Advisory Board: Economic Development Committee
Subject: Report on Economic Development Work Program
Presenter: Alyson Greenlee Escarzaga, Economic Development Manager
Contact: (925) 655-2783
Information:
Staff report is below.
Referral History and Update:
Since the last meeting of the Committee on April 6, 2026, various elements of the economic development work program have proceeded. This report includes updates on multiple efforts. County staff:
- Convened the Countywide Economic Development Staff Meetings (April 8, 2026 and June 10, 2026)
- Hosted East Bay Economic Development Alliance’s Economic Development Directors’ Council meeting at Department of Conservation & Development (April 9, 2026)
- Participated in EPA Brownfields Coalition Assessment Grant environmental consultant interviews (April 10, 2026)
- Facilitated EPA Brownfields Assessment Coalition group meetings (April 9, 2026, May 7, 2026, and June 18, 2026)
- Attended the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) Annual Conference in Palm Springs (April 15-17, 2026)
- Participated in meetings with the City of Concord, Visit Concord, the Concord Hilton, and the new Courtyard by Marriott/Fairfield by Marriott near Buchana Field Airport to submit a proposal to host the CALED Conference in Concord in 2027 (May 27, 2026)
- Attended the Pleasant Hill Bay Area Rapid Transit Leasing Authority meeting to continue to monitor the status of the development of Block D of the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre Transit Village (April 13, 2026)
- Met with the HDL Companies sales tax briefings (April 21, 2026, August 6, 2026) (See Attachment)
- Attended West County Spring Mega Chamber Expo at Berkeley Country Club in El Cerrito (April 21, 2026)
- Attended Brentwood’s 7th Annual East Bay Business Expo & Job Fair (April 28, 2026)
- Attended the Industrial Association’s Mayor’s Luncheon (April 29, 2026)
- Participated in Just Transition Economic Revitalization Plan consultant interviews (May 5, 2026, and May 20, 2026)
- Attended East Bay Small Business Development Center Access to Capital Summit at California State University East Bay (May 6, 2026)
- Attended East Bay Economic Development Alliance Economic Outlook meeting in San Ramon (May 14, 2026)
- Convened the East County “Taking Your Business to the Next Level” event in Brentwood with 30 business (May 21, 2026)
- Attended Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR) Reconnect meeting in San Francisco (June 1, 2026)
- Attended Local Government Oil & Gas Working Group meeting (June 9, 2026)
- Attended West County Forum “The Good Table” featured speaker in San Pablo (June 11, 2026)
- Attended the Redefining Mobility Summit (June 16, 2026) with Contra Costa Transportation Authority and tour of Byron Airport (June 15, 2026), facilitated introduction to Director of Airports for advanced air mobility defense company
- Participated in Introductory meeting with PG&E’s Economic Development team (July 1, 2026)
- Attended the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce’s State of the County Address (July 14, 2026)
- Submitted to GO-Biz the County’s nominated census tracts for the Opportunity Zone Zones 2.0 (July 20, 2026)
- Participated in Contra Costa Battery Roundtable (August 7, 2026)
- Participated in work sessions organized by the clean-energy nonprofit New Energy Nexus to repackage/rebrand/resubmit the U.S. EDA application for pre-development of sites in the Northern Waterfront (July 21, 2026, July 30, 2026, and August 6, 2026)
- Participated on the interview panels for Economic Development Program Specialist I/II for City of San Leandro (July 7, 2026)
- Attended the Bay Point Municipal Advisory Council Meetings (April 7, 2026, June 2, 2026, and July 7, 2026)
- Attended the Aviation Advisory Committee (July 9, 2026) and held follow-up meeting to discuss economic development collaborations with the Airports Director (July 24, 2026)
- Continued staffing the Governing Board of the Green Empowerment Zone (meetings on May 15, 2026 and July 17, 2026)
- Attended Contra Costa Business Collaborative meeting in Pleasant Hill at Diablo Valley College (July 23, 2026)
- Attended 2026 Central County Multi-Chamber Mega Mixer at Pleasant Hill Community Center (July 30, 2026)
- Distributed the upcoming Industrial & Manufacturing Conference (See Attachment)
- Attending the upcoming 2026 California Land Recycling Conference (See Attachment)
- Assisted over 90 businesses with information and resources including, business site visits, funding resources, contracting opportunities, and more.
- Distributed information to the businesses in the County’s Bludot unincorporated business database (See Attachments).
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
Receive Report from and/or Provide Direction to Staff Regarding County Economic Development Work Program