NW Innovation Resource Center, Mt. Vernon Library Commons redevelopment project among sites visited by Commerce Director Fong today
Clean technology, key community initiatives fill agenda throughout Skagit County as state commerce director continues travels to all 39 Washington counties
SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. --- Washington State Commerce Director Mike Fong today toured the Sedro-Woolley Innovation for Tomorrow (SWIFT) Center, the first stop on an agenda in Skagit County that also included Sedron Technologies, the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County, and Triumph Teen Life Center and the Library Commons redevelopment project in Mount Vernon. Fong, who was appointed Commerce Director last year by Gov. Jay Inslee, is meeting with community leaders, elected officials, tribal leaders, businesses and residents of all 39 Washington counties to see Commerce investments at work and learn more about community needs and priorities.
Starting the day in Sedro-Wooley, Northwest Innovation Resource Center (NWIRC) Executive Director Diane Kamionka hosted Fong for a tour of their location at the SWIFT Center and discussion including SWIFT Director Strategic Initiatives Emma Saarel and Port of Skagit Director of Planning and Development Heather Rogerson. The SWIFT Center is located on the former Northern State Hospital campus The Port is working with partners, including the City of Sedro-Woolley, Skagit County and others, to revitalize the campus. The community vision is to redevelop this property into a destination mixed-use campus accommodating education, research and development, manufacturing, hospitality and commercial venues, all within the historic character and great public spaces of the center.
NWIRC was formed in 2011 by a group of business leaders who wanted to give back and support other entrepreneurs as they worked to build their startups. The center runs the NW Innovation Lab Network, with spaces located between King County and the BC border serving Snohomish, Skagit, San Juan, Island, and Whatcom Counties. NWIRC partners with local economic development, government, schools and thought leaders to serve businesses in preparing them for the needs of the digital economy. Labs are currently located in Everett and Arlington.
Director Fong meets with NWIRC Executive Director Diane Kamionka at the SWIFT Center in Sedro-Woolley.
NWIRC received a $242,500 grant from the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness at Commerce.
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"We’re out here in Skagit County and Sedro-Woolley specifically because I wanted to see first-hand some of the great work that’s happening to build work force development pipelines, help startup entrepreneurs, and provide new tools and resources that can help take businesses to the next level," Fong said. "The NW Innovation Resource Center is creating a great incubator - this is the kind of work that we want to support and encourage."
Next up, Fong joined Sedron Technologies CEO Peter Janicki for a tour of the company’s manufacturing facility. Formerly Janicki Bioenergy, creator of the Omni Processor, Sedron Technologies makes the Varcor system that takes manure waste slurries and recovers nutrients for beneficial uses. The company worked with the Stillaguamish Tribe and Natural Milk, LLC to construct and install a Varcor system at Natural Milk to demonstrate the feasibility of treating the manure produced at Natural Milk’s farm in Stanwood, WA. Commerce provided a Clean Energy Fund Research and Development grant for the test project. Dairy farms have adopted the technology and the first septage receiving facility started operation in Sumner, WA last year. Additionally, Sedron’s Firelight Toilet has been piloted in a Washington State Park.
Ryan Boatman (left), Project Manager and Shop Scheduler, Sedron Technologies, explains the environmental benefits of the company's cutting edge waste recovery technology to Commerce Community Engagement Specialist Joe Downes (center) and Director Mike Fong.
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Following meetings with Commerce partner the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County, Fong will tour the Triumph Teen Life Center in Mount Vernon, hosted by Executive Director Sylvia Alvarez and Program Director Rosa Juarez, and speak with young people at the center.
Founded in 2022, the Triumph Teen Life Center serves a population that is predominantly low-income, Latino and Mexican Indigenous descent, most of whom cannot afford quality after-school programs. Triumph Teen Life Center’s goal is to empower young people to overcome obstacles to their academic and personal achievement by providing tools, resources and guidance to help them flourish.
For example, a teen internship program provides valuable on-the-job experiences, and back-to-school events provide a way for the community to support students and ensure a successful academic year.
Commerce supported the center through a pilot program grant aimed at organizational development and building capacity to sustain its work. Funding is being used to create video marketing materials to effectively engage the community and donors through social media and other channels in supporting its work. By building a support system, Triumph Teen Life Center hopes to meet needs including laptops, printers and interpreting headsets to meet diverse language needs. In the future, the center eventually hopes to purchase a building that will consolidate their disparate centers into one location including a teen center, resource center, food bank and cultural center. An all-in-one center would greatly increase the ability to assist more than 300 families with comprehensive, wraparound services.
Fong will finish the day meeting with Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan at City Hall and visit the Mount Vernon Library Commons project. Currently under construction, the Library Commons project is a multi-use infrastructure project located in the city’s historic downtown. Combining several community needs, this project represents a $53 million investment in the Mount Vernon economy.
The project contains public library services, community center space, a commercial kitchen, public restrooms, and structured parking with the largest public electric vehicle charging center in the USA, a park-and-ride lot, and transit stop. The public parking structure will host 276 parking stalls, four direct current fast chargers, and 72 Level 2 variable EV chargers. The project is slated to finish next month.
Commerce administered a $3.95 million appropriation from the Washington State Legislature for the Library Commons.
“The Mount Vernon Library Commons is the largest economic development project in Skagit County history,” said Mayor Donovan. “We are grateful to Commerce for working with us to secure all of the state funding incorporated in the project.”
Access photos and videos from today’s events on Commerce’s Flickr site.
Learn more about how Commerce strengthens communities throughout Washington state at www.commercewa.gov.
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