WORLAND -- In a move that could give a major boost to a fast-growing Bighorn Basin company, Washakie County Commissioners voted on Tuesday to approve the broad terms of a proposed lease agreement with Eleutian Technology.

Commissioners Ron Harvey and Terry Wolf voted to back a state grant request for up to $3 million to build a new headquarters for the company. They also agreed to lease the 10,000-square-foot building, when completed, to Eleutian for an average of $3,750 per month over a 12-year term.

Commissioner Aaron Anderson, whose wife works for Eleutian, recused himself from the vote and from discussions on the proposed agreement.

Tuesday's vote does not guarantee that the company will remain in Ten Sleep, as a number of details and logistical hurdles must still be overcome, said LeAnn Baker, executive director of the Washakie Development Association.

"This is a long ways from done," Baker said, adding that full details of the grant application, including building and infrastructure costs, must be ready by mid-November to meet the deadline for a required public hearing.

Harvey said the county would collect $540,000 in lease payments from Eleutian over 12 years - funds that are required under state law to be funneled back into local economic development projects.

Wolf said that "no funds from the county budget will be utilized for this," adding that Eleutian will donate land to the county for the building site, and will also pay for the project's engineering, survey and appraisal costs.

"Hopefully, what this project will effectively do is jump-start economic development in Washakie County," said Kent Holiday, founder and CEO of Eleutian.

Deal terms

Under terms of the proposed deal, Washakie County will apply for between $2.5 million and $3 million in state grant funds and will oversee construction of the building, a drinking water well and an enhanced septic system to serve the site.

State grant funds will also be used to improve and pave a half-mile section of road from the edge of Ten Sleep to the site, where Eleutian has bought about 40 acres to be used for its headquarters and for construction of new employee housing.

Eleutian will donate approximately 4 acres worth $300,000 to the county for use as the building site, as well as to satisfy a 10 percent local match requirement for the state grant application. The county will put up no funds.

Washakie County will own the land and the building, and will lease the building for six years to Eleutian at $20,000 per year. For the next six years, the annual payment will jump to $70,000.

Eleutian started with a staff of two in 2007, and now employs 350 full-time and part-time certified teachers from across Wyoming and elsewhere. Workers coach Asian students in conversational English using online video teleconferencing.

The company is the largest private employer in Ten Sleep, with more than 20 full-time workers and plans to hire 20 more over the next two years. It also has satellite offices in Cody, Lovell, Powell and Worland.

Eleutian employees have about two dozen children enrolled in Ten Sleep schools, with another dozen younger children set to enter school in the next few years, Holiday said, adding that the company pays full-time employees in Ten Sleep an average salary of about $50,000 per year.

Housing shortage

Holiday said a lack of available homes and vacant lots in Ten Sleep has complicated employee recruitment. And with the company expanding so quickly, managers had to know this week whether a deal could be struck to grow the business there, or if they would have to move it to another community with more office and residential options.

Some in Ten Sleep have expressed concern that the growing company will change the character of the small ranching town of 300. Others have said that increased school enrollment and local payroll spending has been a boost to the town.

Baker said there would be a public hearing in November on the project, with additional public information meetings possible in Worland and Ten Sleep.

Harvey said the project could prove to be a "great help" to economic development in Washakie County over the next several years, but added that the county and Eleutian would have to stay in close communication during the grant application process.

Wolf said that commissioners "need to make sure we have as much specific information as possible" as plans continue to develop.

Eleutian has been heavily recruited by other Wyoming communities, including Cody, Casper and Sheridan, but Holiday has repeatedly said that his first choice is to remain in Ten Sleep.

Holiday said he is optimistic the company will be able to stay, but added that he will continue talking to other Wyoming communities in case the Washakie County grant application is not approved.