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Committee sets community development funding package and considers small-business 'Elevate' reboot
Summary
Committee agreed to allocate a package of community development (Ho-Chunk) funds, including support for small-business grants and contingency for rebranding; staff said last year's Elevate program drew 79 applications and funded 16 projects under a $150,000 award.
The finance committee reviewed requests for second-round community-development funding and moved to allocate money to priority items including IT/security, generator contingency, and a local small-business grant program. Resource and community development staff said some projects had limited movement this year, and that $413,500 remained unallocated in the fund.
On the small-business Elevate program, staff explained last year the county received a WEDC grant that funded 16 projects from 79 applications; "We received 79 applications and could only award 16," community development staff said. Committee members discussed whether to run a county-funded version, and considered lowering the per-business cap from $10,000 to $5,000 to support more applicants. Staff said awards used a reimbursement model for invoice verification and included a 10% cash or in-time match requirement.
After debate on priorities (message boards, AEDs, rebinding register books and other requests), the committee moved, amended, and approved the package of whole-chunk projects with an adjustment to the sheriff's AED pricing and a $13,420 contingency for a rebranding campaign. Committee members asked staff to make documentation available and to return with any outstanding clarifications.
