FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 22, 2006
For more information contact:

Steve Achter, Program Manager of Investment Ready Communities
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2811

Tom Lacock, Senior Marketing and Public Relations Specialist
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2834

Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors to consider grants

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors will consider $11,961,229 in Business Ready Community (BRC) grants and another $1,436,701 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applications at the meeting at 1:15 p.m., Thursday, June 1 at the Parkway Plaza in Casper.

Business Ready Community Grant Applications
Business Council Board recommendations for Business Ready Community Grants will be forwarded to the State Loan and Investment Board for decision at their meeting at 8 a.m. on June 22, 2006 in the Herschler Building, Room 1299, in Cheyenne.

Twelve BRC Grants were submitted. The requests for Business Ready Community grants are:

The city of Evansville requests a $973,646 Business Committed Grant. Funding is for community-owned rail spurs, water, sewer and roads needed to serve PolyPipe, a pipe manufacturer proposing to locate in the Cole Creek Industrial Park. PolyPipe is one of the four largest polyethylene pipe producers in North America. The manufactured product is used for gas gathering, crude transmission, water and sewer lines. The Company will employ approximately 20-25 employees in the first year of operation.

The city of Douglas requests a $1.5 million Business Committed grant for construction of a building to be leased to Turbine Cubs of Wyoming. The city seeks funds for the construction of a 12,000 square foot building to be owned by the community development organization CANDO and leased to Turbine Cubs of Wyoming, LLC (TCOW) for the manufacturing of aircraft kits. TCOW manufactures and assembles three different aircraft replica kits for homebuilders and pilots of experimental aircraft. The business expects to create eight jobs in the next two years with an average wage of $17.93 an hour.

The town of Jackson requests an $810,000 Business Committed grant. The grant will go for purchase of an 1,708 square foot building. The ownership of the building will be turned over to Imagine Jackson, a local community development organization and leased to Square One, Inc., a Wyoming-based R&D company. During the past 12 months, Square One has been awarded major development contracts by the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health and the US Navy. With the new building, Square One anticipates creating eight new jobs with an average annual salary of $68,529.

The town of Afton requests a $934,900 Business Committed grant. The town requests funds to bring an access street and sewer within the old fairground site which was purchased by the town. The town has planned to develop this area for a medical office park since it is adjacent to the hospital. A company called Beyond Home will build a 5,000 sq.ft. assisted living center.

In addition, the town requests funds to bring water and sewer south along US hwy 89 about a mile from the current terminus to an area of town recently annexed. The property is currently developed with a small motel and nine-hole municipal golf course. The project will facilitate the privately financed expansion of the municipal golf course, hotel, restaurant, commercial lots, residential lots, and a church.

Finally, the town requests funds for a sewer extension to a proposed hotel on the south side of Swift Creek. The sewer extension could serve scattered vacant lots north of Swift Creek and existing businesses currently on septic systems.

Big Horn County requests a $1.5 million Community Readiness grant. This grant would allow Big Horn County to install a 10" waterline, an 8" sewer line, and appurtenances to serve the Big Horn Regional Airport near Greybull. The infrastructure will assist a new Fixed Base Operator, B&G Industries of Thermopolis, which bought out Hawkins and Powers thereby retaining 22 former H&P employees. The project will also allow for future business development at the airport.

The city of Douglas requests a $1.3 million Community Readiness grant. The city of Douglas requests funds for the development of Phase Three of the Douglas Business Park. With the proposed third phase, five to six additional lots will be developed with roads, water, and sewer and associated infrastructure. Third phase infrastructure is necessary for the proposed Business Committed project for Turbine Cubs of Wyoming.
The town of Chugwater requests a $658,190 Community Readiness grant. The town of Chugwater and its community development organization, Chugwater Economic Development, Inc., seek funding for the revitalization of 1st Street, Chugwater’s main street. The project involves the purchase of land and installation of water and sewer access along with construction of a 2,400 square foot “business hotel.”

The town of Dubois requests a $320,979 Community Readiness grant. Dubois and its community development organization, Dubois Volunteers, Inc. (DVI) seek funding to construct a 1,750 square foot building with a visitor-oriented pedestrian park on a prime town-owned corner location in downtown. The building will be used to attract a business that will complement existing business inventory and bring year-round jobs to Dubois.

The Platte Valley Joint Powers Board requests a $775,387 Community Readiness grant. The Platte Valley Joint Powers Board requests funds for the educational development infrastructure related to the new community center, which was formerly the town’s middle school. The BRC funded wing of the building will be used for job training, distance learning and business development.

The city of Riverton requests a $1,192.500 Community Readiness grant. This grant would finish infrastructure development at the 80-acre business park adjacent to the Riverton Regional Airport. Since the city’s initial Business Ready Community Grant in June of 2005, a new truss plant, contractor’s shop, and storage yard have located in the park.

The town of Pine Bluffs requests a $455,000 Community Readiness grant. Pine Bluffs is requesting funds for sewer, water, electric, cable, fire hydrants, and paved streets within the 15-acre town-owned industrial park. The town and Business Park Board would like to be better able to respond to business leads generated by the Cheyenne LEADS and the Wyoming Business Council.

The city of Cheyenne requests a $1.5 million Community Readiness grant. Cheyenne LEADS proposes to use $1.5M of BRC Community Readiness funds to purchase condominium space in a technical facility to be constructed in the Cheyenne Business Parkway. The space to be purchased will be constructed in such a way that technology based firms will be able to easily install necessary systems unique to technology research and manufacture.

Community Development Block Grant Applications
The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) is a federally funded pass through grant program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Wyoming has received an annual allocation from a low of $2.2 million, to a high of $3.7 million. For the 2005 program, the state has received $3,571,002.

