I guess Misti Talbert and the LEDC hate free money and would rather put the taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of thousands in unnecessary interest payments.
That is the only thing I can conclude from a few indisputable facts that come from the LEDC’s own minutes.
FACT #1: The LEDC has the option to apply for a “standard EDA grant” and get some FREE cash for their business park. They talked about it at the Feb LEDC meeting this year – a mere five months ago. From the Feb minutes (page 3, item IV):
“Mandy Walsh discussed with the board the options of the Business Park. One being the possibility of applying for the standard EDA grant contingent on a business prospect” [emphasis mine]
[I swear – Talbert makes such horrible money decisions so often that I would not be shocked to see a personal bankruptcy in her past. I’m not even kidding]
This is presumably the same EDA grant they talked about back in 2014. The one Masonheimer was unable to drum up much support for:
FACT #2: The LEDC is getting non-stop requests for information from the governor’s office on a weekly basis – aka, ‘business prospects’. We know this because Mandy Walsh just told us this at the last council meeting. Go to the 15:40 mark at the meeting video:
“We receive RFIs from the governors office on a weekly basis – and they’re all looking for acreage and, currently, as it stands, there is nowhere to put someone…that’s looking for even 2 to 5 acres…we’re having to pass up on some possible prospects because we don’t have the land and we’re not fully developed“
So, explain something to me:
If all that is required for the free money from the EDA grant is a viable business prospect to put down on your application AND you are getting calls from viable business prospects “weekly” from the governor’s office, then WHY DON’T YOU USE THOSE PROSPECTS IN A GRANT SUBMISSION FORM TO THE EDA GRANT OFFICE?
I’ll be here waiting for an answer to that question…