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Emery County board recommends $100,000 to boost small-business grants, declines a separate Green River wage request
Summary
The Emery County Economic Development Board recommended the commission increase the Rural County Grant program recommendation by $100,000 (bringing a committee recommendation to $215,000) to cover 27 small-business applicants, and voted not to fund a separate Green River wage request for a part‑time business alliance role.
The Emery County Economic Development Board voted to recommend the county commission increase support for the Rural County Grant (RCG) program, moving an additional $100,000 into the committee’s recommendation so the RCG committee will have $215,000 to allocate.
Patsy, who oversees the RCG review, told the board 27 businesses applied by the Jan. 31 deadline with a combined requested amount of $322,561.93; restricting awards to businesses that had never applied previously would reduce requests to $117,332.52. “The total economic benefit to Emery County, $645,123.86,” Patsy said, describing the program as a matching grant that leverages private investment.
Board members debated how much of the holdover funds from 2024 and 2025 to carry forward. A member summarized the available balance as $150,000 (two tranches of $75,000), and the motion the board approved recommends using $75,000 from 2024 and $25,000 from 2025 to add $100,000 to the RCG recommendation. The board said the final allocation and awards will be determined by the RCG review committee.
Separately, a Green River proposal requested county participation in a pilot part‑time business outreach and coordination position (the Green River Business Alliance, led locally by Dorothy). City and regional partners already committed matching funds: Green River approved a local stipend of $800 per month for nine months and SIRDA indicated matching support. The board examined whether paying a wage from RCG funds complied with program rules; several members noted the grant program historically pays for equipment, façade improvements and trainings rather than recurring wages.
After extended debate about whether the board should support a city‑specific pilot or reserve funding for a countywide economic development coordinator, a motion not to fund the Green River wage application through the RCG passed by voice vote. Edward urged the board to coordinate with county commissioners on a countywide hire instead, saying the board should weigh whether its held funds would be better deployed through a county role rather than a single‑city pilot.
What happens next: the RCG review committee will meet to evaluate applications and the board’s recommendation (including the extra $100,000) will be forwarded to the county commission for approval. The Green River pilot remains eligible for other funding streams but will not receive RCG money from this board at this time.
