CASCADE LOCKS — The Cascade Locks Port Commission discussed rules for their next round of grant funding — another $150,000 for businesses, nonprofits or government organizations that can help achieve the goals of their strategic business plan — in a July 29 workshop.
This year’s funding was distributed to seven awardees. That drew more than $67,000 in grant matching funds to Cascade Locks. Two projects, so far, have been completed successfully. Cascade Locks Fire and EMS gave a final report, and Land Mass Wines will present in August.
Port of Cascade Locks Deputy Executive Director Genevieve Scholl said a lot of the work was helping people learn what a grant was and how it worked, as there’s so few opportunities for-profit businesses get, and many had never done it before.
During the next round, applications will need to be “a little more polished” with increased competition.
There will be an application period later this year, with Mid-Columbia Economic Development (MCEDD) contracted to score the applications and commissioners approving the final choices. Commissioners noted a need for more formal confirmation of building permits for construction, with fully permitted projects scoring higher.
“We’ve got a very small staff, and this is a really neat way to share the workload,” Scholl said. The business plan goes through 2029 and includes some “very ambitious” goals.
Port of Cascade Locks Executive Director Jeremiah Blue said a number of other port directors in Oregon have approached him to ask how it’s done. Cascade Locks isn’t the first Oregon port to attempt funding a grant program, but they’re the among the first to find a way through all the legal risks and duties and made a program that works.
Scholl said the most important way to prepare for your application is to “read the strategic business plan, and make sure your project does something for this.”
Timeline remains one year, but commission asks for the ability to approve a two-year timeline for specific, longer-term projects. Ideally, applications open Sept. 1.
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