6,500 businesses have contacted Thurston EDC during the pandemic. Now, the EDC needs help
Lacey City Council on Thursday approved spending $70,000 to support the Thurston Economic Development Council, an organization that has been on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering assistance to business owners.
The city of Lacey and the EDC teamed up in late March to disperse $1 million in grant funds to small Lacey businesses.
But the slower economy also has been felt by the EDC itself, Executive Director Michael Cade said. By this time each year, the EDC has typically raised about $250,000 through memberships to the organization.
The EDC has other sources of revenue, such as contracts and program fees, but private investment has fallen, Cade said.
“The well has run dry,” he said to a reporter after the meeting.
Cade addressed the local economy more generally with the council as well, including both hopeful and disconcerting statistics.
The good news is that the city’s $1 million grant fund helped 110 Lacey businesses, according to city data. The average grant size was a little over $9,000 and the average number of employees per business was just under five, the data show.
Since March, the EDC has heard from about 6,500 businesses, either by phone or email, needing assistance during the pandemic, Cade said after the meeting.
“Businesses are absolutely being hammered right now,” he said, adding that 15 percent to 45 percent of those who have lost a job won’t get that job back within the next year.
He also raised concerns about the state of child care, citing statistics from the Child Care Action Council.
Cade said that 50 percent of all childcare spots in the county are gone because of the pandemic and required social distancing, and that shortage has more impact if students don’t return to school in the fall.
“This is one of the things that keeps me up at night,” he said. “Childcare is in crisis as we move through the (reopening) phases.”
The state of childcare needs to be fixed either legislatively or financially, but something needs to be done, Cade said.
Cade said the EDC will use the $70,000 to leverage grants, make community investments and help its partner agencies.
The city will front the money to the EDC, but expects to be reimbursed via the federal funding legislation known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, City Manager Scott Spence said.
During the meeting, Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder urged the council to shop local.
“Small businesses are still really hurting,” he said.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
