The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

Economists refer to them as green shoots. Port of Vancouver officials see them more realistically, as steel rails atop concrete ties. Home builders see them as pieces of paper, construction permits. For all the rest of us, those visions — whether figurative or literal — represent economic recovery in Clark County.

To be sure, there can be no economic recovery in this county until more jobs are created and the current local unemployment rate of 14.8 percent is cut by one-half or more. There also is no call for celebration at the state level. As the Washington Policy Center reports, Washington has slipped to a 14th ranking among all states in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual “Rich States, Poor States” report. That ranking might seem impressive, but our state has slipped from No. 11 in 2008 and No. 5 last year.

Still, we have before us green shoots, steel rails and paper permits — all pieces of a much larger puzzle called hope.

It was encouraging to have U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., visit our community Tuesday and view the sprouting of what is hoped to be our economic recovery. The senator brought little more than kind words and fierce resolve, but that second factor could ultimately yield local benefits in federal funding of transportation infrastructure.

One particular case in point is the Port of Vancouver. Tucked obscurely into the southwest corner of Clark County is a robust expansion project that proceeds in stark contrast to the Great Recession that rages elsewhere. As Libby Tucker reported in Wednesday’s Columbian, the Port of Vancouver’s $14 million Terminal 5 rail loop is about 80 percent complete. That progress likely surprises most local residents who are not allowed access to the old Alcoa-Evergreen Aluminum site. But thanks to the hidden efforts of 20 full-time contract workers and about 80 others employed by subcontractors and suppliers, 218 acres are being converted from a quiescent, abandoned smelter property to a vibrant industrial site-to-be, home to many miles of multiple rail loops and as many as 1,000 marine and industrial jobs.

Cantwell and port officials have their eyes on up to $25 million in federal funds to improve the port’s freight access. Overall, the port is seeking $50 million to $70 million more to complete its seven-year, $137 million rail expansion plans.

Cantwell understands the potential of Terminal 5 and the rest of the plans. “Before you ship products overseas, you have to move them cost-effectively,” she said during her visit. That same principle holds true in the Columbia River Crossing project, which, for all the public discussions about commuters and through traffic, looms as an enormous factor in improving local freight mobility.

Another Wednesday Columbian story described 105 permits issued last month for new single-family homes; that’s up from only 21 permits in March 2009. It’s good to see early signs of recovery in that sector of the construction business, but as we’ve said before, the key to a balanced local economy is not more residential units; it’s higher demands for office space, high-tech manufacturing and other commercial ventures.

Cantwell supports President Obama’s plan to dedicate $30 billion from the bank bailout to help small banks provide loans to small businesses. How much of that trickles down to Clark County remains to be seen, but early trends at the port and among home builders could lure big chunks of recovery dollars to this area.

Numerous indicators support the claim that Americans have survived the worst part of the Great Recession. But only when we have ricocheted back down from the highest point on the unemployment spike will there be any reason to rejoice.

Print this article