CHEYENNE - A grant for the Casper Area Business Innovation Center Building is one of 40 applications the Wyoming Business Council will deal with Thursday during a meeting in Cheyenne.

The applicants are a record number for the decade-old council, said spokesperson Rachel Girt.

They are seeking a total of $29 million.

The Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board wants $4.5 million to renovate the old Amoco administrative building into a business innovation center at the former refinery site in Casper.

The money would also pay the cost of a 30,000 square foot addition for a mixed-use business incubator.

At full capacity the building will house up to 17 companies, which would use 60 percent of the space. Anchor tenants, which would provide cash flow, would use 20 percent and the rest will be a common area.

Total cost of the project is $10.5 million, according to the WBC staff review.

The staff recommended the grant but with reservations because the project "is not fully capitalized" and $4.9 million in grants and donations need to be secured.

Steve Elledge, the WBC's director of field operations and east central regional director, said the projected rewards of the project "are almost unmeasurable" and include the potential creation of hundreds of new jobs.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 8:30 am. at the Community House located in Lions Park in Cheyenne.

The 40 applications include 20 for $1.8 million in Community Development Block Grant money and 20 applications for $25.8 million for Business Ready Community funds.

The State Loan and Investment Board, which includes the governor and the other four elected state officials, will make the final decision on the Business Ready Community grants at a Jan. 8 meeting in Cheyenne.

Contact capital bureau reporter Joan Barron at (307) 632-1244 or joan.barron@trib.com

BREAKOUT

At a glance

Here is a list of the applications and the recommendations from the WBC staff:

Planning-projects: The board will review 12 CDBG planning applications requesting $297,000.� However, only $115,000 is available.� (Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.

- Fort Laramie - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a master plan. (Recommended)

- Washakie County - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $75,000 for a Westside Irrigation business plan. (Recommended)

- Moorcroft - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a senior housing study. (Recommended partial funding of $22,500)

- Riverton - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,334 for a nursing home study. (Recommended partial funding of $22,500)

- Sweetwater County - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $13,333 for a child development center study. (Recommended partial funding of $20,000)

- Campbell County - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a child care project.� (Not recommended)

- Green River - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $7,500 for a retail services study. (Not recommended)

- Lander - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a rodeo grounds study. (Not recommended)

- Lincoln County - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a Metcalf school study. (Not recommended)

- Riverton - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a river walk plan. (Not recommended)

- Sheridan - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a senior center study. (Not recommended)

- Star Valley Ranch - Requests $25,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $8,333 for a barn and silo study. (Not recommended)

Community-enhancements: (Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.)

- Cheyenne - Requests a $500,000 BRC grant, with donations and in-kind matches totaling $1,789,193 for Phase I of development for the David R. Romero South Cheyenne Community Park project. (Recommended)

- Green River - Requests a $500,000 BRC grant, with a community match of $500,000 for enhancements to the whitewater park project. (Recommended)

- Riverton - Requests a $500,000 BRC grant, with donations and in-kind matches totaling over $6 million for improving access on Highway 26 to the Riverton Tribal Center. (Recommended with contingency)

- Jackson - Requests a $500,000 BRC grant, with a community match of $4.5 million for a visitor�s center at the Home Ranch parking lot. (Recommended)

- Park County - Requests a $500,000 BRC grant, with donations and in-kind matches totaling $766,697 for improvements to the Sleeping Giant Ski Area. (Recommended with contingencies) �

�Main Street projects: (Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.)

- Green River - Requests a $300,000 CDBG grant, with a community match of $100,000 to purchase the Tomahawk Mall and make improvements. (Recommended with contingency)

- Rawlins - Requests a $1,485,000 BRC grant, with donations and in-kind matches totaling $165,000 to rehabilitate a downtown building for the Rainbow Te-Ton Entrepreneur Center. �(Recommended)

Senior and child care projects: (Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.)

