FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 1, 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

Business Council Board of Directors approve and recommend grants

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors met today at the Parkway Plaza in Casper to recommend for approval $13,122,442 in Business Ready Community grants and approve another $1,065,180 in Community Development Block Grants.

Business Ready Community Grant Applications
Twelve BRC applications submitted were approved by the WBC Board of Directors. Those recommendations will be forwarded to the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) for decision at their meeting at 8 a.m. on June 22, 2006 in the Herschler Building, Room 1299, in Cheyenne.

The BRC applications recommended for funding are:

The city of Evansville was recommended for a $973,646 Business Committed Grant. Funding would be used 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 was recommended for a $1.5 million Business Committed grant for construction of a building to be leased to Turbine Cubs of Wyoming. The city would use the funds to construct 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 was recommended for an $810,000 Business Committed grant. The grant funds would purchase of a 1,708 square foot building. The ownership of the building would 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 was recommended for a $646,740 Business Committed grant. The town would use the 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 would 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. The Wyoming Business Council Board recommended against funding $265,000 for a sewer extension to a proposed hotel.

Big Horn County was recommended for 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 was recommended for a $1,340,627 Community Readiness grant. The city of Douglas would use the 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 was recommended for a $658,190 Community Readiness grant. The town of Chugwater and its community development organization, Chugwater Economic Development, Inc., would use the grant for funding 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 building.

The town of Dubois was recommended for 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 was recommended for a $775,387 Community Readiness grant. The Platte Valley Joint Powers Board would use the grant 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 was recommended for 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 was recommended for a $455,000 Community Readiness grant. Pine Bluffs would use the 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 was recommended for a $1.5 million Community Readiness grant. Cheyenne LEADS would 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.

Twelve of the 18 CDBG applications submitted were approved totaling $1,065,180. The CDBG awards which were approved by the Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors are:

Carbon County was awarded a $295,000 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 was awarded a $292,930 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 was awarded 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 town of Wright was awarded 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 was awarded 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 was awarded 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 was awarded 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 website design.

The town of Lovell was awarded 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 will 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 was awarded 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, which will be determined in June, would be will 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 was awarded 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 was awarded 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.

Washakie County was awarded a $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 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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