Attracting family wage jobs

I was very interested to see two letters published on Sept. 28 and 30 regarding economic development. The comments about how quickly our community is growing demonstrate a real commitment and concern regarding the quality of life found in Snohomish County. The Economic Development Council’s initiative is not simply to attract growth for the sake of attracting growth. Our organization fully recognizes the issues surrounding any rapid expansion of growth. Currently, approximately 90,000 county citizens get up each morning and travel south on Interstate 5 or 405 to jobs located outside of our community. With our robust economy, good companies paying good wages are running out of room to grow in King County. Some are looking to Pierce County to locate. The EDC initiative to attract these family wage-paying employers also addresses the very real and important aspect of economic development, business and investment retention.

The EDC supports growth management and local community planning. Our goal is to see that these adopted plans are implemented with quality and livable wage jobs. If our communities are proactive about economic development (i.e. creating employment and investment opportunities and community building), we will have a better opportunity to attract and retain appropriate growth instead of taking what outside interests feel we should have.

President Snohomish County Economic Development Council

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