August 2001

BLDC RELENDING PROGRAM EXPANDS AND EVOLVES WITH MORE USDA FUNDS FOR NEW REVOLVING LOANS Over the last year, the BLDC has been busy writing 20 small business loans using its various Revolving Loan Funds(RLFs), including its growing USDA Rural Development Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) Funds. This money is borrowed from the federal government at a very favorable 1-percent interest rate, and then made available at a slightly higher but still very reasonable rate to help fund business and economic development projects in Butte. The funds are available to individuals, and public and private entities able to assemble a viable business plan to establish new businesses, create or preserve jobs, or for community development projects. The IRP loan funds managed by BLDC continue to grow. The first IRP revolving loan fund was fueled with one million dollars and that was soon augmented by a second fund of $816,000 dollars. A third loan expanded BLDC's loan capabilities by another $500,000, for a total of $2.3 million in IRP funds. This money has been loaned to qualified businesses. A recent successful application brought a fourth IRP loan of $750,000 to aid business start-ups, retentions, or expansions, here in Butte. As these loans are repaid to the BLDC, the funds are then available to be reloaned or "revolved" to other businesses. The BLDC averages about $100,000 per IRP loan to go along with owner equity and bank participation, which is in place on almost all of the loans. Overall, $6.9 million dollars available in loan funds through the BLDC-administered RLFs funds was available for original loans. Of that, $5.9 is loaned out. Of that, $5.9 million has been loaned out. In addition, $2.1 million in "revolved" or "secondary" loans have been made, for a total of $8 million in BLDC RLF loans made to advance business development. Approximately $615,000 is committed to pending loans, leaving $160,000 currently available. Certified Loan Specialist Pam Haxby-Cote said, "We have a high demand for these loans, with requests from individuals, companies and banks. We turn away at least two business plans that aren't quite ready for every loan that we fund." The BLDC is applying for another $750,000 in IRP funds, according to Haxby-Cote. "If we are successful, we should have those funds available to loan to qualifying businesses by early next year." WHERE'S THE MONEY? The following table lists the loans provided from the various revolving loan funds administered over the last year by the BLDC to help establish, expand, or retain local businesses and jobs. For more details about these loans or about the program, contact Pam Haxby-Cote at 723-4349 or by e-mail at pcote@in-tch.com.   BLDC Loans Over the Last Twelve Months Company Business Purpose Type Butte Amateur Hockey Assoc. Recreation for kids New indoor ice rink  Community project The Gardens Uptown conference and reception hall Renovation of facility; equipment Start-up Montana Restorations Furniture replica manufacturing Working capital  Recruitment  Beverage Choice.com Software development/ manufacturing Working capital  Recruitment  ITG World  Medical education via Internet Working capital & equipment  Recruitment Fortune Developers Transportation Facilities Building construction  Expansion Continental Steelworks Metal Fabrication Equipment Retention Schoolworks Online Software development/ manufacturing Working capital  Recruitment Big Sky Vending Food vending Working capital Retention (Forest fire- related) AWARE, Inc. Early Head Start and Administration Building construction Expansion JEM Enterprises Excavation Equipment  Recruitment Paperline, LLC Wholesale paper Inventory  Start-up Zobenica Sheet Metal and Heating HVAC services Equipment  Start-up Rapcom, LLC Mobile television services Equipment  Start-up Hawe Steel & Design Metal fabrication design Working capital  Retention Panterra Minerals Fertilizer manufacturing Equipment Recruitment & start-up Sheep- shearers Union Machine shop Equipment Expansion and retention Montana Coat Co. Clothing manufacturing Equipment Expansion Motel 6 Lodging Furnishings  Start-up Uptown Ventures, LLC Uptown building restoration Building renovation  Start-up HELLO & FAREWELL TO HEIDI BAKER Heidi Baker is finishing up after a busy summer working for the BLDC as an intern. During a very productive summer, she updated and formatted a listing of available financing programs and their eligibility criteria into an easy-to-read brochure (for a free copy, call us at 723-4349 or send e-mail to pcote@in-tch.com). Another project that took up much of Heidi's time was the completion of the draft East Side Urban Renewal Plan for historic Uptown Butte. Due to time constraints caused by other pressing obligations, the Butte-Silver Bow Staff was unable to complete a report on the feasibility of a new tax increment district for the East Side of the Uptown. The BLDC requested approval to have Heidi focus on the task during her