Kelly Sullivan, with the Butte Local Development Corporation, updated the Butte‑Silver Bow Economic Development Committee on the organization’s lending pipeline, grant partnerships and business‑recruitment efforts.

Sullivan said the BLDC has one new loan application scheduled for the loan committee on Oct. 15 and “our total available to lend right now is $1,300,000.” She said two brownfields loans are in the pipeline — one for a nonprofit and one for a privately owned business — and that the BLDC has submitted a new five‑year work plan required by the Economic Development Administration for its revolving loan fund.

The session also covered business‑attraction work. Sullivan said she and a colleague attended the Headwaters Tech Hub summit in Bozeman and are partnering with Montana Tech on a grant application “that could be put towards germanium usage in Butte.” She said Montana Tech is leading the technical work on the application and that germanium is being considered for semiconductor uses. Sullivan added that a prospective operator visited Butte to explore an underground‑mine tour at the Montana Tech Underground Mine Education Center and that state Department of Commerce representatives and Montana Tech leaders were involved in the discussions.

Sullivan reported ongoing, periodic talks with Sonata, described in the meeting as a Norwegian battery company. She said Sonata “is in a purchase and sale agreement with Butte‑Silver Bow” and that the county may be asked to approve an extension of that agreement; the BLDC staff view an extension as appropriate. Sullivan told commissioners she expects a request to extend the purchase timeline to come before the full council.

The BLDC also said it would transfer remaining SARTA funds that had been earmarked years earlier for work in the Lizzie Block alley to the Uptown Master Plan Association’s wayfinding project. Sullivan said the remaining amount was small — “maybe a couple thousand dollars” — and that SARTA had been contacted about the transfer.

Sullivan reported staff changes and program notes: the Apex Accelerator lead, Deanna Langman, resigned unexpectedly; Kayla (last name given in prior reports) moved from BLDC to a county role; the BLDC’s fiscal analyst, Sue, helped prepare the BLDC fiscal year 2026 budget, which Sullivan said will go to the BLDC board for approval in October; and the Small Business Development Center that operates with BLDC has nine new clients and 25 active clients.

Other local business developments mentioned included a tour of land at John McDermott’s business park south of Butte Tech by a company considering relocation, and a ribbon‑cutting and tour of Amazon’s Last‑Mile facility. Sullivan also noted a Montana Department of Labor and Industry “rehirement” job event scheduled for Oct. 9 at the Butte Job Service starting at 9 a.m.

Commissioners asked follow‑up questions during the meeting. Commissioner O’Neil asked where the Small Business Development Center is housed; Sullivan said it is a division of BLDC. Commissioner O’Leary asked whether the SARTA transfer must return to the SARTA board; Sullivan said it would. Commissioner O’Leary and others pressed Sullivan on what holds Sonata back from closing; Sullivan said the company’s internal research and development, testing and business decisions are the primary constraints and that there is not an immediate local action the committee can take to move Sonata faster.

Commissioner Healy and others discussed the Gamers building in Uptown: Sullivan said the project appears to include substantial upstairs rehabs intended for rental units and that the developers had applied for historic preservation tax credits and a federal commercial grant program that included about $750,000 distributed for Uptown commercial projects. Sullivan also said that BLDC agreed to consider transferring leftover funds originally intended for the Lizzie Block alley to Uptown wayfinding work because the alley project was no longer feasible following the M & M building fire.

Several commissioners raised the question of Praxis (a loan recipient discussed previously). Commissioners noted Praxis had asked for and received prior loan extensions and that Praxis had not been communicating regularly with the committee. The commissioners said Praxis is expected to appear before the committee or council in December to answer questions; Sullivan confirmed Praxis told staff he would appear in December but had been traveling.

No formal votes on council actions were recorded during the BLDC update. Sullivan described decisions already made by BLDC staff or board (EDA work plan approved by the BLDC board; staff agreement to transfer remaining SARTA funds) and identified several items that will require council action in the coming weeks, including any request to extend the Sonata purchase‑and‑sale timeline and presentation of the BLDC FY2026 budget to the board.

The committee closed the BLDC report and moved to other agenda items.