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Posture <br />I Recommendation <br />rise in undergraduate students <br />selecting CWU as their learninq place, <br />Find ways to redevelop the Ellensburg <br />ELLENSBURG'S ECONOMIC WEAKNESSES <br />There is a lack of recent experience with strategic economic development. As <br />opportunities present themselves, the community attempts to respond. Ellensburg lacks <br />a mature strategic economic development infrastructure — the people, funding, and <br />policies that shape long-term growth and development. The recovery of Ellensburg's <br />downtown core since the Great Recession demonstrates the will of the city officials and <br />local business leaders to set the priorities and do the work associated with strategic <br />economic development. <br />• Comprehensive transportation network. Ellensburg's strength is its position at the <br />crossroads of two major interstate roads, I-90 and I-82. However, Ellensburg is <br />described as a'sleeper'town in terms of rail traffic (291 railcars between <br />December 2015 and December 2017) with limited rail sidings and few, poorly <br />maintained shared rail spurs. The Kittitas County Airport lacks regular <br />maintenance, resulting in the closure of a runway. <br />Posture <br />Recommendation <br />The Kittitas County Airport, formerly a <br />Find ways to redevelop the Ellensburg <br />military installation, has been <br />Airport, making it an economic asset <br />neglected for decades. <br />for our community and our region. <br />Attract a master plan developer for <br />aerospace and aviation. Support <br />ongoing legislative efforts aimed at <br />maintaining the region's existing <br />airport infrastructure. Identify land <br />and land use adjacent to rail service. <br />• Broadband/wifi. The City of Ellensburg operates a Telecommunications Utility <br />which provides low cost, reliable long haul fiber optic and intemet service to <br />businesses in Ellensburg. Business can subscribe to a 300 mps shared service, a <br />1,000 mps shared service, or a custom dedicated fiber optic service for fast, <br />secure data transfer. <br />14 miles fiber infrastructure; dark Establish an EBDA sub -committee <br />fiber available. Fiber may be used to comprised of EBDA board members <br />transmit big data, and the city has and area experts to explore a self- <br />sustaining model to provide fiber optic <br />