Hello CHERYL,

The goal of my newsletter is to keep our board members and stakeholders up-to-date on SCED activities. We will feature project updates, share success stories, provide key SCED facts, and delve into noteworthy economic development events. Let me know if you'd like to hear about a specific topic.

Happy SCED Anniversary to Chery!

Happy SCED anniversary to Cheryl for her 12 years of service at SCED. Cheryl is in charge of closing our SBA 504 loans and assists Ryan with administrative responsibilities. Ryan noted, "We could not do what we do without Cheryl." Read more about Cheryl by clicking here.

Modoc County Meat Processing Feasibility Study

The Modoc County Meat Processing Feasibility Study is complete and can be read here. Based on community input, SCED applied for and received a USDA grant to complete the feasibility study.

SCED, with the assistance of a local advisory committee, selected Morrison from Chico to prepare the feasibility study. Over 8-months, Morrison completed the feasibility study and cash flow projections. Morrison concluded that the project is feasible and thinks the public/private partnership is our best bet.

Michigan's Roadmap to Rural Prosperity

I ran across Michigan's Roadmap to Rural Prosperity and found we have a number of commonalities. Housing and workforce challenges topped the most cited issues facing rural Michigan.

They also found a lack of local capacity - the funding, staffing, and expertise needed to deliver services, plan for projects, and manage community goals - make it especially challenging for rural communities to respond to complete challenges and attract new investment.

The roadmap developed high-level strategies to address:

• Grow and diversify the workforce across sectors
• Improve individual health & economic wellbeing
• Support local and regional capacity to delivery service
• Expand quality and attain housing opportunities
• Build and maintain resilient infrastructure
• Enhance regionally driven and place-based economic development efforts
• Protect, conserve, and be a responsible steward of natural assets

My favorite recommendation was to work with the private sector and philanthropy to create a rural financial match program that would allow underserved rural communities to identify and access financial match sources more easily for state and federal programs that require it.

Resilience Workshop Planning Guide

The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), our EDA trade association, developed the Resilience Workshop Planning Guide.

Regional development organizations are using local and regional resilience workshops to identify community climate and economic resilience needs, connect local leaders with funding opportunities, and create action plans for future sustainable growth.

This new NADO resource provides a walk through of how organizations can bring these resilience workshops to their own regions. Topics covered include workshop goalsetting, stakeholder engagement, and post-workshop implementation, evaluation, and follow-up. 

California GO-BIZ Update

NOTE: This section is copied from Gregg Foster's informative CERC Weekly Newsletter.

There are quite a few new programs to highlight this month. These are outlined below and highlighted yellow in the document linked below.

Highlights include:

• GO-BIZ Announcements
• New CalBIS Team Map
• CA Film & Tax Credit awards announcement
• State Business & Workforce Incentives
• DIR - CA Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship Program Grant
• ENERGIIZE EV – nation’s first commercial vehicle fleet infrastructure incentive project
• EDD – Displaced Oil & Gas Worker Fund
• CDFA – CA Fruit Tree, Nut Tree & Grapevine Improvement Research Grant (this may help address the current almond pest issue)
• CEC – Charging Infrastructure for Government Fleets
• CEC – Geothermal Energy Operations & Lithium Innovation
• CEC – Tribal Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, planning & workforce training and development grant
• CEC – Food Production Investment Program (FPIP) open now through 4/26
• Community Resources & Programs
• CEC – Community CBO Workshop for ZEV infrastructure Grant Application
• Affordable Housing & Sustainable Communities Round 8
• HCD – CDBG MIT RIP Allocation 

SCED Loan Corner

The Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loan program is a financing option to help small businesses acquire fixed assets such as real estate or equipment. It's structured to provide long-term, fixed-rate financing while requiring a lower down payment from the borrower than conventional loans.

Under the 504 loan program:

• The borrower typically contributes at least 10% of the project cost, although this can vary depending on factors such as the age of the business or the type of project.
• SCED provides up to 40% of the project costs through a 504 loan. This portion is backed by a SBA-guaranteed debenture (a bond).
• The lender provides the remaining 50% of the project costs through a conventional loan.

Sierra sends a monthly SBA 504 rate newsletter to our lending partners. Please click here to get added to her newsletter.

SCED Board Meeting Schedule - Reserve the Dates

• May 16, 2024 - Noon - Redding City Hall
• August 15, 2024 - Noon - Redding City Hall
• December 5, 2024 - Noon - Redding City Hall
• February 2025 - TBD

News and Notes

• SCED applied for a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to create an Outdoor Recreation Industry Sector Partnership that aligns with our CEDS. Hat tip to Kory Hayden from the Siskiyou Economic Development Council for her input and help on the proposal.
• Understanding the Economic Development Administration's Investments and Impacts - The US Economic Development Administration (EDA), established in 1965 as part of the US Department of Commerce, runs eight programs designed to promote economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness within the country’s regional markets, particularly in communities experiencing economic distress.
• It’s the only store for dozens of miles. PG&E’s latest rate hikes could put it out of business. - Although the Big Valley Market in Bieber is just outside our district in Lassen County, I drive through the town on my way to Modoc County. Rate hikes are an issue impacting businesses throughout the region.
• Habitat For Humanity struggles to sell affordable homes amid California insurance crisis. - The insurance issue mentioned in the article is a massive issue for rural economic development as it impacts (1) housing for people already in the area, (2) increases costs for businesses, and (3) makes it hard for new workforce (people) to move to the region to fill open jobs.

Ryan's Ramblings

Meetings are part of the job that I really enjoy. Talking about SCED and the region is always fun. Toss in problem solving and it is even better! Scheduling meetings has not been an enjoyable process. I email a few dates, but the contact can't make those dates, and it becomes a tiresome circle. I recently started using Calendy after I saw others using and so far I'm happy with it. If you want to try it out and schedule a time to discuss SCED go ahead and click here.

Last weekend my daughter and I wanted to get out of the house and decided to go for a drive. We headed up to Burney for lunch at the Alpine Drive Inn, then we headed to Bieber, then to Susanville, and back to Redding in a giant loop. It was a long car ride but we enjoyed seeing beautiful rural America.

Ryan

P.S - Want to schedule a time to chat? Click here

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