Economic development director warns of $3 million natural-gas barrier, outlines loan programs and cemetery fundraising

Ryan delivered an economic development activity report that covered loans, infrastructure constraints, tax-policy options and local preservation fundraising.

On financing, Ryan said the local rolling loan fund has five active loans, one pending, and roughly $30,000 available for new loans; he noted a recent CCOG equipment loan of about $250,000 and that CCOG has about $1,000,000 available for equipment loans. "We have around 30,000 available that we could loan out," Ryan said. He described loan terms for CCOG equipment loans (about 4.5% interest, typically 7–10 years) and said the county is tracking several inquiries from businesses seeking space.

Ryan flagged a significant natural-gas infrastructure issue: a transmission upgrade to bring reliable gas into town could cost about $3,000,000 because of route and easement constraints. He said that improvement would enable roughly 500 acres of commercial and industrial expansion but acknowledged private utilities may not cover that cost alone. "We're stuck in this dilemma," Ryan said, and he recommended pursuing federal programs and public–private partnerships to mitigate upfront costs.

On tax policy, Ryan said he is preparing a report comparing tax-abatement tools and TIF alternatives used by peer cities and recommended cautious, stair-stepped abatements rather than aggressive 100% multi-year abatements. He also updated the board on cemetery preservation work: the Community Foundation Cemetery Fund has repaired stones and has about $6,800 remaining; a planned project will repair 23 stones at one site and staff will pursue online fundraising and streamlined donation handling for volunteer groups.

The board thanked Ryan for the report and requested follow-up as appropriate.