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County approves MOU with Beartooth after presentation on revolving loan fund and brownfields work
Summary
Beartooth told county commissioners it has 14 RLF loans leveraging about $6 million in investments and recent state and USDA grants; commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding to continue the partnership and set follow-up work on a Brownfields revolving loan fund application.
Beartooth representatives updated the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 19 about recent economic-development activity and funding, and the board approved a memorandum of understanding to continue the county’s partnership.
At the hearing, a Beartooth representative said the organization’s revolving loan fund has supported 14 loans and “equals about 6,000,000 in total investments” when combined with other investors and businesses. The presentation noted state and U.S. Department of Agriculture assistance to replenish the fund (transcribed figures: $500,000 from the state and $750,000 from USDA). Officials also described letters of support for regional housing efforts and ongoing tourism-related work on the Bozeman Trail.
Gaurav Thakur, introduced as the economic development director working with the Beartooth project, said he had focused on a Brownfields revolving loan fund application and that "we have applied for a million dollars" submitted by the Nov. 14 deadline. Thakur said the RLF would complement a brownfields assessment grant awarded earlier this year (transcribed as $460,000) to help pay for cleanup activities.
During a question from a commissioner about site locations, Thakur listed four targeted properties as transcribed: Helping Hands Food Bank (Bighorn County); a carpet mill in Pickhorn County; an old lumber yard in the town of Lodge Grama (Pickhorn County as transcribed); and a former sports bar in Columbus. He said additional projects would be identified if the RLF is approved.
After the presentation, a commissioner moved to approve the MOU with Beartooth to formalize continued collaboration; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The MOU was advanced without a recorded roll-call tally in the transcript.
The board’s action authorizes county staff to proceed under the terms of the MOU and continue coordination with Beartooth and regional partners, including Big Sky EDA and the Small Business Development Center. Next steps mentioned during the meeting include follow-up on the RLF application and ongoing outreach to potential brownfields project partners.