time in Butte this summer. This detailed planning report provides the essential information to allow the Council of Commissioners to create a new tax increment district to support the revitalization of the East Side - the area east of Arizona Street to Continental Drive and south of Quartz Street to Second Street. The Council of Commissioners is currently engaged in a debate about whether to create a new tax increment district for the East Side, or extend the boundaries of the current URA to cover most of the area. A new district would have a potential 40-year development life, while an expansion of the URA would only provide 13 years for growth assistance in the East Side. For that reason, and also because it opposes dilution and dissipation of the limited resources of the current URA, the BLDC supports the creation of the new tax increment district for East Side redevelopment, rather than an extension of the URA. Heidi is the daughter of Roger and Marcia Baker of Butte. She was the Valedictorian of Butte High's 1998 class. She will soon be returning to her studies at the University of Montana in Missoula where she is majoring in Economics. We would like to acknowledge her contributions to local economic development while home in Butte this summer and we wish her continued success in her studies and in her future career. SMITHAM SINGS BUTTE'S PRAISES AT TRADE SHOW Marketing Butte's business advantages is the new purview of long-time economic development specialist Jim Smitham. Since joining the staff of the BLDC this year, after 26 years at Montana Power, Jim has taken on the growing responsibility of accelerating marketing and outreach efforts. This took him to San Francisco in July for the annual SEMICON 2001 trade show that brings together the main businesses in the semiconductor industry. It is an important meeting for us to attend," said Smitham, "because many companies are there that might consider moving their high-tech businesses to Silicon Mountain or Butte's Cyber Village. It gives us an opportunity to meet with them and show them Butte's potential." Smitham explained that BLDC was able to meet with 55 companies at the conference. While realizing that there is an undeniable slowdown in the semiconductor industry that mirrors the overall slow-down in high-tech businesses, Smitham reported that the general sense is that a recovery is expected in about the second quarter of next year. "We need to stay on the radar screen with these companies for when the turnaround does come along," said Evan Barrett. Smitham added that despite the downturn, good things did come from the meeting. He explained that they were able to establish a working relationship with Praxair, a major supplier of industrial gas which supplies ASiMI in the Silicon Mountain Technology Park. Praxair will help market the Butte site as a way to help both Butte and their business. In September, Smitham will be on the road again, this time to attend the annual international trade show of the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives (NACORE) in Nashville, Tennessee. Butte will join the State of Montana there, Smitham added, and will be the only Montana city to have its own booth at the show where information about business opportunities in Butte will be prominently displayed NACORE's trade periodical is one of a handful of periodicals that have featured Butte and its potential as a place to do business in the Northwest in recent months. In the July/August 2001 issue of Northwest Business and Industrial Properties, Butte's Cyber Village was featured on a front-page story about Montana projects. Butte's economic profile, especially the success of attracting ASiMI to locate their new $550 million dollar polysilicon processing plant featured prominently in the July issue of Horizon Air in a story about doing business in Montana. BUTTE IS "HOME FOR GOOD" The BLDC is just about ready to launch a new long-term direct mailing marketing effort to promote Butte's advantages as a place to do business.   A prospect mailing will soon be sent to about 12,000 alumni of Montana universities—UM, MSU and Tech—who graduated in technical and business fields in the 1970s and 1980s and who also currently live out-of-state. The hope is that they might consider returning if they knew the advantages of bringing their businesses home. The prospect mailing is built around the theme "Home for Good" and features Butte's Silicon Mountain and Cyber Village. BLDC Marketing Director Jim Smitham explained that the effort of the prospect mailing is to "elicit targeted communications. Our goal is to get a good response and then follow-up with one-on-one conversations with businesses that have Montana roots." Smitham added that interactive forms have been put onto the BLDC's three web sites to make it easier for visitors, especially Montana alumni, to submit information about their current businesses and to request packages containing more detailed information about doing