COUNTY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE'S PROGRAMS, SERVICES AND PARTNERSHIPS
*Small Business Micro-Loans--The Boone County Community and Economic Development Office
has assisted new and expanding small businesses with working capital through a Regional
Micro-Loan Program with loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000. The goals of the local
program are to aid in the development of small businesses. and to create and preserve
jobs in the four-county area of Boone. Logan. Lincoln and Mingo. Loan applications are
available at the BCC&EDC office in Madison.
For information or an application. please call 369-9118.
*Business Retention Program--The BCC&EDC meets regularly with the
business community to discuss concerns. needs. and possible expansion plans. Resource providers
usually accompany the local development agency staff on retention calls. These retention visits
have led to several expansion projects in the county. The program's goals are to help retain and
expand job opportunities.
*Sites and Buildings Inventory--The BCC&EDC maintains an inventory of available sites and
buildings in the county. and works in conjunction with the West Virginia Development Office to
promote the locations for future development. The listings include current information on the
availability of infrastructure and essential services, leasing agents, size of buildings,
or acreage of sites, photos, and other pertinent data.
*Certified Development Community--The local development agency continues to strive for Certified
Development Community certification through annual community assessments and regular professional
training. The BCC&EDC has met all requirements of becoming a Certified Development Community with
the exception of industrial park development. The CDC program helps communities become better
prepared for industrial and related economic development, and awards development agencies a $30,000
annual grant for meeting grant application requirements. contingent on a cash match from the
Boone County Commission, which the Commission has generously appropriated during the past
several years.
*Hatfield-McCoy Trails and Tourism--The county development office was instrumental in securing
landowner agreements to allow trails to be built in Boone County. The Boone County segment, providing
about 70 miles of trails, is located just off Corridor G (U.S. 119) adjacent to the WaterWays Theme Park on
property owned by Mohler Lumber Company and Hannah Lumber Company. The Boone County Commission
constructed a Trail Head Center to serve as the Ranger's headquarters, to store equipment, and to provide
rest rooms for ATV riders. During the past several years, the Boone County development office has worked to
bring the trails to Boone County by providing support services, and conducting public meetings to promote
public awareness of the economic benefits of a managed trail system. It has been projected that the trails
system will bring many tourism-related jobs and thousands of tourists to Boone County. In addition to the
trails, the county development office also works on other tourism initiatives to help boost the county's growing
tourism industry by providing support services for the Boone County Parks & Recreation Commission's
WaterWays Theme Park, West Virginia Coal Festival, and the Coal Heritage Foundation, which operates a
coal heritage museum in downtown madison.
The BCC&EDC also is working to address transportation and day care needs in Boone County.
*Free Publications--Due to the fact that Boone County does not have a Chamber of Commerce,
the Boone County Community and Economic Development Corporation handles promotional materials,
including community profiles, brochures, resource directories, facts and figures booklets,
and "Going Into Business" handbooks at no cost to the public.
FOR FREE PUBLICATIONS, CALL THE COUNTY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AT 369-9118.
Return to Community Development Office
|
|
|
|
