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

Steve Achter, Director of Investment Ready Communities Division
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2811

Rachel Girt, Marketing and Public Relations Manager
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2851

State Loan and Investment Board approves Business Ready Community recommendations

CHEYENNE – The State Loan and Investment Board approved 12 Business Ready Community Grant applications Thursday in Cheyenne. The BRC applications were recommended for approval by the Wyoming Business Council (WBC) Board of Directors at their meeting in Casper on June 1.

The BRC applications which were approved for funding by SLIB are:

The city of Evansville was approved for a $973,646 Business Committed Grant. Funding will 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, and water and sewer lines. The company will employ approximately 20-25 employees in the first year of operation.

The city of Douglas was approved for a $1.5 million Business Committed grant for construction of a building to be leased to Turbine Cubs of Wyoming. The city will 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 approved for an $810,000 Business Committed grant. The grant funds will be used to purchase 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 research and development 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 approved for a $646,740 Business Committed grant. The town will use the funds for 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 will 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 approved for a $1.5 million Community Readiness grant. This grant will 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 approved for a $1,340,627 Community Readiness grant. The city of Douglas will 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 approved for a $658,190 Community Readiness grant. The town of Chugwater and its community development organization, Chugwater Economic Development, Inc., will 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 approved for a $320,979 Community Readiness grant. Dubois and its community development organization, Dubois Volunteers, Inc. (DVI) will 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 approved for a $775,387 Community Readiness grant. The Platte Valley Joint Powers Board will 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 approved for a $1,192,500 Community Readiness grant. This grant will 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 approved for a $455,000 Community Readiness grant. Pine Bluffs will 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 approved for a $1.5 million Community Readiness grant. Cheyenne LEADS will 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.

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.

###