Eighteen CDBG applications were submitted totaling $1,436,701. The requests for Community Development Block Grants are:

Carbon County requests a $300,000 downtown development grant. CDBG funds will be used to purchase and rehabilitate two buildings (412 and 414 Cedar) for use as a community-owned clothing mercantile. Proceeds from the sale of the stock in the mercantile, totaling $524,850 will be used as working capital.

The town of Lyman requests a $300,000 downtown development grant. The town will use Community Facilities grant funds to renovate and re-open an existing hotel and laundromat.

The city of Powell requests a $169,500 infrastructure grant. CDBG funds, along with funds from Target Powell Valley will be used to extend publicly owned and maintained water and sewer lines as well as streets, curb and gutters to a building site, which will facilitate the move of a construction company to Powell.

The city of Rock Springs requests a $286,951 infrastructure grant. The CDBG funds, together with funds from the YWCA, will be used to design and construct the infrastructure for a new building to be used as a daycare that would be located on property owned by the city of Rock Springs.

The town of Wright requests a $142,500 infrastructure grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the Wright Water and Sewer District will be used to extend water and sewer lines to the site where a new motel will be built.

The town of Cowley requests a $15,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the town of Cowley will be used to hire a consultant to develop a community development plan that addresses land use and zoning, business park development, best use of community assets, and exploring tourism opportunities.

The city of Evanston requests a $25,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the Sento Corporation will be used to hire a consultant to develop a feasibility study for a satellite child care facility and to quantify the demand for services.

The city of Laramie requests a $10,500 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the Laramie Main Street program would be used to conduct an analysis to include: a complete building and business inventory, a definition of the current business environment (identifying anchors, important business clusters, traffic patterns and shopping behaviors), an assessment of the trade area and market competition, identification of current and potential customers, measurement of retail sales, trends and potential market opportunities and potentially a web site design.

The town of Lovell requests an $18,750 planning only grant. The town of Lovell owns a 20 acre parcel of land that presently contains an outdoor riding arena with spectator seating. The town would like to study the potential uses of this land as a business park, costs of development and other related issues in depth.

The town of Mountain View requests a $25,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the town of Mountain View, the town of Lyman, Uinta County and the Fort Bridger Sewer District along with a Mineral Royalty grant (the award will be determined in June) would be used to hire a consulting engineering firm to conduct a capacity and feasibility study including cost estimates and a long-term development and maintenance plan for a regional wastewater system.

The city of Rock Springs requests a $25,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the Sweetwater County Joint Travel and Tourism Board will be used to hire a consultant to prepare the application for designation of “All American Road” through the National Scenic Byways program for portions of Highway 191 and 530 south of Rock Springs and Green River.

The city of Rock Springs requests a $25,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the Rock Springs Urban Renewal Agency will be used to hire a consultant who specializes in waterway re-development to develop a plan and design work for reconstruction of Bitter Creek.

The city of Rock Springs requests a $25,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the city of Rock Springs and the Sweetwater Economic Development Association will be used to hire a consultant who will identify existing and projected housing needs.

Sweetwater County requests a $7,500 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from Sweetwater County Events Complex will be used to hire a consultant to develop a marketing package for the Sweetwater County Events Complex.

The town of Star Valley Ranch requests a $25,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the town of Star Valley Ranch will be used to hire a consultant to develop a master plan including ordinances and addressing a mix of residential, commercial and recreational issues that meets the needs of the community.

Washakie County requests $21,000 planning only grant. CDBG funds along with funds from Washakie County will be used to hire a consultant to conduct a transportation study and make recommendations for more efficient transportation of goods.

The town of Mountain View requests a $7,500 technical assistance grant. CDBG funds along with funds from the Uinta County State Bank will be used to hire a consultant to develop an interactive web site including online banking capability.

Teton County requests a $7,500 technical assistance grant. CDBG funds along with funds from Wink, Inc. will be used to hire a consultant to develop a DVD of their work and a marketing piece with folders and a DVD holder for proposals.

Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors Meeting
June 1, 2006, Parkway Plaza - Casper, Wyoming
Tentative Agenda

June 1, 2006 - Parkway Plaza

11:00 AM Informal Open Dialogue with Community Leaders – Mardi Gras Room

12:30 PM Lunch for Board/Staff – Natrona Room

1:15 PM Public Board Meeting Convenes – Mardi Gras Room

Call to Order – Bill Britz, Co-Chair
Welcome & Introductions
Minutes Approval

1:30 PM Market Research Center Update – Mike Lambert, Director

1:50 PM Committee Reports
Planning, Budget & Audit Committee –

Gus Fleischli, Chair
Financials
Personnel
Contracts
Becker Hotel Main
Office Lease
US-Europe Enterprises of Colo., LLC
Women’s Business Center
University of Wyoming
Market Research Center
Research Products Center
Manufacturing – Works
FYI – Travel & Tourism Contracts
Barnhart Amendment II
Barnhart Amendment III

FYI - Travel & Tourism
Contracts (cont.)
Weaver Publications
Barnhart
Rocky Mountain International
USA 800

2:30 PM Public Comment

3:00 PM Grants, Subsidies, Loans & Venture Capital –
Jim Davis, Chair

Business Ready Community Applications
Community Development Block Grant Applications
Loan/Portfolio
Security First Bank – Wooden Works, Inc.
Platte Valley National Bank –
Tillman and Witt
Past Due Report
Loan Loss Reserve Analysis
Charge-Off Report

4:00 PM Other Business
Next Meeting - September 13 & 14, 2006 - Evanston
Adjournment

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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