President's Column

By:
Ray Phelps
Chamber President

MUST ATTEND MEETING. Wilsonville Mayor Tim Knapp and Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden will make a joint appearance at your Chamber luncheon on July 13, 2010. These two very good community leaders will be sharing insights on many issues impacting both Cities. This is a must meeting so make plans to attend. I guarantee your time will be well spent.

SUCCESS! Your Chamber, the city, and many of our member businesses wrote to TriMet in late April opposing the agency’s proposed reductions in Westside Express Service (WES) commuter-train transit services. TriMet responded that it will not only continue the same level of WES service, it will work with SMART to identify and implement improvements to our current services. Everyone of us should be proud of our individual and joint efforts to achieve this outcome. This is a tremendous success

BUSINESS ADVOCACY – Oppose Unnecessary higher costs for energy. The Chamber has weighed in on the matter of Portland General Electric’s (PGE) alternative plan for the Boardman Plant in its 2009 Integrated Resource Plan. There is a process now underway to close this plant in 2014. PGE has proposed an alternative approach calling for the closure of this plant in 2020. PGE’s proposal would save PGE customers about $600 million over the next decade, compared to the 2014 closure. Obviously, PGE’s proposal will enable PGE to keep electricity costs reasonable for our businesses.

Your Chamber sent a letter late last month to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) in support of PGE’s 2020 plan, adding your voice to the voices of several other businesses and business organizations supporting the PGE 2020 proposal. Today (May 14), your Board of Directors approved the Chamber to file a Petition to Intervene before the OPUC in support of PGE’s 2020 Plan. The Board took this action to vigorously represent the interests of business and our membership since the economic wellbeing is the Chamber’s first priority.

Additionally, the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce has taken a leadership position as being the only Clackamas County Chamber to take an official supportive position of the Boardman 2020 plan and the only Chamber in Clackamas County to file a Petition to Intervene with the OPUC.

University of Oregon’s Index of Economic Indicators. As I promised you in January, the University’s index rose 0.2% in March 88.9 (1997=100) from a revised February figure of 88.7. KeyBank sponsors this report. The bank’s Wilsonville office has been a Chamber member since 2003 and is a Gold Club member.

Tim Duy, Director of Oregon Economic Forum, reported the pace of improvement slowed in March compared to previous months. For example, the Index for October 2009 was 84.8%. Most March 2010 index components were little changed compared to February 2010, with the exception of solid gains in consumer sentiment and new orders for core capital goods.

Overall, the steady gains in the UO Index – especially the large gains compared to six months ago – signal sustained growth in Oregon. Still, labor market conditions remain challenging, as economic growth falls short of that necessary to generate solid gains in hiring intentions. Although hiring is expected to improve as ongoing recovery improves business confidence, the pace of growth looks consistent with only slow improvements in unemployment.