Lake County Community Development helps business

BY MICHELLE LOVATO

Lake County Leader

Gypsy Ray spent Feb. 4 looking for reasons to loan money.

The executive director of Lake County Community Development appeared before Lake County Commissioners in the morning then shared a meal at the Polson Chamber of Commerce luncheon, all in a mission to spread the word about the community development organization and make a list of potential grant and loan recipients. 

“We want to encourage public input,” Ray said. “Public input is priceless because that is what this organization is all about.”

The outreach organization’s job is to build communities in a variety of roles.

Organization leaders can help make infrastructure like roads, water and sewers a reality. They can help low-income families obtain housing and offer financial support to critical neighborhood outreaches. 

They can help business people learn how to succeed at their particular craft and incubate those businesses to success.

All of those outreaches spell jobs for everyday Lake County residents, provide stability for their families and a future for their children.

A room full of dreams accompanied the men and women who sat at the Lake County commissioners’ regular board meeting to share in Ray’s vision and responsibility.

One by one, audience members shared their list of potential projects.

Gary Decker represented the Arlee Community Development Corporation and presented his group’s vision for pedestrian and bike paths along U.S. 93 from Missoula to Kalispell.

When the group began its quest to offer pedestrians, bicyclers, bird watchers, photographers and other nature lovers a safe place to witness the natural beauty of Montana, reality was a dream. To date, however, the 10-year-old group installed about three quarters of a mile of pathway, has another section in progress and a third section in the planning stages. 

The group wants to see pedestrian and bike paths throughout Lake County.

Ray said she knew of several potential opportunities available to the group, something she and her leadership crew can facilitate in the coming months.  

“We are missing much of the economic stimulus if we neglect building the trail,” Decker said. “Our rate is about half a mile per year but we need more resources to complete this in a reasonable number of years.”

Decker said the Arlee group wants to work with the county to coordinate this planning effort.

In addition to the footpath project, Decker said his group is working to building a community service location to house Jocko Valley Library as well as a food bank that is now located at an area church that does not have a storage facility. 

Katie Miller, who represented the Salish County Housing Authority expressed her group’s desire to meet the needs her authority cannot meet.

Miller said she works with a transitional living center that can only serve tribal members, but are continuously asked by non-tribal members for assistance.

“We have a great need in the county and they have nowhere to go.” Miller said.

Jodie Paxton, executive director of the Ronan Housing Authority said she and her group are working on a mandatory needs assessment, but that she already knows that the housing authority has one three-bedroom unit and 157 eligible families on her waiting list.

Ray reminded audience members that it is a two- to five-year process to get from idea to money.

Grants are offered every two years, not annually.

“A big part of the business development center is loan funding,” Ray said. “We are the gap funding and can be a little more creative, take more risk. We can offer a lot of business planning and technical assistance.”

Though Ray’s organization can help with funding, most grants require at least 50 percent matching funds.

Ray said men and women with infrastructure, housing or business ideas can call to talk anytime. The Lake County Community Development phone number is 406-676-5901.