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2023-04-17 MINUTES 1 <br />COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES <br />KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON <br />CONFERENCE ROOM <br />SPECIAL MEETING <br /> <br />MONDAY 10:00 A.M. APRIL 17, 2023 <br /> <br />Board members present: Chairman Cory Wright, Vice Chairman Brett <br />Wachsmith, and Commissioner Laura Osiadacz. <br /> <br />Others: Julie Kjorsvik, Clerk of the Board; Amy McGuffin, Chief <br />Executive Officer, Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce; Margaret <br />Reich, Director of Centerfuse. <br /> <br />SPECIAL MEETING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COMMISSIONERS <br /> <br />At 10:00 a.m. Chairman Wright opened a Special Meeting to receive a <br />quarterly update from the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce. <br /> <br />Amy McGuffin, Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive <br />Officer, provided an update on the first quarter which included <br />recruitment and marketing activities; business retention and <br />expansion activities; business assistance including start-ups; <br />readiness and capacity/asset building. She also provided a handout <br />on the Washington SBDC & Associate Development Organizations <br />Partnership County Activity and Impact report. The Chamber of <br />Commerce was able to assist seven businesses in obtaining grants in <br />the total amount of $600,000.00 for natural disaster relief. <br /> <br />There was discussion on the difficulty of having neighboring states <br />who are able to incentivize businesses and Washington is not allowed <br />to do that so it’s hard to compete. Many businesses are leaving the <br />state because of the restrictions and new legislation. Ms. McGuffin <br />thanked the Board for the opportunity for her to provide updates to <br />COG as it's helpful for collaboration between everyone. She provided <br />a draft economic report and asked if the Board could review it and <br />provide her with feedback. <br /> <br />Chairman Wright expressed his frustration of not having clear duties <br />defined between the different agencies including the ADO, <br />Centerfuse, and municipalities. He said although it’s been <br />challenging for everyone involved, everyone has strengths and good <br />intentions, but needed to clarify roles. He said he would bring up <br />the topic for discussion with COG. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />