April 3, 2009

CTED writing a plan for stimulus funding

Rogers Weed, the new director of the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, is looking to business for help in getting Washington's economy back on track. Weed spoke at a conference held at the McKinstry offices this week, presented by McKinstry and Davis Wright Tremaine.

Weed, who was appointed to the state's top commerce job nearly three weeks ago, has a business background. He has worked at Microsoft since 1990 and was recently a vice president there.

Eighty percent of the state's gross domestic product, Weed said, comes from the private sector. “The government might be spending a lot of money at this particular moment ... (but) it's the private sector that's going to lead us out of this recession, not the government.”

Weed said he has two main focuses in his new position: tighten the state's relationship with Boeing and capture energy stimulus funds. Stimulus funds can both create immediate jobs and help transform the energy market locally and nationally. “(It's) a giant opportunity for us.”

Washington is getting about $130 million of stimulus funding for energy work in three groups: low income weatherization, the State Energy Program, and block grants mostly for cities and counties to do conservation and efficiency projects.

Weed said the State Energy Program is the most flexible of the three areas, and will receive about $60 million. He said CTED wants the money to be split between efficiency investments and a fund that would engage the private sector to help attract new clean tech businesses. However, the state legislature will determine where that money goes in its budget, which should be ready in three weeks.

Weed said the federal government also has about $41 billion of energy-related stimulus funding that will be competitively allocated, and he wants Washington businesses to go after it.

“It's about how do we get organized as a state to go compete for all of that money in Washington, D.C., that is waiting for proposals,” he said. “I'm really focused on how we can work with you all to get as much of that money as possible.”

Weed said there should be multiple industry meetings over the coming weeks to refine ideas for how to apply for competitive funds.

CTED plans to hold a conference on the stimulus in four to six weeks. The agency is working on a plan for spending stimulus funds, and hopes to discuss the first version of that plan at the conference. The plan is due to the federal government May 12.

To understand where money is going and how it will be disbursed, Weed said CTED needs to know where the state legislature will decide to send money.

CTED already has 10 percent of its stimulus funds. It will get another 40 percent when it releases its plan to the federal government. It will get the last 50 percent based on its disbursal of already received funds. “We're going to get more than our fair share of that $41 million.”