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Economic development seeks $10,000 for data upkeep and moves forward with $200,000 EDA grant plan
Summary
Economic Development Director Diane Butler asked commissioners to add $10,000 for annual maintenance of economic and tourism data and described a pending $200,000 EDA revitalization grant (with a $40,000 county match) to support a business incubator and feasibility work; commissioners agreed to add the line with an asterisk to identify funding sources later.
Diane Butler, Grand County’s economic development director, asked the commission to add $10,000 to her 2025 budget to maintain the county’s economic and tourism data and described a planned $200,000 Economic Development Administration (EDA) revitalization grant with a $40,000 county match.
"On the budget that I submitted... I would like to see about maybe getting 10,000 more into my budget for administering the data information and keeping it current," Butler told commissioners, saying the data helps both tourism and business planning. She described the EDA grant that budgets $160,000 of EDA funds for a consultant to do an incubator/business plan and feasibility study and a $40,000 match from county funds.
Commissioners discussed paying the $10,000 from tourism tax dollars if the tourism ballot change permits it, or funding the request from the general fund with a notation in the budget to determine funding later; Butler said the EDA match is budgeted and RFPs will follow. The board agreed to add the $10,000 to Butler’s budget with a funding-source asterisk to be clarified later.
Why it matters: sustaining data and feasibility analysis supports business incubation and tourism planning; the EDA grant would fund consultant work for an incubator project and the county needs to confirm the local match source before final allocation.
