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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon EDCO: Loan program is under consideration in Sisters Continued from page 1 focus on helping companies do the following: • Move: They guide employers from outside Central Oregon through the process of relocating their business locally. EDCO acts as a resource for regional data, incentives, talent, site selection, and more. • Start: They mentor and advise scalable young com- panies from concept to exit on issues such as access to capital, critical expertise, and strategy. • Grow: They partner with local traded-sector compa- nies to help them grow and expand. Traded-sector com- panies are those that pro- duce goods and services for markets outside the region in which they are produced. Forty-six public and busi- ness leaders from across the tri-county area serve as EDCO’s board of directors. The paid staff includes Lee and five staff members who handle the marketing and communication, membership, operations, and so on in their main office in Bend. The six main Central Oregon population centers — Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras, Sisters, and La Pine — each have an EDCO man- ager for their city. The Sisters manager, Caprielle Foote- Lewis, was hired by EDCO in November 2013 as a part- time manager and became full-time in April 2015. Foote-Lewis is an EDCO employee whose position is funded by the City of Sisters and Deschutes County. In other Central Oregon cities, the manager position may be funded by a chamber of com- merce, a county, a city, or an independent nonprofit orga- nization. Foote-Lewis main- tains her office at Sisters City Hall and works with busi- nesses that might be attracted to locate in Sisters. One of the ways EDCO can assist an area in improv- ing their economic vitality by attracting new businesses or growing existing ones, is by helping the city establish an Economic Development Loan Fund. This fund is commonly called a “forgivable loan” program. Such a program is under consideration in Sisters. If a company qualifies for the program, they will be loaned a certain amount of money by the city to provide jobs by either relocating here or growing jobs in an already existing business. If the com- pany meets all of the require- ments agreed to in a contract with the city, and in the allot- ted time, the loan becomes a grant and does not have to be repaid. The idea behind the program is that the return on investment (ROI) to the city from increased job growth benefits the economy, the schools, and the community. Before a loan is approved, ...the Economic Development Loan Program is not a tool to be used for every project. — Roger Lee a due diligence commit- tee objectively evaluates the potential risk/reward of spe- cific projects and provides recommendations. They do not negotiate with the com- panies on award amounts or lobby on their behalf. They forward their recommenda- tions to the city council, or whatever body is awarding the loan, which makes the final decision. Six years ago EDCO assisted Deschutes County in establishing an Economic Development Fund to Year-round FIREWOOD SALES — Kindling — PARK IT IN STYLE! SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS Bike racks... we’ve got ’em! SistersForestProducts.com — — 541-410-4509 WINNEMUCCA 541-549-9280 • Sisters Industrial Park www.PonderosaForge.com | CCB# 87640 THE GALLERY R E S TA U R A N T A N D B A R JUNE 24-26 | $89 PPDO Receive $30 slot play, $15 in food coupons. LEAVENWORTH SUMMER THEATER AUG. 16-18 | $489 PPDO 2 nights at Enzian Inn, “Singing in the Rain” & “Sound of Music,” 2 breakfasts buffets, 1 dinner ! SAN JUAN/VICTORIA B.C. Sep. 10-16 | $1,699 PPDO Congratul To our 2016 a tions! Sis Ticket Win ters Rodeo ners! 7 days/6 nights, includes Air, Taxes, Transfers, 3 nights in Friday Harbor at Earthbox Inn and Spa, 3 nights in Victoria at the Chateau Victoria, Whale watch, Butchart Gardens, High Tea and much more! Price subject to air availability! BRANSON CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION NOV. 5-12 | $2,299 PPDO Breakfast & lunch 6:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Full-service dining in the bar nightly until 10 p.m. (21 & over) — Orders to go always welcome — Connect with us on Facebook for daily soups and other great specials! 171 W. Cascade Ave., Sisters • 541-549-2631 Join us on our annual trip to Branson. Includes stay at the Grand Victorian and incredible big name entertainment! PANAMA CANAL CRUISE NOV. 26-Dec. 8 | $3,199 PPDO 2 nights pre-cruise at the Hyatt, Miami. 13 days/12 nights visiting: Bonaire, Cartagena, Limon. Plus comp beverage package! provide incentives to busi- ness to move, start, or grow in the county. Since its incep- tion, the fund has granted 21 awards totaling $714,000. “Those awards facili- tated the creation of 1,032 jobs paying an average sal- ary of $47,947,” reported Lee. To date, all but three companies have met and/or exceeded their contractual obligations for economic development loans. Of those three, two have fully paid back to the county amounts owing from their loans, plus interest. The third is in the process of paying back a por- tion of their loan plus interest. Lee summed up the role of the Economic Development Loan Program this way: “As with most incentives, the Economic Development Loan Program is not a tool to be used for every project, nor are incentives needed for every project to succeed. Over the same period noted above for Deschutes County’s program, EDCO helped more than 100 companies 23 complete projects and cre- ate jobs within the County’s borders. Clearly, most of these projects did not require a loan fund for the company to choose to locate here, com- mit to stay, or grow. They (the loans) also cannot make a bad business or location decision good.” Lee concluded, “With all this said, locally controlled programs can absolutely make the difference in win- ning the ever more-competi- tive race for jobs by making a good business location deci- sion better. Local incentives are highly valued by employ- ers because they indicate that the community is truly interested in the success of their enterprise and willing to invest in its future success … (the loans) create a mutual bond between the business and city/county/state mov- ing forward. Communities that understand this reality are winning the race to bet- ter diversify their econo- mies and provide more and better-paying jobs for their citizens.
