Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Economic Development Committee Summary Report

By Pat Higgins

The Executive Summary from the Final Report of the Economic Development Committee that Pat Higgins organized.

See the full report at http://www.humboldtbay.org/harbordistrict/newsroom/Humboldt Bay Economic Development Committee.pdf

Written by Pat Higgins

Executive Summary

The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commission passed a motion in March 2009 to allow formation an Economic Development Committee in response to a proposal from Third Division Commissioner Mike Wilson. The committee was comprised of entrepreneurs, economic developers, government planners and interested citizens (Table 1). Meetings were a series of forums that explored a wide array of options for economic development around Humboldt Bay. Fifth Division Commissioner Patrick Higgins served as the Chair and convened the first meeting in May 2009 and the committee met monthly through October 2009.

The Harbor District has been an important player in economic activities around Humboldt Bay and the findings and recommendations discuss how various options and activities overlap with the current version of the District's Strategic Plan (2007-2011). Committee members stressed the importance of defining opportunities that have the greatest potential, identifying who the players are and why they are motivated, and also specifying what barriers they face in realizing their business plans. The ultimate objective is for the Harbor District (and other community entities) to work with the entrepreneurs to help overcome impediments. Some ideas that emerged during forums are already coming to fruition, but others may take more time to develop so the report breaks prospects into near-term and longer-term categories. Some business prospects emerged outside the committee and they are added below in appropriate sections.

All Economic Development Committee meetings were professionally recorded by the Humboldt Access project and all meetings can be reviewed on the Internet (Table 1). For those not having internet access, meetings can also be made available on DVD by Harbor District staff (443- 0801). A full roster of committee members is available as Table 2.