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EDC director urges action on vacant QuikTrip lot, outlines incubator budget and HUBZone benefit
Summary
Adam O’Mory, executive director of the Sawyer County LCO Economic Development Corporation, reported outreach on a long-vacant QuikTrip property, said last year’s incubator delivered technical help to about 30 entrepreneurs and described a restructured $25,000 incubator budget; he also said the county qualifies as a federal HUBZone.
The Sawyer County LCO Economic Development Corporation reported active efforts to attract investment to an underused commercial parcel in Hayward, expand a business incubator that served more than 30 entrepreneurs last year and use federal HUBZone certification to boost local firms’ access to contracting opportunities.
Those actions matter to local economic development because reusing vacant commercial property, bolstering entrepreneurs and qualifying businesses for federal HUBZone preferences can affect jobs, housing demand and the county’s capacity to attract and retain workers.
Adam O’Mory, executive director of the Sawyer County LCO Economic Development Corporation, told the board he has contacted the property owner of the long-vacant QuikTrip site at the intersection of state highways and learned the listing price is $1.2 million. He said the corporate real-estate team appears willing to negotiate before their fiscal year ends in September and that he has offered local assistance to market the site to potential buyers.
O’Mory also summarized the county business incubator’s recent work. He said the incubator operated on a $25,000 budget last year and provided technical assistance to more than 30 entrepreneurs. For the coming year he described an allocation plan: $12,000 for technical assistance, $10,000 for grant-writing support, $2,000 for marketing and $1,000 for accounting. He said the incubator plans to establish a more permanent location where clients can meet with advisors.
On federal contracting, O’Mory reported that the county is covered under the federal HUBZone program, which can give qualifying businesses preferential access to certain federal contracts; he said he confirmed that the designation can be applied countywide. He also said the EDC plans outreach such as promotional videos and a cybersecurity seminar and that staff are pursuing grant-writing to expand services.
O’Mory framed housing as a continuing hurdle for attracting workers and said he is working with a contractor proposing single-family development in Hayward; contractual details are still under negotiation. He did not request county funding during the report.
