(Tri-County Economic Development District)

TEDD is a public, non-profit organization formed under the laws of the State of Washington and registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. The TEDD Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from local units of government and private corporations located within Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties.

Formed in 1969, TEDD was one of the first economic development districts in the State of Washington. The purpose of formation was to encourage economic development in the region and to seek resources for planning and funding infrastructure improvements for the communities within the region. Congress provides funds to economic development districts throughout the United States under the direction of the Economic Development Administration, a division of the United States Department of Commerce. These funds support economic development projects that create jobs and improve regional diversification.

Designation as an economic development district gives the region access to federal funding targeted for investment in business and industrial site infrastructure. An economic development district also provides public
agencies, non-profit agencies, citizens and the private sector a means to March 2007 2007 CEDS Page 7 of 69
coordinate and link business development, infrastructure planning and construction activities across jurisdictional boundaries.

TEDD is the lead agency for the Northeast Washington Regional Transportation Planning Organization (NEW RTPO) and for the Five Star Enterprise Community. TEDD also functions as a relending agency for the United States Department of Agriculture/Rural Development through the March 2007 2007 CEDS Page 8 of 69 USDA/RD Intermediary Relending Program operating a $3+ million loan fund over a rural ten county area. EDA also contributed to a rural loan program operated by TEDD, the total amount of funding available between these programs exceeds $4 million. In addition, TEDD manages a multi-unit small business incubator created with financial assistance from EDA.

• Building community economic development capacity by communicating and educating the public on what economic development is, how to do it and what TEDD does
• Planning and developing infrastructure
• Securing funds through grant identification and writing, and retaining those funds through good investment decisions
• Maintaining a vision that includes all communities in the district in order to provide business assistance, information and knowledge of business needs
• Supporting business retention, expansion and recruitment
• Developing and coordinating partnerships by generating public and private involvement