Economic Development Discussion, Post #3

A reader comments:

Since 1951 we have been  visitors to our cottage at Point Bob. All of our children have enjoyed the time and now our grandkids are enjoying it.

For years, I have wondered how any of the permanent residents  eke out enough money to live at the Point.

Point Roberts has some issues primarily being cut off from the rest of US.  It could  become a destination and attract more visitors, but would need a destination point.  Maple beach was once a destination, but now [the county] has basically taken away all of public parking, so visitors  have a tough time going there. Visitors used to keep at least a couple of well-known stores going strong.

The fishing at the Point used to be excellent, with many coming down to fish. The Point is surrounded by water on three sides. Has to be the only place in North America that is surrounded by water and has No Public Launch ramp. Find a place to launch and they will come. There is a place for a ramp over by the Marina breakwater that is supposed to be public property, but has somehow been taken over by marina and seems to be a “no Trespass” area.

The big yellow Cannery building should have been a destination, but instead sits empty and deteriorating, If they had gone one step more and restored the pier that used to be there, it would have been a great destination supporting lots of local business.

A good bar with entertainment would be a great attraction, but from what I understand the border folks will not  allow local Canadian bands to come and play at the Point.   I forgot to mention that we at Point Roberts could have lightning speed internet if we could  connect to the big Fiber optic cable out by the lighthouse. I believe it is one of the main lines feeding Vancouver.

All of this said, I do enjoy the peace and quiet, but still feel bad about those that are try to make a living. Perhaps a destination for Parcel pickup and Gas is all the Point can expect. I think not.

---R.W.

A Different View on Economic Development for the Point

I enjoyed your whimsically negative blog about an economic development plan for Point Roberts. In fact, there is such a plan, which was adopted by the Point Roberts Taxpayers’ Association in 2012 and updated in 2014. Attached is a copy. We acknowledge that the targets for employment and business growth are vague; this is because there is practically no economic data available for the Point.

We would be the first to admit that having an economic development plan does not automatically bring economic development, which is tough to achieve given the numerous constraints we face. We have, however, found it a useful reference when we consider issues such as the radio towers or the replacement of the pier at Lighthouse Marine Park. We think it is helpful for a voice representing residents/taxpayers who can speak positively about the mutual benefits that accrue to both permanent and seasonal residents from sustainable, harmonious economic activity that contributes to the quality of Point Roberts for all of us. We are particularly interested in the opportunities that may be on the bright side of some of our significant constraints, such as the border, which can be variously viewed as our biggest problem or the saviour of our unique community. Certainly a number of our businesses such as gas stations and parcel depots are there strictly because of the border, whatever we might think about their contribution to the community.

Economic development is as much about retaining existing businesses as it is about attracting new ones. For example, through our participation in the Border Issues Committee we have supported (thus far unsuccessfully) efforts by Brewster’s to be allowed to employ Canadian chefs on a part-time basis, because there are no chefs resident in Point Roberts and none on the US mainland who are willing to going through the border four times for an evening’s work. It is very difficult to operate a quality restaurant without this kind of expert help.

We are realizing that this objective of business retention may become even more important now that gasoline prices and the Canadian dollar have declined significantly and appear likely to stay low for some time. Those trends will affect everything from the amount of traffic through the border (maybe a good thing) to property values (which are totally driven by the Canadian dollar).

In short, we think that having a thoughtful and constructive perspective on the economic future of the Point may help us to build a better community for all. It can certainly do no harm.

Ken Cameron FCIP RPP

[the following is the first page of the economic development plan that Mr. Cameron refers to in his comment.  much thanks to him for his response.  judy ross]

Purpose: To promote increased business and employment opportunities in Point Roberts, 

while preserving its natural beauty and small town charm – our biggest benefits for both 

residents and visitors.

Vision: A sustainable community that can provide jobs and local economic development 

to support its permanent residents by meeting the needs of both permanent and seasonal 

residents while preserving and enhancing Point Roberts’ unique lifestyle.

