Business Oregon

by Stephanie Prybyl, Business Oregon Review of recent event: Sept 13-14, 2021

Do you care about infrastructure? Are you a member of our dynamic infrastructure sector, consisting of community leaders, financiers, regulators, service providers, developers and more? Do you recognize resilient infrastructure as key to solutions that will overcome economic, social and environmental uncertainty?

About the Summit:

Jointly presented by Business Oregon and the Northwest Environmental Business Council, and in partnership with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Infrastructure Summit explored the interconnectedness of basic infrastructure with community and economic development and long-term sustainability and resilience. This unique event featured 5 keynote presentations and 24 educations sessions across 4 distinct tracks to engage the latest knowledge and best practices, develop business and foster relationships.

Summit Preparation:

A lot of preparation goes into an event of this size and scale. The Summit’s purpose was spearheaded by a Leadership Roundtable, a group of multi-disciplined professionals who gauge peer status and have an eye on the horizon, so as to anticipate Oregon infrastructure needs. The culmination of discussions held last spring was presented at the conference opening. Representing port districts at this forum was Michele Bradley, Tillamook Bay, and Lisa Mittelsdorf, Morrow. Many thanks to both of them for committing to this effort!

Direction stemming from the Leadership Roundtable was implemented by the Planning Committee, a group of multidisciplined professionals who coordinate among the infrastructure sector and manage logistics behind conference sessions. Representing port districts in this capacity was David Ashton, Portland. David has assisted with multiple conferences and is excellent at honing relevant information for the benefit of attendees.

Featuring the Blue Economy:

Like prior years, educational sessions spanned tracks about infrastructure fundamentals, evolving topics, adaptation and resiliency. But *NEW* this year was a track dedicated to the Blue Economy, highlights of which included, but are not limited to:

What is the Blue Economy - OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center representatives denoted this concept consists of 6 sectors (living resources, marine construction, marine transportation, off shore mineral extraction, ship/boat rebuild, tourism/recreation) impacting 8 regions, 30 coastal states and 400 coastal counties. To become a leader Oregon must create a Blue Economy Hub/identity, collect and analyze data, develop the next generation of workforce, collaborate over innovation, advance blue technology and create opportunity for historically underserved populations.

The Challenge of Resilient Ports - The Port of Portland’s Resilience Program was featured, which seeks to reduce vulnerability to multiple hazards and recover, adapt and return operations to normal when faced with challenge. The panel told the story of how the Port responded to the State’s Resilience Plan and worked with a consulting firm to prioritize a seismically resilient PDX runway within planning and budget.

Economics of Infrastructure and Place- Approaches to infrastructure vary depending upon regional economies. This session featured port districts sharing how infrastructure development plays a role within their respective community: Morrow saves money in building projects due to in-house talent; Cascade Locks improves a distressed local economy by expanding its business park; Newport keeps it eyes on the global economy with its international marine terminal.

On Land or in Water: Asset Management Fundamentals - As a first of its kind for in-water infrastructure, US DOT discussed the development of its Waterfront Asset Management Tool, which will assist public and private port districts in establishing risk based, asset management plans. Between state and federal presenters, stakeholders left with an understanding of how to prioritize maintenance projects and justify the spending of scare resources for maintenance and/or resiliency priorities.

Keynote: The Story Behind Washington’s Maritime Blue’s Cluster Development - The Summit remains grateful to Jennifer States for explaining how an audacious goal materialized into the State’s new collaboration model for accelerating Blue Economy innovation in support of economic growth, ecosystem health and equitable communities.

Next Year: Save the dates! October 24-25, 2022

The Oregon Infrastructure Summit makes for a valuable opportunity to showcase your organization and services to hundreds of professionals active in the infrastructure sector. Afraid you missed out this year? Fear not, join us next year. Summit partners would be pleased to work with you over conference planning or sponsorship, as a presenter or an attendee! Learn more at www. theoregonsummit.com.