Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Community Development presents annual update, highlights local business lending and job retention
Summary
Community Development staff and board members updated the Morrison County Board on loan funds, recent awards and local business assistance. Speakers highlighted loans and grants that supported firms retaining and creating local jobs and credited the program’s networked approach to keeping businesses in the county.
Carol Anderson, executive director of Community Development, and board members presented an annual update Nov. 4 on local lending, grant programs and business outreach. Anderson described three revolving loan funds totaling $1.6 million (with about $650,000 currently outstanding and roughly $900,000 available to lend), a pollution/asbestos cleanup grant fund established after a paper-mill closure, and a history of business support since 1987 that the presenters said has yielded substantial property-tax revenue from assisted businesses.
Board members and recipient business representatives described specific projects that used the program’s loans and connections, and noted the organization’s role during the COVID-19 period when it helped process more than 400 small business grants. Dan Ortloff of Falls Fabricating described using Community Development assistance to complete an ownership transfer and later add 40,000 square feet to his manufacturing facility, work he credited to coordinated financing and local partnership building.
Commissioners commended Community Development and said the county benefits from the organization’s reach to statewide programs and agencies. The board did not take a funding action at the meeting; Community Development’s appearance was an annual informational presentation requested as part of the county’s oversight of external agencies that receive levy dollars.
