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Board weighs funding 12 holdover businesses; staff reports 2025 grants reached 17 new recipients
Summary
Board members reviewed the business improvement grant round, noted 30 applicants with 17 newly funded businesses, and discussed whether to fund 12 businesses currently on hold at a cost of about $80,470.56 if each receives the same award as the funded recipients.
The Emery County Economic Development Board reviewed results of its 2025 business improvement grant cycle and discussed whether to fund applications left on hold after the first round.
Staff reported the grant cycle drew 30 applicants, one applicant was disqualified, and 17 businesses that had never received a grant before were funded in 2025. Each of the 17 recipients received $6,705.88, for a total of $114,000 disbursed; the board received $1,000 for administrative costs through the chamber, according to staff comments.
Twelve applicants remain on hold. Board staff calculated that if each of those 12 were to receive the same award amount of $6,705.88, the total additional cost would be $80,470.56. Several board members said they were open to allocating at least some of the freed funds to the holdover businesses but did not finalize an allocation at the meeting.
Why it matters Local grant programs are a recurring tool for supporting start‑ups and small businesses. Board members noted the program has political and community equity implications and discussed maintaining a steady, predictable program so businesses can plan around expected support levels.
Discussion highlights Some members favored holding a steady pool of grant funding year‑to‑year rather than making large one‑time shifts toward recruitment contractors. One board member described the recent approach — prioritizing businesses that had not previously received grants and dividing funds evenly — as fair and popular.
Board direction and decisions The board did not take a formal vote to disburse the $80,470.56 to the 12 holdover businesses at this meeting. Members asked staff to supply details and to coordinate with commissioners about whether to reserve funds for recruitment or to use them for additional grant awards. Staff explained the county receives new program funds annually in January and that unspent funds can roll over.
Provenance Topic introduction excerpt: "Well, that's because, the money was freed up again, and it hasn't been earmarked. But, I have a paper here that I wrote up about the grant process that we went through this year..." (transcript segment starting at 642.03). Topic finish excerpt: "The 12 that are left received funding last year in some amount. Okay. Or maybe not even last year, but since the program started in 2022, those 12 businesses that are left on my list received some sort of grant in the last 3 years." (transcript segment starting at 3021.3398).