business in Butte. "We'll continue regular mailings to targeted companies as these are identified," he added. "This is just the beginning of an effort to expand our outreach in a new direction." BLDC HELPS FORM NEW REGIONAL TECH NETWORK The BLDC recently helped create a new working group to explore joint technology projects in the area—The Southwest Montana Technology Network. The group has already established a list-serv to exchange ideas by e-mail and members meet once a month to exchange ideas, information, and to explore possibilities to work together on joint projects. "Each month several companies explain what they do and then listen as others do the same," explained Jim Smitham, BLDC Marketing Director and coordinator of the Technology Network. "It's an opportunity to exchange information that helps all the businesses that participate and increases their awareness of the possibilities of economic growth from technology-related businesses." The new group has met three times and plans monthly get-togethers. Anyone interested in participating in the Southwest Montana Technology Network should call Jim Smitham at 723-4349 (ext. 4) or e-mail him at jsmitham@in-tch.com. SMOOTH LANDING IN BUTTE STILL FOR SATOTRAVEL SatoTravel is still coming to Butte although recently purchased by Denver-based travel industry giant Navigant which, with the addition of SATO has become the second largest travel-related business in the United States. SatoTravel will continue to operate under its current name. Plans are still on track to establish offices in Butte for approximately 230 SatoTravel employees in the first and second floors of the old Sears Building on West Granite Street in Uptown Butte. Butte-Silver Bow County will complete the $3.8 million renovation of the Sears building and will then lease the refurbished building to SatoTravel. SatoTravel is already engaged in the initial hiring process in Butte. They have set up temporary offices on the first floor in the Murray Building on the corner of West Granite and Alaska streets. The renovation of the Sears to provide modern office space for new employees is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy in early 2002. CYBER VILLAGE UPDATE The Old Thornton Block on West Broadway, with its distinctive balconies, is one of several buildings Uptown that could house a "fiber hotel" to help wheel data to new Internet businesses in a Cyber Village. Despite a recent shakeout in high-tech industries that has sharpened the competition to attract dot.com businesses, efforts continue toward the goal of attracting Internet-based businesses to Uptown Butte around the concept of a Cyber Village. The current focus is on infrastructure to ensure that the built environment serves businesses who appreciate the historic appearance of the buildings but who also need them to meet standards for conducting business in the new economy. Plans still revolve around acquiring or designating an Uptown building to house a "fiber hotel" to provide connectivity for the district. A wireless Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) will allow surrounding buildings to easily share data and communications. The building will also provide office space for several new Internet-based companies, or another building may be designated to serve that purpose separately. Already five software-related firms are in Butte or they have committed to set up business in Butte in the near future. The same Uptown building that houses the fiber hotel may also serve to provide office space for The Cyber Village effort has also succeeded in getting the attention of two new information technology companies that are located or committed to come to Butte. Look for more details about Cyber Village companies in the next issue of Jobs for Butte. BUTTE LOOKING AHEAD TO TWO NEW ENERGY PLANTS There's a new kid on the block in the Silicon Mountain Technology Park. Continental Energy Services is busy in the process of obtaining the necessary permits to begin construction of a new 500-megawatt gas-fired power generating plant. Meanwhile, they have opened up offices in the historic First National Bank in Uptown Butte. When built, the new Continental Energy Services plant may not have to look too far for its customers. A stable power supply in a deregulated energy environment may prove to be a powerful draw to encourage new businesses to come join them in the technology park when Continental Energy's plant comes online. Continental hopes to complete the extensive permitting process by November and begin construction before the end of the year. They expect construction to take about two years before the power plant will be ready to begin generating electricity for sale in 2004. Basin Creek Power is developing another new plant for the Industrial Park in South Butte, which promises to deliver 160 megawatts of power when completed. As these new energy plant projects progress, look for more details in future issues of Jobs for Butte.