Small grants program makes an impact in Monroe, Mingo and Sully

Small grants that are regularly distributed to a number of economic development projects throughout Jasper County now have a replenished funding stream for the next year, ensuring even more businesses, municipalities and other entities can advance their goals and make improvements to their communities.

Jeff Davidson, executive director of JEDCO, provided an update to the county board of supervisors about the JEDCO Small Grants Program during the Oct. 1 meeting. When Davidson was first hired at JEDCO, he recalled a number of new ideas were presented to him; one of which was to spread out JEDCO funds.

“Trying to incentivize projects and help the eight small towns that belong to JEDCO, basically the largest towns not including Newton,” Davidson said. “Get some money doing good things and trying to increase and promote economic development in terms of creating jobs and creating tax space.”

In addition to the small grants, JEDCO launched a facade improvement program for the front facades of commercial buildings in small towns. It, too, was a very successful program. Davidson said the small grants were designed to have more flexibility but still promote economic development in smaller communities.

As part of the budget process, JEDCO is allocated $25,000 for the small grants and $50,000 for the facade improvement grants. After a year of projects, Davidson returns to the board to report on the projects so that the board can determine whether the programs need any tweaks or changes.

Funding for the small grants has already been budgeted for this fiscal year, but Davidson still sought the feedback from supervisors to see if they wanted to release the next $25,000 in funds into the small grants program balance. At the time of the meeting, the balance was at $1,914.

According to Davidson’s presentation, small grants can provide a maximum of $10,000. Davidson listed three projects that had received small grant funding this past year: The Gathering Place in Monroe, Station Street Bicycle Shop in Mingo and City of Sully’s comprehensive plan.

• The Gathering Place received a $3,750 JEDCO grant and $1,250 from City of Monroe to provide part-time staff to organize the facility and oversee volunteers.

• Station Street Bicycle Shop received a $9,310 JEDCO grant and $3,103 from City of Mingo to include convenience and grocery items for residents and visitors, as well as increased electrical service to the building and the addition of an outdoor community space that provided shade and seating for cyclists.

• City of Sully received a $10,000 JEDCO grant and provided its own funding of $13,500 to work with Mid-Iowa Planning Alliance to develop the comprehensive plan.

While The Gathering Place is a nonprofit, Davidson noted the JEDCO Board was still interested in helping with the project because it was “bringing a lot to Monroe” and “would encourage economic development.” The Gathering Place hosts a number of events for the school, clubs and the community as a whole.

Davidson said the Chichaqua Valley Trail is a mechanism for small towns like Mingo to bring money from the metro and get it spent in Jasper County. The bicycle shop’s project did just that by catering to both residents and visitors cruising through towns on their bicycles.

Sully’s comprehensive plan would help pave the roadmap for the future of the small town. The broad plan would be adopted by the city council and serve as a guide for economic growth over the next 20 years. The plan requires heavy public feedback. Supervisors had no questions or issues regarding the projects.

Supervisor Brandon Talsma said the projects were worthwhile and probably would not have happened without local communities participating and partnering with JEDCO. Supervisor Doug Cupples, who serves on the JEDCO Board, said the small grants program has been a good starter for the entities involved.