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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBusiness Loan Request - COBA DESCHUTES COUNTY/CITY OF BEND Business Development Forgivable Loan Fund -APPLICATION- The Deschutes County Business Development Forgivable Loan Fund and City of Bend Business Development Forgivable Loan Fund disburse moneys for the purpose of increasing employment and capital investment with each respective jurisdiction. The Fund has been established to offset the costs of business relocation to and within Deschutes County, including moving of equipment, purchase or construction or construction of facilities, and site improvements such as extension of public services and utilities. EDCO has been designated by Deschutes County and the City of Bend as the administrator of this fund. The magnitude of funding is dependent on Job creation (typically $1,000-$2,000 per job). This application may be considered a public record and thus be made available for inspection by the public upon request. Under Oregon public records law, certain trade secrets and proprietary financial information may be withheld from disclosure. If the applicant wishes for such information to be withheld from disclosure, please submit a separate letter containing that request. EDCO, Deschutes County and the city of Bend agree to withhold such information from disclosure to the extent permitted by law. Key Requirements Are: Grantees must create at least five (5) new primary, permanent family wage jobs and shall retain those jobs for at least one year. Optional: Documented capital expenditures will increase strength of application. Grantees are urged to document the investment of taxable investments (new equipment, building improvements) to demonstrate expansion and growth commitment. Please provide a quarterly capital investment projection. Responses to the questions below need not be limited to the space provided, but please keep total application materials to no more than 12 pages. Number of Employees: 5 Company Request: $10,000 – five primary jobs $40,000– 20 secondary jobs (COBA membership company job creation) TOTAL = $50,000 BEDAB Recommendation: $10,000 (Five primary jobs only) Proposed Job Creation by end of Q2 2013: 25 new employees (five at COBA, 20 at member companies) Average Pay for New Employees (all positions, excluding commissions): $36,000 Capital Investment: $25,000 Industry: Construction-Manufacturing-Technology Website: www.coba.org Section I Date: 4/28/11 Company Name: COBA-Central Oregon Builders Association Location (City/County): Bend/Deschutes County Business Type: Private Non-profit Trade Association Industry Type: Construction-Manufacturing-Technology No. of Employees: Current: 5 expected new: 5 Association members Employment: Current: 247 expected new: 25 HQ Address: 61396 S. Hwy 97, Suite 203 Bend, OR. 97702 State & Federal Taxpayer ID: State # 285312-0 Federal: 93-0763605 Company Contact: Tim Knopp Title: Executive Vice President Phone: 541-389-1058 Email: timk@coba.org Parent Company: Central Oregon Builders Association, Inc. Website: www.coba.org Section II-Company Profile 1. Please provide a brief overview of your business. Chartered in 1972, the Central Oregon Builders Association (COBA) is a 501(c6) not‐for‐profit  organization founded to serve its member companies in Deschutes, Crook, Grant, Gilliam,  Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, Malheur, Sherman, Wasco & Wheeler counties. Our  membership is over 600 companies strong.  COBA’s mission is to represent the building industry before government and the community, to  promote high ethical standards within the building industry, to provide service to its  membership and to defend the opportunities of home ownership for all.  COBA is a trade association serving local construction manufacturers, material suppliers and the  businesses that support them. Builders and contractors, are, in the most basic sense, local  manufacturers. They manufacture products, homes and commercial buildings, with materials  provided by numerous suppliers. Due to the labor intensive nature of construction  manufacturing, jobs are created or lost quickly depending on the economic cycle.   Central Oregon’s labor force and its economic future remains tied to construction  manufacturing. It’s important for Deschutes County to diversify the job base. However, ignoring  a key sector that will lead our economic recovery is done at our own peril.  Construction has  had, and will continue to have, a significant impact in both labor and capital on our region’s  economic health.   COBA is leading the way in innovative and energy efficient construction, by training the  construction manufacturing industry to go above and beyond code to meet best practices. We  are the region’s leading authority and driving force behind the promotion, protection and  improvement of the construction manufacturing industry.  Section III-Project Activities 1. Please outline the proposed activities for these funds. How will access to the Business Development Forgivable Loan Fund support your strategic objectives, while increasing your employment and investment in the Central Oregon Region? Explain why public funding is necessary for the success of this expansion or relocation. Please be specific. How will these funds help your company grow and add jobs? COBA, a proven and trusted non‐profit provider of services to the central Oregon construction  manufacturing industry, will expand by having construction Invitation To Bid (ITB) software  designed by a local company for use both here and nationwide.    