The Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) will consider five Wyoming Business Council Business Ready Community (BRC) grant requests totaling $11,022,422 and a $5 million Governor’s Data Center Recruitment grant at its Jan. 15, 2015 meeting.

The SLIB will meet at 8 a.m. in room B-63 of the Herschler Building in Cheyenne, Wyo.

The Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors at a Dec. 4 meeting in Lusk, Wyo., recommended the SLIB approve the grant requests. The Business Council administers the BRC program, which provides financing for publicly owned infrastructure that serves the needs of businesses and promotes economic development and diversity within Wyoming communities.

 

The Business Council Board of Directors is required by state statute to forward all BRC recommendations to the SLIB for final approval. The SLIB is comprised of the five statewide elected officials: Gov. Matt Mead, Secretary of State Ed Murray, State Treasurer Mark Gordon, State Auditor Cynthia Cloud, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow.

The recommendations that will be considered are:

BRC Business Committed applications

•Albany County requested a $1,459,807 Business Committed grant to drill and construct a well for the Phase II expansion of the Pete Lein and Sons, Inc. quarry for its lime plant operations. (Recommended to the SLIB in full)

•Laramie requested a $2,983,879 Business Committed grant to construct an 8,236 square-foot technology center for Underwriters Laboratories’ expansion into Laramie. (Recommended to the SLIB in full)

BRC Community Readiness

•Gillette requested a $3 million Community Readiness loan and $2 million Community Readiness grant to assist the city with the expansion of its city-owned electrical utility infrastructure. (Recommended to the SLIB in full)

•Guernsey requested a $437,650 Community Readiness grant for the installation of a second electrical transformer to provide redundant power and decrease the load on the existing transformer. Guernsey owns and operates its own electric utility. (Recommended to the SLIB in full)

•Thayne requested a $1,141,086 Community Readiness grant to improve 5.34 acres of commercial space in the center of town, making it ready for business development and data center recruitment. (Recommended to the SLIB in full)

GOVERNOR’S DATA CENTER RECRUITMENT GRANT APPLICATION

Similar to the Business Ready Community grant application process, Business Council staff review each Governor’s Data Center Recruitment Grant application and conduct site visits before making presentations to a Business Council board subcommittee, then final recommendations to the full board. The SLIB then submits its recommendations to the Governor, who has final approval.

Governor’s Data Center Recruitment Grant

•Laramie County requested a $5 million grant from the Governor’s Data Center Recruitment Fund for the expansion of water and sewer improvements from the North Range Business Park to a site selected for the recruitment of a large data center. The business is referred to as “Project Nephogram.” (Recommended to the SLIB in full)

 

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