Business Council Board meets May 11-12 in Cheyenne

The Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors will consider two Business Ready Community (BRC) funding requests during its regular quarterly meeting at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Headquarters at 1210 W. 8th Ave. According to the WBC, this will be the first time the board will meet in person since March 2020. 

The meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 12. The full agenda and meeting materials will be released prior to the meeting at this link. 

For those interested in participating, listening and/or watching remotely, join the Zoom meeting here. To call in to the meeting, dial 1-253-215-8782 or 1-346-248-7799. 

If individuals wish to speak during the meeting, please send an email to wbc-conference@wyo.gov prior to 4 p.m. on May 10. The WBC is requesting potential speakers to state their full name and the topic they wish to address.  

The Business Council board and staff also will conduct a public work session on Tuesday, May 11, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Blue FCU World Headquarters at 2401 E. Pershing Blvd. in Cheyenne. No action on matters of public business will be taken and public comments will not be accepted. If individuals would like to join virtually, do so here. 

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.   

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. 

The SLIB will make final decisions on BRC project requests at its 8 a.m. meeting on June 3. 

Projects being considered at the May 12, board meeting:   

Community Readiness 

The City of Mills requests a $1.9 million grant to develop a 5-acre lot of riverfront property for development. The project will be used to connect water and sewer service, install fiber optic cable, riverbank stabilization and dirt fill. The WBC staff recommended funding as requested.  

Laramie County requests a $500,000 grant to establish a maker-to-market fabrication lab and collaboration space on the Laramie County Community College (LCCC) campus. This project will provide for the development of prototypes for market testing and capital investment acquisition.  The WBC staff recommended  partial funding.