Bay Future outlines grants, site readiness and workforce programs as tools to attract business to Bay County

Jim Reum, president and CEO of Bay Future, told the Bay City City Commission on June 16 that Bay Future has used grant funding and partnerships to prepare sites, support workforce training and retain businesses in Bay County.

Reum said Bay Future has helped local employers access workforce training grants, including the Going Pro Talent Fund, and that “since 2020, Bay County companies have leveraged more than $2,500,000 of these training funds.” He described partnerships with Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University and said Bay Future has used grant dollars “to build out infrastructure or develop plans on sites.”

The presentation gave concrete grant figures and project examples. Reum said Bay Future has leveraged “more than $4,800,000 in infrastructure grants” since 2020 to make sites more attractive to investors, and cited a current $248,000 grant for due‑diligence studies (boundary surveys, environmental and wetland studies). He also described a $4,100,000 grant being used with Monitor Township, the Bay County Department of Water and Sewer and the Bay County Road Commission for sanitary sewer infrastructure near 3 Mile and Wilder roads.

Reum named several local projects Bay Future supported through planning or grant work. He said H.L. Mechatronics, a global firm that has operated in Bay County for 10 years, chose to stay and grow here; Reum said the project’s “average wage of all newly hired employees is a robust $56.40” (the presentation did not specify whether that number is per hour or another unit). He also described a StoryCo plan to rehabilitate the Bay Valley resort, a privately led $15,000,000 project that Bay Future helped advance by coordinating with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Bay County Brownfield board and Consumers Energy.

Commissioners asked about the organization’s funding and local projects. Commissioner DeWitt pressed for clarity on Bay Future’s public funding partners; Reum said Bay Future is a public‑private 501(c)(3) with multiple public and private investors and that the city and county each contribute $100,000 annually, with other municipalities also contributing. When asked whether Bay Future makes direct financial contributions to projects, Reum said the organization provides support and helps businesses apply for grants but “we don't financially contribute to any project.”

Commissioners also asked which parts of Bay City would be included in Bay Future’s commercial and industrial feasibility study; Reum said the study’s first phase focuses on main corridors and that portions touching Bay City include Euclid and Wilder.

Why it matters: Bay Future’s work shapes which sites are shovel‑ready for new investment, connects employers to training dollars and helps retain employers who might otherwise relocate. The commission did not take formal action on Reum’s presentation; commissioners thanked Reum and discussed follow‑up questions about local participation and funding.

Reum closed by encouraging commissioners and businesses to use Bay Future and the Small Business Development Center for assistance and promoted the Pitch by the Bay event scheduled for Nov. 12 at John Glenn High School.