What We Need: We must diversity our economy with a focus on economic activity that is more resistant to disruption, is guided by sustainability values, takes advantage of the changes that are underway globally, and is better able to be supported by residents.

I am not sure anyone had considered what long-term disruption might mean for Ashland until COVID-19 hit.

Covid-19 arrived on the heals of three summers that were impacted heavily by both the reality and threat of wildfire smoke. Businesses that rely on our visitor economy have been particularly hard hit over the past few years.

The City of Ashland responded by allowing businesses to delay paying Food and Beverage and Transient Occupancy (lodging) Taxes as well as utility payments. The City also matched a $70,000 grant from Business Oregon to support local businesses that did not qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program or the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. And, we have supported efforts by the Chamber of Commerce to encourage Ashland residents to shop local.

City officials and staff worked with the Ashland Chamber of Commerce to bolster the visitor economy during the pandemic while staying within public health guidelines for safe interactions. Through this partnership, the City closed off some downtown street on weekends through the summer to allow businesses to expand spatially to accommodate public health requirements. This was a great opportunity to try out innovative ways for visitors to enjoy our community.

In response to questions regarding why the City wasn’t able to do more to directly assist businesses at that time, I wrote this blog post explaining how funding in local government works and some of the challenges that exist for the City of Ashland, including budget shortfalls were arriving due to COVID-19.

In terms of wildfire smoke, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce has been doing some very good work with the City of Ashland and Asante to help local businesses prepare for and respond to smoke (http://dailytidings.com/archive/chamber-communique-how-to-be-prepared-in-case-smoke-returns).

Going forward, economic resilience will be key. Our visitor economy cannot rely so heavily on the outdoor theater, and our community as a whole needs to continue to diversify our economy to protect us from future disruptions. Our economic reality is intertwined with the decisions we must make about what the Ashland of the future should be. The answers to those questions will help us shape an economic future that is both healthy and resilient.

There are two key places the City of Ashland can focus its efforts in this regard: assisting with moving the Croman Mill project forward so that new commercial/light industrial capacity can be added to the community and continue to advocate for cleanup of the 20 acre Ashland Railroad Yard so that it can potentially be sold and developed into a mix of commercial and residential uses.

The City is not the primary driver of economic development in the community, but it has very important roles and responsibilities in terms of creating an atmosphere within which entrepreneurs can flourish. Moving forward in a strong way means continuing to partner with the Chamber of Commerce, SOU, OSF, and other organizations to focus our economic development efforts.