 - The Shoshoni Town Council approved two resolutions last week authorizing applications for more than $6 million in funding through the Wyoming Business Council's Building Resilient Communities Grant and Loan Program to support construction of a new cardiopulmonary center at 214 Idaho Street.){kind=link}
(Shoshoni, WY) – The Shoshoni Town Council approved two resolutions last week authorizing applications for more than $6 million in funding through the Wyoming Business Council’s Building Resilient Communities Grant and Loan Program to support construction of a new cardiopulmonary center at 214 Idaho Street.
Shoshoni Mayor Joel Highsmith said Wyoming Cardiopulmonary Services of Casper would maintain a 12-person staff at the proposed 7,500 square foot facility – a structure that would “complement” the recently renovated Fast Lane convenience store across the street.
“It’s going to be a really nice-looking building,” he said. “When you come through Shoshoni, it’ll make us look a little bit better.”
Two resolutions
The first resolution the council approved last week authorized an application for a $3.4 million loan from the WBC program.
Under the proposal, Wyoming Cardiopulmonary Services would lease the building from the town, making payments of $312,500 annually for the first five years, followed by annual payments of $366,500 before a final payment of $240,000.
Those lease payments would cover the town’s loan repayment obligations, according to the resolution, which also states that Wyoming Cardiopulmonary Services would cover any cost overruns from the project.
The second resolution the council approved last week authorizes an application for a $3 million BRC grant.
The town would provide a local match for the grant consisting of $1.5 million from the requested BRC loan and the approximately $60,000 value of the property at 214 Idaho Street, the resolution states.
Highsmith said the majority of the grant money could be used to develop local infrastructure – or to match additional grant requests.
‘The first step’
The council’s decision to approve the grant and loan applications represents “the first step” in a multi-step process to build the new cardiopulmonary center, Highsmith said last week.
Next, he said, the WBC will analyze the funding applications and determine whether to recommend approval of the grant and loan requests by the State Loan and Investment Board.
“It’s just going to be a process,” Shoshoni Police Department Chief Chris Konija – who was named as the grant coordinator in both resolutions – said. “We really won’t know anything until … towards the end of the year.”
Meanwhile, Highsmith said the town, the Wyoming Business Council and Wyoming Cardiopulmonary Services are working on a contract for the project that will eventually require council approval.
If the parties can’t agree on the details of the contract, Highsmith said the whole project “blows up.”
According to the resolutions the council approved last week, the proposed cardiopulmonary center would expand access to medical services in Shoshoni while also creating jobs and encouraging economic development.
In addition, the resolutions say revenues generated from the project would be reinvested into infrastructure improvements, housing development, and other economic development initiatives.