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Grant County Economic Development has made a push in recent Months to be more transparent with local governments such as the Ulysses City Council and Grant County Commission, regarding the role it plays in the community. Many in the community may not know what it does, but that’s changing.
Eco Devo made its annual appropriations request to Grant County Commission July 1, as the county has been hearing requests for funding for more than a month in preparation of its fiscal year 2026 budget. The amounts requested may differ from what the county ultimately approves.
Eco Devo requested $100,000 – the same as a year ago. The city traditionally provides $50,000 and the county $100,000.
“We’re requesting the same amount this year from you, once again, at $100,000,” said Economic Development Director Bob Dale. “Not much has changed for our budget. It’s become pretty standard. I think I’ve got it whittled down pretty good.”
One exception is employee benefits have been zeroed out, because Dale said they lost the insurance company that did their health insurance.
“So, that went away,” Dale said. “The only other thing that really kind of stood out to me a little bit was legal fees. Legal fees for us is always a little bit of a question mark, because we used to have an attorney who would do our contracts and things for us for 75 bucks and when she left town we’re getting charged anywhere from $600 to $800 to do a loan contract, so we’re doing some of those on our own.
"But we like to make sure, just in case we have a property, loans or anything that get a little complicated, where we need some security or collateral, that we have that in the budget,” Dale added.
The budget is for operating expenses, and the rental income Eco Devo receives goes into the Economic Incentive Fund, which us what it’s designed to do, Dale said. That fund is working out well, he added.
“We’ve managed to grow it a little bit, which has allowed us to invest a little more,” Dale said. “When I first got on the board 15 years ago, there was roughly around $300,000 in there which just stayed there. We didn’t have anyway to replenish it, because if we used it, we couldn’t get it back. So, we thought we were doing a pretty good job just sitting on that money forever.”
They found a way to put money back into it so they could actually use it.
“We’ve grown it up just shy of $500,000 at times,” Dale said, adding that, adding all their assets, there’s more than $400,000 in the account. “We have a CD; we have a savings account we keep the (incentive fund) in. We want to invest in some things, but we always have to make sure we have something left for those who come along who need some assistance, so it’s a little bit of a balancing act, but I think the organization has done a really good job of maintaining it and keeping it focused.”
Board Vice-President Galen Pelton mentioned the yearly report Eco Devo has begun presenting to the public which explains exactly what they’ve been doing.
“That was something that had never really been done by organization, because there didn’t seem to be a need for it,” Dale added. “But I think it’s important that we, at least annually, publish what we’ve been up to and look at the things we’ve accomplished.”
The report educates not only the public, but also other government entities about the organization’s activities.
“As far as elected officials, we want to make sure they know what we’ve been up to,” Dale said.
The 10th Business Revitalization program just wrapped up; a program they were able to do because they were able to start replenishing the money in the Economic Incentive Fund.
“We do a grant or some sort of program every year that addresses a need in the community,” Dale said. “We’re still in the midst of it (but) we’ve stopped taking applications. We put $50,000 in, so we’ll see eventually about $125,000 in improvements on people’s facilities around town.”
Improvements this year include painting at The Movies, the “old furniture store”, and Hartman Fireworks. The trampoline mural on the side of the old Weaver Popcorn Factory was also part of the Economic Incentive fund program. Tate’s BBQ and Dynatest also received new signage as part of that program.
“Because we’re able to replenish it with that rental income, that allows us to be able to grant money on an annual basis,” Dale said.
The goals for this year are to create a rental housing website, as well as provide educational opportunities for those who want to start and maintain a new business, targeting those who have started a business but are struggling and could benefit from tax or accounting advice. The challenge is finding people to conduct such classes in Spanish.
Economic Development just recently gained corporate partnerships with Pioneer Communications and Grant County Bank, which allows them one board member. Private memberships are available for $1,000, but they have not gained, yet.
“We’re looking to expand corporate,” Dale said. “What we’re really trying to do there is grow the pool of people and resources and ideas on our board.”
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