1. Significantly increase the total number of jobs in Point Roberts by 2020.

2. Increase the proportion of jobs that can support a family by 2020.

3. Incubate or attract more new businesses in Point Roberts by 2020.

1. Encourage businesses and residents in Point Roberts to “buy local” to keep money 

circulating in the community.

2. Support initiatives to encourage visitors to extend their stay in Point Roberts.

3. Target and recruit appropriate businesses and residents for whom Point Roberts offers a

unique locational advantage.

4. Build the economy by building community through enhanced communications (eg. Point-

Interface, Point Roberts Radio) stronger artistic and social activities (eg. Arts and Music 

Festival, July 1/4) and enhanced amenities for residents and visitors alike (eg. Marine 

5. Work with other community partners and government agencies to maximize the 

economic advantages provided by the Canada-U.S. border and to minimize the 

disadvantages.

6. Protect the natural environment and enhance the built environment as key economic

assets.

Economic Development in Point Roberts

In the 20+ years I've lived here, I've gone to a lot of meetings of one sort or another.  The quilters' group is an exception, but otherwise I can't think of a single group that has not at one time or another, and more often more often, brought up the issue of "Economic Development."  "What we need in Point Roberts is an economic development plan," some guy pontificates.  How that would happen, is not further discussed.

My educational background is in literature, philosophy, law, and medicine, so I wouldn't be looking to me for enlightenment on economic development.  And yet, at least three of those give me some imaginative reach to a Point Roberts that has economic development.   Since it's a rural area, there would be farms with large machines that would need maintenance by well-paid employees.  (Not so much since our scant total of almost 5 square miles is not going to provide much in the way of agricultural development.  Forestry?  Well, we could cut down all the trees in Point Roberts in a couple of weeks, I suppose, and then our main claim to tourism would be gone.  A series of small factories producing....what?  Given the necessary border issues, not very likely because not very competitive.  We could have a lot of home-based consultants providing services over the internet, which might be doable if we had internet with any great speed, which we do not.  But even if we did, such consultant businesses don't hire a lot of employees, so.....

Our major businesses are package/parcel services and gas stations.  Is there a plan by which we could have even more of these and would anybody think that was a good idea?  The tourism business has some play: you can come here and go to the beach or rent a bicycle or go fishing off the pier (if there were a pier) or go to the library.  The library is available year round but the beach and bicycles are very much a partial year activity, and the fishing?  Perhaps don't ask but the County thinks maybe next year, or maybe the year after that.  Or sometime.  And then there is the fact that there are only 1300 of us who are permanent residents and half of us are retired and 200 are kids, neither of which groups is looking for good-paying jobs.  Maybe a tiny town devoted to assisted living services?

Well, my imaginative expedition fails to find economic development in our future.  Someone at those meetings is always touting 'an artist colony' or 'a concert venue', although they don't explain exactly what is the economic development likely from an artist colony, or why the Trinity Lutheran Church is not already a terrific concert venue for small audiences.  And our current concert series, which is very high quality, does not exactly fill that space week after week.  "Let's go down to the Point and buy some gas, pick up a package, and go to a concert"...Doesn't ring true to me.

So, perhaps some of our readers can tell us what would be the elements of an economic development plan for Point Roberts.  I've read a fair amount on this topic around the net, and the descriptions of the places looking for development never seem to come with the problematic aspects of the Point.  I found this site particularly helpful.  The last few pages include survey instruments that are particularly informative and fun to try to fill out.  One of the surveys inquires about 20 things we should have to pursue economic development.  Police and fire departments were the only things I was confident I could say yes to what with the Border personnel from Homeland Security, 1 County sheriff, and about 30 volunteer firemen who live in Canada or somewhere else in the state of Washington.  Well, sort of yes...



http://dasnr22.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1630/AGEC-859web.pdf