Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

EDO grants total $9 million

There was plenty of good news in the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office's annual report.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the EDO, told members of the Nevada County Quorum Court, at its regular monthly meeting, Monday, Jan. 14, the Nevada County EDO is beating the national average in attracting industry.

Looking back over the seven years the EDO has been in existence, he said, there have been 80 prospects, with eight of them locating in Prescott and Nevada County.

This, he said is a 10 percent average, while the national average is 3.75 percent.

Three of the eight industries, however, have left, but the city and county are still better off because the facilities they were in are in better shape now than when the industries came. These buildings, Chadwell said, can be showed to new prospects.

Additionally, he said, there are seven prospects of the 80 still pending, and could locate in Prescott and Nevada County.

The EDO wrote and helped write grants totaling $9,073,103 for the city and county, he said. This is an average 1,084 percent return on the investment into the EDO.

Chadwell said the EDO has been notified of more grant money coming in. The Fair Hill Volunteer Fire Department was approved for a grant of $1,018 for new equipment, while the city received a grant for downtown sidewalk repair in the amount of $405,000. The city's part will be $81,000 in matching money.

This grant, he said, will allow the city to redo all the sidewalks in downtown Prescott, including at the courthouse and on Elm Street.

The EDO's goals for 2002 include contacting two new prospects a month, with four follow-up calls or visits with current prospects each month.

In addition, the EDO plans to find prospects for the former Prescott Manufacturing building and old armory building, getting a spec building completed in the industrial park and get renovation started on the defunct Nevada County Hospital for a current prospect.

Chadwell is also looking for a 9 plus rating for every leadership session during the year, along with graduating all 15 in the class. He expects to get 20 applicants for the 2003 leadership class.

Other plans include completing new streetlights in the downtown area, finishing restoration on the Depot Museum, finish construction on the new Nevada County Library and get two of the pocket parks built.

Chadwell told the court he is still in contact with the three major prospects, with all of them still being interested in possibly locating here.

In other business, the court approved modifying the distribution of Act 833 money from 10 to 11, to include the Fair Hills VFD.

This, according to Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown, will mean each department in the county will get about $3,500.