By SUE RYAN
News staff writer
November 28, 2007

Multnomah County’s West Columbia Gorge Chamber of Commerce is interested in Cascade Locks.

“Because you have land,” said Steve Vanier, a chamber representative.

He responded to a question from Port of Cascade Locks Director Chuck Daughtry during a Nov. 1 presentation to the port.

“The more land the chamber has to market, the more successful the chamber is,” Vanier said.

“You have land. You have a beautiful area. You have connectivity to recreational tourism.”

Vanier, of Merchant Bank in Troutdale, belongs to the chamber’s economic development committee. He and Malcolm Boswell, with the state’s WorkSource Oregon program, presented the idea. Boswell is a workforce analyst with Gresham and Multnomah County.

The chamber is approaching Cascade Locks as well as Wood Village, Troutdale and Fairview to help pay for a single person to advocate for business interests in the area.

The $75,000 to $90,000 position would pursue economic development on a city, county and state level with an emphasis on drawing metropolitan interests out into the Gorge.

The funding breakdown would vary depending on the size of the city and the number of its employees. In Cascade Locks’ case, the basis would be the port as the city does not have the money to pursue the idea.

The proposal calls for Troutdale paying for 43 percent, Fairview for 29 percent, Wood Village for 14 percent and the Port of Cascade Locks for 14 percent. Its share comes up to $6,000 of the total $42,000 from the municipalities.

The chamber will be seeking money from Multnomah County as well as matching foundation grants to fund the remainder of the proposal. It wants the port to pitch in for a three-year commitment.

Vanier pointed out that even though Cascade Locks is located in Hood River County, its residents are very much influenced by what happens on the eastern end of Multnomah County for growth.

He said because of boundary limits, the other cities can’t grow much more so the land Cascade Locks has is vital for attracting new economic development to the region.

Daughtry explained he had not intended for the commissioners to decide anything right away but to think about it for a while.

He said while the port’s currently involved with the Mid Columbia Economic Development District, networking in a different direction to the west rather than east presented an opportunity.

The commissioners’ reaction to the idea was mixed. Commissioner Jean McLean, who represents Cascade Locks in the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce, said she felt already that the port and city were not utilizing their current membership enough.

Commissioner Marva Janik wanted to know how time would be shared between entities while Commissioner Tim Lee said his concern was to see results.