(Shoshoni, WY) – The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) Board of Directors will consider four Business Ready Community (BRC) funding requests during its regular quarterly meeting on Thursday, Dec. 9. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom beginning at 8 a.m.
Anyone interested in participating, listening, or watching remotely, can join the Zoom meeting at bit.ly/WBC_Meeting. To call into the meeting, dial 1-253-215-8782 or 1-346-248-7799. If you wish to speak during the meeting, please send an email to [email protected] prior to 4 p.m. on Dec. 7. Please state your name and the topic you wish to address.
Meeting materials and a full agenda will be available at wyomingbusiness.org/boardbook prior to the meeting.
The Wyoming Business Council administers the BRC grant and loan program, which provides financing for publicly owned infrastructure that serves the needs of businesses and promotes economic development within Wyoming communities. Council staff thoroughly review and vet each application, conduct in-person or virtual site visits, and present to a board subcommittee prior to making final recommendations to the full board at a public meeting.
The Business Council board is required by statute to forward BRC grant and loan recommendations to the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) for final approval. The SLIB is comprised of the five statewide elected officials: the Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
SLIB will make final decisions on the following four BRC project requests at its 8 am meeting on Thursday, Feb.3.
Community Readiness Application
The Town of Shoshoni requests a $1,583,419 community readiness grant to extend sewer infrastructure from Maple Street westward toward the Wyoming Mushrooms farm. This infrastructure will develop an eight-inch sewer main and allow for the readiness of 273 acres of land.
The town currently owns 113 acres of the proposed development with water infrastructure already present. The other 160 acres are owned by Wyoming Mushrooms. The land and increased sewer capacity will be utilized to expand their business operations, create employee housing and create 20 to 30 new jobs.
Planning Grant Application
The Town of Shoshoni requests a $25,000 BRC planning grant to select a consulting firm to investigate the feasibility of a full-service hotel in Shoshoni. This need was identified in Shoshoni’s Town Master Plan completed in 2021 and significant tourism activity and growth in the tourism industry is taking place in the region.
The WBC will also consider applications submitted by the Town of Jackson and city of Cheyenney.