Central Oregon along with many other mid‐sized markets with 250,000 population or less, are  technologically behind metro areas in capability and efficiency during the project bid process.  This leads to more costly and less successful bids. The mid‐sized market currently lacks efficient  and cost effective ITB software & full bid services for both residential and commercial  contractors/manufacturers.     Through the full service online ITB software contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, architects,  trades and the general public will be able to use a menu of services including electronically  receive notice of projects that are up for bid, host their plans, bid on plans, invite trades and  suppliers to bid on plans and reproduce those plans when necessary.  This will allow local construction manufacturing companies through the online ITB software to  efficiently and cost effectively bid projects outside the area creating traded sector capital and  employment in Deschutes County. This will save money and resources while “greening” the bid  process.  Just our region alone currently has thousands of licensed contractors. Each year hundreds of  millions of dollars in projects are bid locally and in today’s economy the bidding is more  competitive than ever.  More out‐of‐area and out‐of‐state contractors are successfully bidding  on local projects. The online ITB software will give local contractors the technology to be  competitive and help level the playing field creating the opportunity for more successful bids by  local contractors/manufacturers. It will also increase their ability to successfully bid projects  outside our region if they choose to.  Public funding is necessary for the success of this project to help us to create more employment  in construction manufacturing. The project will help bring traded sector revenue and tax dollars  into Deschutes County in a shorter timeframe by allowing access to public financing.  Accessing the Business Development Forgivable Loan Fund supports our strategic objectives,  while increasing our employment and investment in the Central Oregon Region in the following  ways;  It helps us expand now, creating traded sector jobs and revenue in Deschutes County, as  opposed to waiting for access to barely existent capital or limiting our expansion due to more  expensive capital in the private sector.  It allows us to use other available capital for expenses related to relocating to a larger space  where we can more efficiently serve our customers.  It will allow us to purchase and upgrade the equipment needed to help successfully market the  ITB software locally and nationwide.  It allows us to provide education and training locally to the contractor manufacturing  community to move their bidding to online ITB solutions saving them time and money.  Section IV-Grant Terms and Conditions 1. Total Employment Grantees must create at least 5 new primary, family wage jobs (at $35,090 per year) and shall have retained those jobs for at least one year. Please provide quarterly projection of expected job creation, including titles and or descriptions. Also indicate expected average wages for all: A) new jobs to be created and B) for total company employment (i.e. sum of all wages divided by total employees, new and existing). We project COBA member companies participating in the IBT solution will create a minimum of  25 family wage jobs (including 5 with COBA and 20 with our member companies) through  increased success in the bidding process. We believe it’s appropriate to aggregate the COBA ITB  job creation due to the fact that we are a member owned non‐profit.  COBA Quarterly Projection of Jobs Created   1 Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Total  2011   2 3 5 2012 4 5 5 3 17 2013 2 1  3 2014 Hold for minimum of one year      25 Jobs created will all be over $35,300 in annual salary. 2. Capital Investment (Optional) Although not required, capital investment plans are a helpful indicator of future plans and viability of expansion or relocation. Grantees are asked to document the investment of taxable investments (equipment, new construction). Please provide a quarterly capital investment projection. COBA plans capital expansion in the following ways; COBA will invest in new equipment  including computers, monitors, printers and scanners.    In addition we will relocate to larger space investing nearly 60% more than we currently spend  on facility space. The space will be used for training and retraining our local construction and  manufacturing industry in more efficient online IBT software.     Equipment       1 Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Total  2011   $10,000 $5,000 $15,000  2012 $5,000  $5,000  $2,500 $2,500 $10,000              $25,000  3. Primary Employer Test Grantees must be private firms in manufacturing, high-technology or technology-based business which have more than 75% of customers outside Deschutes County. What percentage of your customer base exists outside Deschutes County? COBA is a private trade association in construction manufacturing. More than 75% of the  association customer base for the IBT software is outside Deschutes County.