Few if any residents of Island County will look back at 2011 as a good year, but it was perhaps a year in which we started to transition toward better times.

The prime example is the SE Pioneer Way reconstruction projects, resulting in a new look and one-way street in downtown Oak Harbor. The project had plenty of critics, but now that it’s substantially complete, it looks like the proponents were right. It’s a wide, beautiful boulevard with easy parking and pedestrian amenities. Once the power lines are placed under ground, the public art work is in place and flowers start blooming, it will become the magnet to townsfolk and visitors alike that proponents imagined.

This is an example of what government can do to help the economy: Provide the public infrastructure needed to help businesses succeed.

Other good news for the future is that doubts about the basing of the new P-8 Poseidon were quashed. Whidbey Naval Air Station will be receiving the new patrol planes and, combined with the new EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, the base’s long-term future seems to be secured and it will continue to be the backbone of Island County’s economy.

It was also good news that Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland proposed expanding to Oak Harbor in 2011. If city leaders can help this happen, it will shore up the lagging private sector employment in town.

Meanwhile, Coupeville continues to attract tourists and county government employment has stabilized after several years of downsizing. If the hospital can pass an expansion bond in 2012, that will be a big boost to the town and to the future of health care on the island.

As in many areas of the country, our biggest economic problem is housing. Foreclosures are still taking place, it’s hard for home buyers to raise the cash needed for a big down payment and developers are afraid to build houses because the demand for them is unclear with so many existing houses selling for less.

Once housing turns around, Island County’s economic future will be considerably brighter. Housing construction is historically one of our biggest employers, and lumber, appliance, furniture and home decorating stores need a strong housing market to prosper.

The year 2011 helped put Island County on the right track toward a brighter future. With a little help from our friends in state and federal government, we may finally turn the corner in 2012.