By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A trio of Whitewater-based start-up businesses have been given grants of varying dollar amounts, following a panel’s recent decision.
The Community Development Authority (CDA) on Nov. 12 voted to award the grants, each coming in at a minimum of $10,000, to the emerging businesses.
The grants are being funneled through the CDA’s capital catalyst fund, which is spearheaded by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The goal behind WEDC’s capital catalyst fund is to match, dollar for dollar, some of the start-up costs for budding entrepreneurs.
The recipients include two gaming companies: Global Mesh and Virtual 2 League. The operations are closely tied to efforts already underway at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Patrick Cannon, CDA Coordinator, said the gaming companies arrive at the local scene at a time when interest in the field continues to grow.
“There are a lot of people who are gamers out there,” Cannon said.
The third capital catalyst recipient is known as Inventilator. The research and development firm specializes in an atmospheric waste product.
The Whitewater CDA has received funding from the WEDC on two separate occasions for capital catalyst funding. CDA Chairman Jeff Knight said the city is eligible for another round of funding, based on the provisions set forth by the CDA.
In other recent business, the CDA:
• Adopted the organization’s 2015 budget, which previously was given the green light by the Whitewater Common Council. While the CDA acts independent of the city, its funding flows through city dollars.
The most notable change in the CDA’s 2015 budget is the addition of a full-time administrative position to assist with some of the organization’s day-to-day operations.
Cannon said the administrative position will carry an hourly salary of about $19 and include a full benefits package. The ideal candidate, he said, will have a background in finance or business.
Incorporating the position into the CDA budget was a late addition to this year’s deliberations. To accommodate the change, a series of nips and tucks were made to the initial draft of the budget, including a decrease in marketing efforts and a series of shuffles within the city’s main operating budget.
In the year ahead, Knight said he would like to see a renewed emphasis on funding some of the city’s tax-incremental financing (TIF) districts. The city has six active TIF districts, carrying a balance of $1.81 million.
TIF is a mechanism that allows municipalities to borrow money for infrastructure improvements. The increased property tax revenue from the improved land is then diverted from the tax rolls to pay off the loan.
“We have to place this as a top priority,” Knight said of allocating funds toward the TIFs. “If we don’t, we’ll start having some funding issues in the CDA.”
• Voted to reimburse a local company, Pinpoint Software, $1,250 for a portion of the closing costs associated with a community development block grant (CDBG) loan.
