Letter to the Hon. Wynn Coggins, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce - Harder Pushes US Economic Development Agency to Support Crows Landing Projec

Letter

Dear Ms. Coggins,

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. With the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans are currently jobless, and it is imperative that steps are taken to invest in much-needed job creation. I write to request robust federal funding for the development of the Crows Landing Industrial Park in Stanislaus County, California.

After the Great Recession of 2008, my district was one of the hardest hit in the country and one of the last to recover from the recession's devastating economic effects. We are once again experiencing economic impacts due to the current pandemic with approximately 1 in 10 individuals unemployed in Stanislaus County (the County). Economic development is needed now more critically than ever.

The Crows Landing Industrial Park project would enable businesses to engage in mutually beneficial public-private partnerships with the County and create more than 14,000 local jobs -- jobs that are vitally needed to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. This project also meets the objectives of the Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs as a result of its ability to: create and retain jobs, advance innovation, enhance manufacturing capacities, provide workforce development opportunities, and grow economies that attract foreign direct investment. As one of the state's most severely economically distressed regions, the area is ripe for advancing economic opportunities and makes for a sound federal investment. As one of EDA's designated Opportunity Zones, the project further qualifies for the program's maximum 80 percent federal cost share contribution.

The County needs federal aid to upgrade failing water infrastructure for this project to advance. Over the past five years, Stanislaus County has already invested several million dollars in the project's pre-planning and design. The project now requires $15 million for final engineering, design and construction.

The County is dedicating $7.5 million in funding for the new water system. An additional $7.5 million is needed for the water infrastructure upgrade and I request EDA Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs including CARES Act Funds at a 50 percent of federal cost share of $7.5 million for the project.

The first phase of the project's development project is expected to rapidly benefit the County's economy by adding over 1,300 new jobs within five years after the water system is completed. As a result, EDA's investment would have a near-term job creation benefit at a cost of less than $5,800 per job with even greater economic dividends over the longer term as the project's full build-out occurs and over 14,000 people work daily at the Crow's Landing Industrial Park.

The economic crisis felt in many communities across the country underscores your agency's vitally important role in providing aid to develop land, create jobs, and foster economic growth. I hope we can work together to ensure this critically important project receives the federal support it deserves. Thank you for your consideration of my funding request and I look forward to your response.

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