Marin Economic Forum wins $150,000 county grant
By Nels Johnson
The Marin Economic Forum got a $150,000 matching grant from the county this week as its departing executive warned that the county is not immune to the drought.
The county board approved the grant amid news forum CEO Robert Eyler will step down this summer to take on new responsibilities at Sonoma State University, where he has been promoted to dean of international education. He will remain as an associate of the forum, serving as an economist.
Eyler told supervisors the biggest problem the Marin economy faces over the next year is the drought, which will wallop other regions in California, then have a ripple effect “permeating most parts of the state. … It will trickle upward toward higher income households” including those in Marin. One benefit, he added, will be innovations in “water-smart technologies.”
The forum, a business booster that helps “inform and guide the Marin economy in a manner that is consistent with the sustainable goals of the countywide plan,” has a $375,000 budget next year, including $167,000 from other sources to meet the county’s matching requirement.
The forum “works to retain and attract targeted industries while enhancing social equity and protecting the environment, providing the public and policy makers with useful Marin County economic data and coordinating activities that support a sustainable economy,” according to County Administrator Matthew Hymel. The county board wished Eyler well in his new job and indicated it will continue to be a big supporter of the forum.
“We need to pay attention to our economic development,” Supervisor Steve Kinsey noted.
Supervisor Judy Arnold, who launched the forum six years ago, noted it has become a thriving organization, issuing studies and reports helping organizations and agencies including the cities of Novato, Sausalito and Mill Valley. Forum reports included an analysis of development at Marinwood Plaza.
“We’re going to miss you, but you’ll still be around,” Arnold told Eyler.
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