Baseball on deck for LADC

By Brent Shrum, Western News Reporter

The Libby Area Development Co. will review a grant proposal from the Libby Youth Baseball-Softball organization at a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, at the Memorial Center.

Also at Wednesday¹s meeting, the LADC will consider proposed loan and grant guidelines and a proposed 2004-2005 budget for the Kootenai River Development Council.

The baseball-softball group is seeking a $30,000 grant to construct permanent restroom facilities at the Libby ball fields. Installation of the facilities would allow Libby to host baseball and softball tournaments at the fields.

According to the group¹s grant proposal, ongoing development at the fields has been accomplished through $44,615 in community donations, which have included in-kind contributions from the city, county, school district and from volunteer laborers.

According to the proposal, a recent District 6-B basketball tournament in Libby brought more than $100,000 into the community through lodging and meals for the people attending the tournament.

The LADC also plans to consider adoption of loan and grant guidelines at Wednesday¹s meeting.

The proposed loan guidelines are based on the Small Business Administration¹s 504 Loan Program. If adopted, the guidelines would require businesses seeking loans from LADC-administered funds to provide 10-percent of project funding in cash with 50 percent coming from a lending institution and 40 percent from the LADC. The bank would be in first place and the LADC in second place if the borrower were to default on the loan.

The lending institution would review applications and make recommendations on whether or not they should be funded. Basic application materials would include three years of financial statements and tax returns, two to three years of financial projections in lieu of historical cash flow, personal financial statements from company owners and a written history of the business along with future plans.

For grants for community development projects, the LADC will consider a proposal to use only interest earnings from invested funds and not the principal. The city¹s economic development fund, which is overseen by the LADC, was created through an $8 million federal economic development grant and currently contains a little more than $4 million. About $2 million in loans or loan guarantees is due to be repaid to the fund.

The 2004-2005 KRDC budget up for approval at Wednesday¹s meeting represents the final year of a three-year plan approved in 2002. The proposal approved in 2002 for the organization then known as the Lincoln County Economic Development Council included a $149,250 budget for the first year, $154,312 for the second and $159,633 for the third.