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closeOrganizations eager to build on departing city staff member’s example
Economic development remains in forethought of city, Main Street and Chamber after Puyallup employee leaves position
Chris Albert
The city of Puyallup and organizations focused on economic development lost a key contributor when the city’s Economic Development Officer Ellie Chambers left her post to pursue other endeavors on April 11.
But the city leaders and organizations like the Puyallup Main Street Association and the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce are confident that economic development plans and work that has been done will not falter.
“We feel that we’re going to be able to keep moving forward,” said Sally Zeiger Hanson, executive director of the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce.
Chambers was key in getting an economic task force together so all parties involved in the economic development in Puyallup could work together toward common goals, she said.
“Ellie was the person who not only knew everyone in the community but had the ear of so many in the community,” said Dave Eatwell, executive director of the Puyallup Main Street Association. “She was a place where people and processes came together.”
Plans for a vibrant local economy are in place and a lot of the strategies can be attributed to the work Chambers put in, Zeiger Hanson said.
“A number of the processes and projects that we undertook as a part of a broader scope, that Ellie had initiated, we will continue,” Eatwell said.
Eatwell and Zeiger Hanson agree that what she was so good at was being a connector to the city.
“One role that she played that we need the city to remember is that she was our connection to the city,” Zeiger Hanson said. “We still need that entity in the city so that we are all on the same page.”
It’s a relationship that City Manager Gary McLean recognizes as very important to the economic growth of the area.
“I know he is cognizant of the partners she was involved in,” Zeiger Hanson said. “Ellie really leaves a legacy of partnerships here. We’re all ready to continue that work and look forward to the city’s support on that.”
Economic development efforts are taking place throughout the city, McLean said, and include targeting grant funding, partnerships with Good Samaritan Hospital, the South Hill Mall, Pierce College, the Benaroya group, the Puyallup Main Street Association, the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce and a number of other parts.
“We’re going to miss Ellie, but we’re taking steps to move forward,” McLean said. “The entire city team is working on it.”
McLean is taking a look at how the city can best fill the void left by Chambers before deciding how, when or if to fill the vacant position.
“When you lose a resource like Ellie, it’s a good time to reflect on how we can work better to build a better community,” Eatwell said. “That means finding that vision that works for everyone or for as many people as possible.”
Economic development is one of many city priorities, McLean said.
Maintaining and strengthening communication between organizations is key to that growth, Eatwell said.
“The reason that I feel communication on an ongoing basis is important is because with the economy turning more tightly wound, resources will become tighter,” he said. “It’s communication that allows you to get the right thing done the first time.”
Municipalities employee different mechanisms to address economic development, Eatwell said.
“Whatever form that takes I think the most important trait is responsiveness and that is someone who answers the phones everyday,” he said.
Chambers was always high on the Main Street organization’s speed dial, Eatwell said, because she knew the answers or who to talk to.
“The primary role of that kind of person is communication and the sharing of information,” he said.