By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
To bolster the businesses of Carbon County, the Economic Development Board provides the Rural County Grant to help business owners expand, repair and renovate.
With applications for the grant currently open, Carbon County Economic Development Director Shanny Wilson and Economic Development Board chair Layne Miller joined the KOAL newsroom to discuss the grant, the application process and what it aims to accomplish.
“We’re very fortunate to receive funding every year from the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. And that funding we get to put right back into the community, right back into Carbon County and to local businesses who just need a little kick,” said Wilson of the grant. “It could be an expansion. It could be that they need some development. They may need some new materials and equipment to run more efficiently. It’s basically to support economic development in Carbon County.”
Taking the form of a 50/50 matching grant, the program allows businesses to apply for up to $50,000. “We typically fund projects anywhere from maybe $1000 to $2000, up to about $25,000, but the board likes to fund a couple of big projects a year,” explained Wilson. “And those are for businesses that are showing a lot of promise and doing a lot of good things for the community … It is a 50/50 match. The business has to pay for the project up front and then once that project is complete they can submit receipts to my office and we’ll get them and we’ll get them paid out.”
This grant is not just for big businesses, but rather for businesses of all sizes to help the area grow. Miller shared some of the success that he has seen from the grant. “We want to add jobs, and I guess we should brag and say that over the last few years, we’ve created 150 jobs in the county for the money that we’ve had.”
Applications for the Rural County Grant are open until Dec. 1. Wilson walked through what the application process looks like: “I encourage all businesses that are interested to go on and read over the grant application, make sure it makes sense, and then apply. It’s a pretty easy process, I mean, we designed it that way … They can fill out the application online or print the PDF version, fill it out, and bring it to me. It goes directly to my office, where I then enter it into a spreadsheet and send it to my board. They’re the ones that make the final decision once the deadline has passed.”
Encouraging business owners to call and apply for the grant, Wilson stated,” I would say give me a call, let’s have a conversation. Call 435-636-3295, and I’m happy to talk about logistics, walk through the application process with them, and talk about different types of projects that I feel would be a benefit to them and the community.”
Closing our conversation, Miller shared what it’s like when it’s time to award the grants. “One of the things that Shanny allows me to do is to sit in her office when she makes the phone calls to the businesses that have been awarded. And for me, it’s like Christmas morning. People apply. Shanny calls and says ‘Hey, you were awarded. This is how much you got.’ I’ve heard tears, cheers and celebrations. It’s just really, really fun.”
The Carbon County Rural Grant is accepting applications until Dec. 1. To apply, visit carbon.utah.gov or email the PDF application to cced@carbon.utah.gov or mail it to:
Carbon County Economic Development
751 East 100 North, Suite 2600
Price, UT 84501