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Council approves Proper Pilots loan, tables Redwire payment pending funding clarification
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Summary
The council approved a $50,000 forgivable loan (with benchmarks) for Proper Pilots and tabled a $312,500 Redwire disbursement to a joint meeting so commissioners can clarify a funding source; members debated whether contracts should create obligations without an identified funding line.
Councilors debated two proposed forgivable loans from Floyd County’s revolving loan fund during the Jan. 7 meeting, approving one award to Proper Pilots and tabling a second payment to Redwire until a joint meeting with the county commissioners clarifies funding.
Stan Hough presented the two awards as economic-development incentives drawn from the revolving loan fund (fund 49-38). He said the fund balance was roughly $164,676.34 and described the proposed terms: a $312,500 forgivable loan for Redwire and a $50,000 loan for Proper Pilots with an initial $25,000 payment and a second conditional payment tied to employment and revenue benchmarks. "Their second installment does. They have to have 3 full time employees making over $60,000 or they have to have a gross revenue base of a $180,000," Hough said when describing Proper Pilots’ conditions.
Multiple council members questioned where the Redwire payment would be drawn from and whether contracts should be signed before funding is in place. One council member said the practice risks "picking winners and losers" by favoring two businesses over others, and others urged that the documentation must explicitly identify the source of funds before the council signs or finalizes agreements.
Staff and council discussed options including a line transfer or a direct payment from an economic-development fund; auditors noted the commissioners may move money into the revolving fund or pay directly from an economic-development line. Given the uncertainty, a motion to table item 3a (Redwire) until the joint meeting with the commissioners on Jan. 16 passed by voice vote.
The council proceeded to vote on Proper Pilots’ award (item 3b). Members noted the company’s occupancy in Innovation Park and that its agreement includes employment and production metrics before the second payment becomes forgivable. The motion to approve Proper Pilots’ award passed by voice vote.
Council members directed staff to prepare line-transfer documentation if needed and to bring funding-source clarification to the joint meeting so contractual obligations do not outpace available appropriations.
