12 hours Ago By Todd R. Hansen
FAIRFIELD — The Solano EDC has released a letter signed by 25 supporters of the proposed Solano Shipbuilding project near Collinsville. "We the undersigned invite the US Navy, private shipbuilders, and other maritime industrial base stakeholders to locate in Solano County and put our county’s unique location and assets to work in making a major contribution to national security efforts, while bringing shipbuilding back to Solano County," the letter dated April 28 states. Written on EDC letterhead, but not endorsed by the EDC board, it was released through California Forever.
Chris Rico, president and chief executive of the Solano Economic Development Corp., said it was strictly a voluntary decision by EDC members to sign the letter or not. He said some members represent other boards and were uncomfortable signing without consensus of those boards, while others were cautious because of the political tornado that is California Forever.
"At the center of our county, and the greatest driver of our regional economy, is Travis Air Force Base, the National Security Intermodal Epicenter for the West Coast," the letter states. "In partnership with the Travis Community Consortium, a regional association of businesses and affiliated governments that advocates for the long-term sustainability of Travis Air Force Base and supports its mission, we are working to revive Northern California’s heritage of defense manufacturing and strengthen the defense industrial base. As the former home of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the largest shipyard on the West Coast, our county has a proud ship building heritage.
"To this day, Solano County remains a home to much of Northern California’s skilled blue-collar workforce. With its military heritage, skilled labor pool, and strategic position between Sacramento and Silicon Valley, in the Northern California megaregion that is home to 12.6 million residents and $1.
2 trillion in GDP, Solano County is the ideal place to expand America’s defense and maritime industries. "With the opportunity to establish a new Solano Shipyard in southeastern Solano County, the Solano EDC is committed to marshalling all available resources to enhance our nation’s ship building capabilities on the West Coast, including working with our regional partners to further develop the skilled workforce necessary to fulfill this mission." Rico said in an interview that it is hard to imagine anyone in the county not supporting a project that would bring tens of thousands of jobs to the region.
He also defended California Forever for trying to do something with its lands just like every other developer in the county. Moreover, it comes at a time the county could be seeing the loss of the Valero refinery in Benicia. "This is an even bigger opportunity for those those displaced workers," Rico said.
Along with Rico, those who signed the letter are: Vacaville Mayor John Carli, Hilton Garden Inn Fairfield, Bridgit Koller, EDC board member, Medic Ambulance, Valero Benicia Refinery, Placer Title Company, NorthBay Health, Visit Vacaville, Dixon Chamber of Commerce, Terra Realty Advisors, George Condon, Dermody Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Northern Solano County Association of Realtors. The others are the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce, Dixon Councilman Kevin Johnson, Solano Community Foundation, Norcal NECA, Bay Area Development, Western States Petroleum Association, Solano Napa SBDC Brooks Pedder and Tony Binswanger, Travis Credit Union, NorCal Carpenters Union, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano and Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez..
