Claire Bunney, left, speaks to a group at a TwispWorks listening session, Wednesday (May 22) at the Winthrop Rink. TwispWorks Executive Director Don Linnertz is third from left.
Seeks public input on economy-related programs, efforts
TwispWorks rates its first decade a success, but don’t look for a “mission accomplished” banner at their 10th-anniversary celebration.
The organization wants to chart its course for the next 10 years, and it has been seeking direction from arts organizations, civic groups and the general public in listening sessions held throughout the valley.
TwispWorks has just about fully converted the former U.S. Forest Service ranger station at the south end of Twisp into a 6.4-acre campus, also called TwispWorks, that houses businesses, schools and art studios. The 38 TwispWorks “partners” who lease space on the site (including the Methow Valley News) come close to replacing the 100 jobs lost when the Forest Service left the site more than a decade ago.
An anonymous donor purchased the old ranger station for $1 million as a loan to TwispWorks, challenging the nonprofit to become self-sustaining within 10 years. The group met the challenge, and the donor will forgive the loan and hand over the property deed. TwispWorks will present the deed at the 10th anniversary party, on June 29.
For all that TwispWorks has accomplished in 10 years — the jobs created, the buildings renovated — more is needed to revive an economy that, a couple generations ago, relied heavily on major employers such as the Forest Service and Wagner Mill. The mill had 400 employees when it closed in 1985.
People at the listening sessions on May 15 in Twisp and May 22 in Winthrop had a lot to say about the limits of the local economy.
“As a small community, it’s hard to have a stable business because there just aren’t enough customers,” said Peter Morgan, who attended the session in Twisp. Morgan, who moved to the Methow from Seattle, owned the Methow Valley Inn for eight years.
“People are willing to work hard and long, and not make a lot of money,” said Sandy Moody, who owns Methow Suites Bed & Breakfast in Twisp and is president of the Twisp Chamber of Commerce. “I think the people who end up staying are of that nature.”
One person who fits that description is Scot Domergue, who moved to the valley in 1977. Domergue needed to be resourceful and creative to make it in the valley. He designs and builds boats and has worked as a stone mason.
“I never made a good living, by outside standards,” Domergue said at the Twisp session. “I’ve always lived simply and enjoy living simply.”
Living simply and creatively in the valley is becoming more difficult, however, even as Twisp seeks to establish an identity as an artists’ haven. Second-home buyers from the Seattle area are driving up real estate prices.
That squeezes the significant number of people on the other end of the economic spectrum because they can’t afford rent. One-fourth of workers in the Methow are in low-paying jobs in accommodations and food services.
“It’s hard to live here for people who don’t make a lot of money,” said Derek Van Marter, a business owner who attended the Winthrop session. That makes it hard for him to find good employees, he added.
“Trustworthy, dependable people are the crux of a successful business,” said Van Marter, who runs Methow House Watch, which looks after the homes of absentee owners.
TwispWorks Executive Director Don Linnertz, who helped lead both listening sessions, underscored another limitation mentioned by several people: the shortage of carpenters, plumbers and electricians.
“Nobody that lives here wants to go into those kinds of trades,” Linnertz said. “This is one of the toughest things — we’ve been trying to figure this out.”
Another problem: Older people are leaving the valley because they can’t get adequate care and are less able to manage their land.
If older residents leave the valley to downsize their living space and receive more health care, businesses will feel the loss, Sarah Brooks said at the Winthrop session.
After outlining the problems, session attendees were asked to come up with solutions. They ranged from ambitious — a health care co-op run by TwispWorks, to enable small businesses to attract employees — to mundane: more UPS drop-off locations, or a new retailer where people can buy underwear and socks.
Participants widely agreed that TwispWorks should advocate for improved broadband service, for the benefit of artisans seeking more customers online, and for a growing group of tech-industry workers who are choosing the Methow as their home and remote work site.
Several people at the Twisp session, and even some in Winthrop, suggested TwispWorks focus its efforts strictly in Twisp. One could argue Winthrop doesn’t need as much help with its economy. The town of 400 or so residents overtly courts tourists and swells to 5,000 people or more on a busy summer day.
On the other hand, geography doesn’t necessarily define TwispWorks, even if people associate the organization with its eponymous campus in Twisp. Initiatives such as Methow Made (locally produced goods) and the Methow Investment Network (small-business loans) operate throughout the valley.
“We have to look at economic development valley-wide,” said Anne Eckmann, who is co-owner of Blue Sky Real Estate in Winthrop and is on the TwispWorks board. Eckmann attended the Winthrop session.
“I feel like the valley is so connected, you can’t really isolate,” she added.
