CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Business Council, or WBC, Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting via Zoom due to weather on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
During the meeting, the board recommended two Business Ready Community, or BRC, grant and loan projects for funding.
The board also selected board positions for the upcoming year and recognized outgoing co-chair Erin Moore for her service.
Mandy Fabel, executive director of Leadership Wyoming, presented about The Wyoming Academy, and the board heard updates from each of the WBC teams, including an economic outlook for Wyoming and a Pathways to Prosperity update from the Strategy Team.
The previous day, the board and WBC team held a virtual public work session with the Wyoming Workforce Development Council and InSite Consulting.
Recordings of both meetings are available on the Business Council’s YouTube channel.
BRC projects considered at the Feb. 22 meeting include:
- Community Readiness – Campbell County Pronghorn Industrial Complex
- Campbell County requests a $2,669,450 Community Readiness grant to construct the sewer system build-out of 160 acres in the Pronghorn Industrial Complex.
- The board unanimously recommended this project for funding.
- Community Readiness – Town of Sundance Old Stoney Project Phase II
- The Town of Sundance requests a $2,837,763 Community Readiness grant for the final phase of the full restoration of the historic Old Stoney building.
- The board did not recommend this project for funding.
- Business Committed – Casper/Natrona County Economic Development Joint Powers Board Phoslock Environmental Technologies
- The Casper/Natrona County Economic Development Joint Powers Board requests a $600,000 Business Committed grant for the acquisition of a manufacturing plant to allow for Phoslock Environmental Technologies to relocate out of China with intentions of exporting Wyoming-made products within the United States and across the globe.
- The board unanimously recommended this project for funding.
The WBC administers the Business Ready Community grant and loan program, which provides financing for publicly owned infrastructure that serves the needs of businesses and promotes economic development within Wyoming communities. Council staff thoroughly review and vet each application, conduct in-person or virtual site visits and present to a board subcommittee prior to making recommendations to the full board.
The Business Council board is required by statute to forward BRC grant and loan recommendations to the State Loan and Investment Board for final approval. The SLIB is comprised of the five statewide elected officials: the governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and state superintendent of public instruction.
The SLIB will make final decisions on BRC project requests at its 8 a.m. meeting on April 6.
