Daily Republic Todd R. Hansen
Regional economic leader all in on California Forever vision | Solano Business | dailyrepublic.com
FAIRFIELD — Business and government leaders met Wednesday morning for a bit of breakfast and to gaze into what everyone hopes will be a prosperous future.
That sightline is obscured right now by a host of distractions, not the least of which are the Middle East conflicts, tariffs, the trade war and other economic “headwinds.”
Because small businesses are often most impacted by those outside influences, the effects could be especially difficult in Solano County where those smaller enterprises define the local economy.
“It’s still a place for small businesses to thrive,” economist Rob Eyler, a professor at California State University, Sonoma and head of Economic Forensics and Analytics in Petaluma, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday when he presented the 2024 Index of Economic and Community Progress.
Eyler was also a panelist at the breakfast, along with Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, and Michael Likosky, partner with Results. Chris Rico, president and chief executive officer for the EDC, moderated the discussion.
The Solano Economic Development Corp. June Breakfast Meeting was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield.
Businesses with 20 or fewer employees represent more than 80% of the workforce, the index states.
The growth industries through 2030, the index states, will be transportation and warehousing; healthcare; arts and entertainment; information and technology and professional services – though nothing particularly dramatic.
Eyler said as California grows, so too will Solano.
However, the economic pressures could force small businesses, particularly retail, to shrink its space, and with it, its workforce. That also means starter jobs will be less available.
Those same pressures also will be felt most poignantly in disadvantaged communities, mostly communities of color.
Eyler said there are manufacturing opportunities for Solano, particularly in Vacaville’s biotech and life science clusters, industries Eyler said could soon be seen in places like Dixon, too.
Planning and investment into energy, infrastructure and other growth needs are real-time necessities.
While agriculture looks to be flat as a job generator over the next five years, its values are expected to rise. The look of the industry is expected to change, too.
Supervisor John Vasquez said Solano County could be growing greenhouses rather than field crops in open spaces.
Much of that gazing at the EDC meeting was toward what Solano County does not have – or not enough of – what it really has not planned for and for which it faces stiff national – if not global – competition to get.
Likosky said, however, that Solano County is positioned right. It just needs to be ready when the opportunities arrive, and to be connected to help get to that point. His message took the room around the world, emphasizing that trade and tariffs must be viewed as parts of the economic picture.
Strategies can be developed, he said, to sidestep some of the pitfalls.
Energy is at the top of the list for needs in Solano County.
The discussion included adding new-age nuclear power, perhaps as a replacement to Valero in Benicia. But renewable sources are more likely. If nuclear power is to be considered, the communities must be fully educated and must buy in to make it work.
Bellisario told the group it is wise to keep an eye on the global picture, but maybe the focus needs to be closer to home.
That includes a renewed shipbuilding industry and the general California Forever development vision.
“That is a huge transformational opportunity for Solano County,” said Bellisario, who is clearly all in on the proposal.
The shipbuilding aspect has received a great deal of support, at virtually all levels, across the county and beyond. The major question has been whether there will be funding necessary to make it work, and if so, how does Solano get a share.
Bellisario believes there will be a great deal of funding available – both public and private. The key for Solano, he said, is to build the relationships that will give it access to those dollars. That includes developing regional partnerships so there is a united front when seeking funds.
An emphasis on what the project could mean for jobs also is critical, Bellisario said. That means not just jobs in the shipbuilding industry, but the workforce that can be created from all the support industries that are necessary but can be located across the county and the region.
Eyler did not mention the California Forever vision in his Economic Index presentation, whether it be the shipbuilding element or the energy, industry and other elements the development organization has touted.
Eyler said in an interview the reason he left California Forever out is because there is no plan to review.
“Once it becomes more of a plan,” Eyler said, “then absolutely it has to be taken more seriously.”
Nor did Eyler mention Travis Air Force Base, but in the same interview, said he still thinks there are economic opportunities by building support industry around the base needs and growth.
Eyler’s message at the EDC event was not that far from Bellisario’s localized vision, with the added nuance that Solano County should narrow its economic development goals and go to work planning for and investing in what it will take to reach those goals.
It was a response to the question of whether Solano County should expect to lose some of its cultural heritage in the face of economic change.
Eyler said the county does not need to lose that lifestyle but rather plan a future that is inclusive to it.