- Sheridan - Requests an $891,217 BRC grant, with a community match of $99,024 for improving the road and utilities for the Green House Living in Sheridan � Alternative Elder Living, Inc. (Recommended with contingencies)

- Douglas - Requests a $2,965,000 BRC grant, with an in-kind match of $448,045 to provide infrastructure and build a facility for a child care center. (Not recommended)

�Community-facilities: These four grants requests, totaling $604,427, are through the CDBG Program not the Community Facilities Grant and Loan Program.�(Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.)

- Sheridan County - Requests $125,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $151,500 to make renovations and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance modifications for the Sheridan County Community Health Building.� (Funding recommended only for ADA components, fire suppression, weatherization, first-floor renovations �and asbestos abatement)

- Sweetwater County - Requests $86,063 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $28,687 to help replace the roof on a county-owned building used to provide services to low and moderate income persons. (Recommended)

- Thermopolis - Requests $300,000 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $27,541 to acquire a building that will be used as a downtown community facility. (Recommended)

- Mills - Requests $93,364 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $23,341 to renovate and remodel the community hall.� (Recommend partial funding of $31,032 only for ADA components and roof replacement)

Infrastructure-buildings: (Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.)

- Fremont County - Requests a $1.5 million BRC grant, with a community match of $171,000 to purchase and renovate the former Alco building. (Recommended with contingencies)

- Jackson Airport Board - Requests a $1.5 million BRC grant and a $1.5 million BRC loan for Phase I of the Jackson Hole Airport Terminal improvement project. The total project cost is $22.5 million. The community match is over $14 million. (Recommended)

- Wamsutter - Requests a $1,327,500 BRC grant, with donations and in-kind matches totaling $247,500, to construct a commercial building to house a future grocery store and bank, and provide additional retail space.� (Recommended with a contingency)

- AMOCO Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board - Requests $4.5 million in BRC funds to renovate the former AMOCO administration building and construct a 30,000 square foot addition to house the innovation center, a business incubator. The total project cost is $10.5 million. The community match is over $5 million, composed of donations and in-kind grants. (Recommended with contingencies)

�Infrastructure-accessibility: (Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.)

- Sundance - Requests $96,800 in CDBG funds, with donations and in-kind matches totaling $48,286 to purchase ADA-compliant restrooms for Clarenbach and Washington parks and put in an ADA walkway for Clarenbach Park. (Recommended)

- Saratoga - Requests a $299,000 BRC grant and $300,000 in CDBG funds for improvements to the town-owned Hobo pool bathhouse, including handicapped accessibility accommodations, and to construct a �not-so-hot� pool. The project has donations and in-kind matches totaling $52,320. (Recommend partial funding of $283,300 from BRC funds and $273,500 from CDBG funds only for the reconstruction of the bathhouse, which will be ADA compliant)

Infrastructure-large scale: (Staff recommendations are in parentheses and italics.)

- Johnson County/Buffalo Joint Powers Board - Requests a $202,492 BRC grant, with a community match of $10,658 to construct a sewer lift station and sewer infrastructure. (Recommended)

- Dubois - Requests $704,900 BRC grant, with in-kind match of $1,763,657 for water and sewer infrastructure to further develop land targeted for health care related businesses. (Recommended)

- Encampment - Requests $1.5 million BRC grant, with an in-kind match of $169,075 to purchase a former sawmill site and put in the necessary infrastructure to develop it into an industrial park. (Recommended)

- Star Valley- Requests $1,376,625 BRC grant, with a community match of $152,958 for commercial infrastructure improvements and realignment of an intersection. (Recommended with contingency)

- Torrington - Requests $208,885 in CDBG funds, with a community match of $69,628 for sewer replacement. (Recommended)

- Upton - Requests $2,042,469 BRC grant, with a community match of $226,941 to improve the water and sewer service in the Upton regional Industrial Site. (Recommended)

- Laramie Regional Airport Joint Powers Board - Requests $1.5 million BRC grant, with a community match of $316,770 to expand infrastructure for the Professional Airpark and research center to accommodate both aviation and non-aviation related businesses. (Recommended)