Economic Development Committee Considers Funding Sources

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Published on November 3 2014 11:27 am
Last Updated on November 3 2014 11:27 am
Written by Greg Sapp

The Effingham County Economic Development Committee is considering various funding sources in an effort to be ready when development opportunities arise.

The Committee had its first success when it obtained a $99,000 grant from USDA Rural Development. The funds have been loaned to various small or startup businesses and committee members heard Monday that all of the firms receiving funds are current on their payback schedules.

In the meantime, committee members are looking for other sources of revenue while awaiting the payback of the loaned monies.

The committee met Monday with Dan Jansen of Rural Development, the agency responsible for the original grant funds, to see whether other dollars might be available.

Jansen said the agency can provide for up to $750,000, but those can only be loaned in up to $250,000 increments. He added that the turnaround time for processing the loan could be up to six months, a long time when you're trying to provide funding for a pending project. 

Jansen suggested the County could apply to be approved for using the funds and then, when a project is waiting, seek the funding. He equated it to a homeowner taking out a construction loan and using the funds when bills come due.

Committee Chairman Dave Campbell said the option will be considered, but isn't sure it would be pursued. Campbell said this time, the funds would be loaned, not granted to the County to be loaned to others and, if a snag occurred and the project fell through, the County would still have to repay the funds to the Feds.

Committee members plan to meet at their December meeting with James Patrick, the new Executive Director of South Central Illinois Regional Planning and Development Commission on funds that agency might have available and on ways SCIRP&DC could work with the County on economic development projects.