Solano Economic Update: March 26

MARCH 26

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UPDATE MARCH 26' UPDATE

CHRIS RICO

President & CEO

Dear Members, Partners, and Friends of the EDC,

In keeping with our recent focus on the possibility of building ships once again in Solano County, I wanted to share some important progress in that direction. Last month I took an early morning Ferry to San Francisco to meet a delegation of diplomats and shipbuilders. This group included Saab, Korean officials, Swedish officials, Japanese officials, and Industrial developers focused on maritime assets. America is determined to build ships again and these countries, and companies domiciled in these countries are buying up shipyards, dry docks, and ports around the country. It had rained for much of the previous week, so the trip back to Vallejo was spectacular. When we rounded the south side of Mare Island and the Vallejo waterfront came into view, they were definitely shocked and delighted by what they saw. Thanks to our friends at STA, we had several vehicles to shuttle our delegates around Solano. The first stop was the Working Waterfront Coalition training center on Mare Island. Our guests were treated to a comprehensive look at this important workforce development program. Sal Vaca and his team have been doing great work standing up and growing this apprenticeship in recent years. Next we stopped by the Mare Island Company where Brian Nagy and his team gave our guests a bird's eye view of myriad opportunities to reignite maritime development on the island. Our third stop was in Benicia at Amports. As I mentioned previously, Benicia is working with Amports to modernize and electrify their deepwater port, which Amports currently leases. At the moment Amports uses this location for what’s known as a “Roro” activity - roll on, roll off. Thousands of cars are processed and temporarily stored there. With the renewed interest in shipbuilding, there’s a possibility for some higher value jobs and economic activity at this location.

We ended our day at Cal Poly Maritime, the crown jewel for a potential maritime renaissance in Solano. Corey Cook and his team have been doing a bang up job of elevating this underutilized institution. Our guests were treated to a tour, and heard from Stewart Knox, the California Secretary of Labor, Jeff Armstrong, President of Cal Poly, Supervisor Cassandra James, and representatives from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. We also presented them with an Opportunity Paper that we prepared in partnership with Vallejo, Benicia, STA, and MTC ABAG. We ended a day with a reception hosted by Cal Poly Maritime, Go BIZ, and the Governor’s Military Council. Needless to say, our guests were really impressed.

Lastly, I want to address the spate of closures in Solano County. These are certainly challenging times. From Valero, to Budweiser, to Jelly Belly, Mare Island Dry Dock and Harbinger, we’re losing well over a thousand good jobs. The good news is, we have tremendous opportunities to create thousands of living wage, union jobs if we go after these shipbuilding opportunities. Lets make it happen. Wishing you good health and prosperity.

Chris Rico

President/CEO

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