WBC Board to Meet Virtually for Regular Quarterly Meeting

The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) Board of Directors will consider four Business Ready Community (BRC) funding requests during its regular quarterly meeting on Thursday, Dec. 9. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom beginning at 9 a.m. (instead of 8 a.m. as the previous notice stated). 

Anyone interested in participating, listening, or watching remotely, can join the Zoom meeting at bit.ly/WBC_Meeting. To call into the meeting, dial 1-253-215-8782 or 1-346-248-7799. If you wish to speak during the meeting, please send an email to [email protected] prior to 4 p.m. on Dec. 7. Please state your name and the topic you wish to address.   

Meeting materials and a full agenda will be available at wyomingbusiness.org/boardbook prior to the meeting.

ABOUT BUSINESS READY COMMUNITY (BRC) GRANT APPLICATIONS  
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 at a public meeting.

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. 

SLIB will make final decisions on the following four BRC project requests at its 8 a.m. meeting on Thursday, Feb.3. 

Managed Data Center Cost Reduction Application
The City of Cheyenne requests a $2.25 million BRC grant to assist an as-yet-unnamed company to develop a large data center campus that will store and process data, create a platform for economic growth, spur job creation, and help develop the technical ecosystem that exists in Laramie County. The company, known as Project Bison, projects $50 million in new taxable capital investment and almost $4.5 million in proposed new employee wages in the first five years.

The company has purchased a 260-acre parcel of land within the Bison Business Park in Cheyenne and anticipates construction will be completed and operations will commence by the end of 2022 or early 2023.

Community Readiness Application
The Town of Shoshoni requests a $1,583,419 community readiness grant to extend sewer infrastructure from Maple Street westward toward the Wyoming Mushrooms farm. This infrastructure will develop an eight-inch sewer main and allow for the readiness of 273 acres of land.

The town currently owns 113 acres of the proposed development with water infrastructure already present. The other 160 acres are owned by Wyoming Mushrooms. The land and increased sewer capacity will be utilized to expand their business operations, create employee housing and create 20 to 30 new jobs.

Planning Grant Application
The Town of Shoshoni requests a $25,000 BRC planning grant to select a consulting firm to investigate the feasibility of a full-service hotel in Shoshoni. This need was identified in Shoshoni’s Town Master Plan completed in 2021 and significant tourism activity and growth in the tourism industry is taking place in the region.

Community Project Application
The Town of Jackson requests a $52,926 community project grant for the installation of 15 ski lift chairs, previously used at Snow King Resort, in various locations along North and South Cache Street via the Jackson Town Square to the base of Snow King Resort. The route was chosen to connect the Jackson Town Square to the historic Snow King Resort and the chairs would be curated as one public art installation that encourages the public to experience all the separately installed historic ski lift chairs.