthy communities

Food security and housing are both major issues in NCW. NCW’s climate extremes — hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters — and low population density, as well as relatively high poverty rate, mean it’s more vital than ever to ensure people who live in the area permanently have access to safe, clean and secure housing, as well as healthy food and clean water.

In Okanogan County, 16.9% of the population is in poverty. The poverty rate is 9.3% in Chelan and 8.6% in Douglas counties.

Commerce provided a $689,549 grant to the Chelan Douglas Community Action Council (CDCAC) [ [link removed] ] in the 2023-24 biennium. The grant allowed CDAC to provide weatherization and energy efficiency improvements to low-income homes in the counties through the Weatherization Plus Health program.

Weatherization Plus Health is a targeted program that provides funding to improve people’s home environments, including mold control, insulation, and other factors. A polluted home environment can contribute to long-term problems like asthma and exacerbated allergies.

CDCAC runs the food pantry hub in Wenatchee. According to Executive Director, Alan Walker, CDCAC’s quantity of food received and distributed has doubled since 2021. They support 22 area food pantries, meal sites and low-income senior housing facilities, serving more than 10,000 people every month with about two million pounds of food annually.

Walker said that funding for improvements of refrigeration/storage is critical to efficient delivery of food and guard against waste, which helps both human health and the health of the planet.

Food is also an important economic engine and intrinsic to culture.

Food security includes ensuring communities have access to healthy, culturally relevant foods and resources. Innovation Cluster Accelerator Program (ICAP) [ [link removed] ] Launch cohort member Blue Sky Minds [ [link removed] ] is working to create an equitable and sustainable food system in Okanogan County and on the Colville Reservation.

Blue Sky Minds supports farmers’ markets and food opportunities for rural and tribal communities. Innovation clusters are industry-led consortiums that works together to drive innovation, pursue market opportunities, and identify and solve challenges. The ICAP Launch Program is managed by Commerce.

“Good food brings people together,” Director Fong said. “My family was in the restaurant business in Spokane and North Idaho, and we cared deeply about showing love through nourishing and culturally important food. Blue Sky Minds’ approach to local food is exciting and supports everyone on the food chain.”

Access to local food can also reduce people’s carbon footprint. About 10% of the U.S.’s greenhouse gas emissions are from the agricultural sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — including growing and transporting food across the globe. Offering more locally grown and made food options will help the state meet its climate goals. 

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Housing community members first

Methow Housing Trust

There is a shortage of affordable housing in NCW. The region – which includes Chelan, Leavenworth and the Methow Valley – is popular for vacationers across the state, and the boom in home vacation rentals has created a shortage in housing for locals and long-term residents.

The lack of housing has also made it challenging for students and families to stay in the area and pursue higher education – which means they leave. And the boom in short-term rentals has eaten up more modestly-priced homes. That means teachers, forest rangers, firefighters and other essential, year-round residents struggle to find a place to live.

 “The Methow is stunning country and I know why people want to vacation here, but we have to ensure that the folks who work full-time in this community and others in Washington — who fight our fires, feed our communities and teach our kids — can live here year-round.”

The Methow Housing Trust [ [link removed] ] is focusing on reducing the need in the Methow Valley, which is in Okanogan County. Okanogan County is projected to need 2,036 new housing units, including 445 units for permanent supportive housing and 98 units of emergency housing. The Methow Valley has about 12,000 residents and includes the communities of Mazama, Winthrop, Twisp, Carlton, Methow and Pateros. Of those residents, more than a third – about 5,000 people – live there part time. The median home price is $663,000, which is affordable only to people who make nearly three times the Area Median Income —which only accounts for 3% of the full-time residents of the Methow Valley. 

To address this, the Housing Trust Fund developed 37 permanently affordable single family homes in the Methow Valley, and is on track to complete at least 100 homes by 2030. Households must have lived in the Valley for 12 months or have a letter showing permanent employment for eligibility. People are able to buy homes priced based on their income and assets. Methow Housing Trust mainly serves single-member households earning full-time minimum wage, a household that relies on Social Security, or a household with multiple wage-earners. Its limit is a four-person household making $11,250 per month combined – from 60%-150% of the Area Median Income.

“No one who works full-time should struggle to find safe housing. We know that safe, secure and stable housing is an issue everywhere, particularly for historically disadvantage groups,” Director Fong said. “We’re looking at opportunities to partner with the organizations focused on housing to ensure everyone has a chance to thrive.”

Since 1994, Commerce has invested $48.76 million in more than 40 projects in Okanogan County. Commerce has funded seven projects since 2020 totaling $28 million, including two for $13 million in Twisp and Winthrop in 2023.

"Photo: Director Fong tours the Methow Housing Trust."



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Creating opportunities for new ideas

In Wenatchee, Director Fong heard about the economic and educational opportunities during a lunchtime roundtable with the NCW Tech Alliance, Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Business Council, Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority, and CAFÉ, as well as at a tour and meeting with Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) faculty and staff.

Although all of the organizations are focused on different areas, they want the same thing: A healthy and thriving economy, where people from the valley can achieve gainful employment and make the community their home.

“The economic opportunities here are unique,” Director Fong said, noting the region’s agriculture sector and emerging data and power markets. “We’re here to listen and learn, and respond appropriately to what will help the Wenatchee Valley thrive.”

That includes an innovative Hispanic horticulture program at WVC, an emerging partnership with Microsoft, and more support for digital equity efforts.

At TwispWorks, Director Fong learned about the organization, which focuses on community and economic development in the Methow Valley. It includes a child care center – but the center is in a leased property.

That means it doesn’t qualify for capital funding for expansion support, a limitation that has been vexing.

“I’ve heard over and over about child care challenges for working families,” Director Fong said. “People who want to work can’t, or can’t work at their full capacity, because they can’t find care for their children. Commerce is working on the problem and suggesting policy changes to expand access and funding opportunities across the state.”


More photos from the director's visit [ [link removed] ]





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