December 6, 2007
LC Commission to Apply for EDA Grant

By Dave Maxwell

Lincoln County Commissioners voted 4-1 to go forward with an application to the Economic Development Administration for a $2,300,000 grant for development of the Alamo Industrial Park. The match for the grant will be $1,550,000 for a total project price of $3,850,000.

Prior to this decision, there was considerable discussion and recommendations regarding the Alamo Land Sale to the County. John Lovelady, County Manager, read a prepared memo to the Commissioners stating that if the County purchases the full 228 acres in Parcel A, as expected, then an initial 20 percent payment ($137,000) of the total $685,000 price would have to be made.

The County would need to pay the balance of the land sale price, $548,050, within six months of the sale date. The County already has a line of credit for $705,000 and the final payment could be made from that source.

Lovelady noted in his memo that “Since the grant application was prepared 7 years ago, the cost of the development (at the Industrial Park) has risen to a cost estimated at $5,260,000 in 2007 dollars. The EDA grant is not going to increase from the $2,300,000 figure, leaving the County to foot the bill of $2,960,000 for completion of the on-site infrastructure and the ability to sell the property. This revised estimate puts the cost of development for on-site infrastructure at about $23,000 per acre. This is what it would cost land developers to develop the infrastructure after they buy their own portion of the land from the County.”

The memo also laid out three options for discussion at the meeting. After much debate, Commissioners selected the third option that Lovelady and his staff had formulated. It was also the one recommended by the Manager’s Office. Option three spelled out that, “The County would continue with the land purchase as planned and resell the land to interested purchasers for the appraised value of $3,001 per acre. Under this option, the burden of the land improvements and development of the infrastructure is on the purchasers. The County could split the land use into Commercial Highway Frontage, Light Industrial Use and Residential Use for the whole parcel. The County maintains control of the land uses through the Master Plan and Planned Unit Development Code for the above outlined uses. Option 3 thereby allows the County to stay out of the land development business and put the land into tax generation for the County.

Under all of the options that were presented, the County would need to do a survey and develop a conceptual map of the infrastructure and proposed parcels for sale. The County would also have to have a current land appraisal and sell the land for appraised values. If the price is more than the $3,001 per acre the County paid for the land, the excess money must be given to the BLM.

Advisor Mike Baughman also recommended going ahead with the grant application to the EDA, using all the grant money the County has now along with what is being applied for, to build infrastructure. The infrastructure will include access off U.S. Highway 93, interior streets, (preferably paved), well improvements, power to the well, tie ins to the existing water tank, and some drainage improvements.

Commission Chairman Ronda Hornbeck expressed concern that it was her understanding “that within the structure of that grant, it said that the County had to be able to prove that the infrastructure within the Industrial Park was already in place and working, before the grant monies could be tapped into and we could get reimbursement.” John Lovelady said he was told by the EDA office in Seattle that in order for the County to be reimbursed for money spent, “They want to know that things will work when time comes to turn on the switches.” County Grant Administrator Phyllis Robistow said that means EDA wants to know that the faucets really do work, the lights do come on, the toilets can be flushed, and “then we’ll get reimbursed.”

However, Mike Baughman said it would be best to check with the EDA Seattle Office again to get a clearer understanding of what is required in order to get reimbursements.

He recommended to the Commission to get the infrastructure in place and he will “continue to work on funding sources to pull this thing together. I think there are other grants that are going to be had, that haven’t even come to the table yet.”

At the end of the discussion, Commissioners decided 4-1 to go with Option 3 as laid out by the County Manager and go forward with the application for the EDA grant.