HomeMy WebLinkAboutI - 05a Seven Valley Specialty Cables CDBG Economic Development Grant Update
34 TOMPKINS STREET CORTLAND, NY 13045 phone (607) 753-1433 fax (607) 753-6818 www.thomadevelopment.com
June 15, 2022
Tom Williams, Supervisor
Town of Cortlandville
The Raymond G. Thorpe Municipal Building
3577 Terrace Road
Cortland, New York 13045
RE: Seven Valley Specialty Cables CDBG Economic Development Grant Update
Dear Supervisor Williams:
The purpose of this correspondence is to update the Town of Cortlandville on the status of
the Community Development Block Grant Economic Development project for Seven Valley
Specialty Cables (7VSC). As you are aware, the Town of Cortlandville was awarded a grant
of $330,000 to support the startup and expansion of 7VSC. $320,000 of the grant is
allocated to assist 7VSC with the purchase of Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment and
provide working capital. $10,000 of the grant award is allocated to cover the cost of grant
administration. The period of performance for this project is March 11, 2021 through
March 11, 2023. To be eligible for a grant disbursement, 7VSC must show that it has
invested a percentage of cash equity into the project and created 1 full time equivalent job
for every $15,000 of grant funds that are requested. At project completion, the business
must show that it has created a total of 22 full time equivalent jobs.
Project Status:
To date, 7VSC has created 3 jobs (not including the sole member of the LLC) and
documented $380,000 of eligible business expenditures. To protect the town’s investment
into the project, grant disbursements are processed at the same rate that jobs are created
by the business. With 3 FTE jobs having been created, to date, the grant has disbursed
$62,800 to 7VSC.
Future Disbursement:
The president of 7VSC has approached Thoma Development Consultants to request an
additional disbursement of $89,600. The business has documented sufficient business
expenditures to justify this disbursement, however, there have not been any FTE jobs
created since the previous disbursement was authorized. To fully justify the next
disbursement, the business would need to create an additional seven FTE jobs beyond the
initial three that have been created.
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34 TOMPKINS STREET CORTLAND, NY 13045 phone (607) 753-1433 fax (607) 753-6818 www.thomadevelopment.com
The President of 7VSC has indicated that he would like to hire for the following five
positions over the course of the next few months: extruder operator, braider operator,
cable operator, wire twister, and office personnel. He has stated that he cannot take on
additional manufacturing contracts or hire for these positions until he can purchase an
additional extruder machine, tubular machine, and braider machine. The business would
like to use the next grant disbursement to assist with the purchase of that equipment and
then follow up with the creation of the additional jobs. If the disbursement is made prior to
the creation of the new jobs, the risk would be on the Town in relying on the business
following through with the intended job creation. However, there also appears to be a risk
that the business will struggle to expand without the requested disbursement of grant
funds.
Considering the above, we would be happy to discuss a course of action at your earliest
convenience.
Sincerely,
Daniel Ellis
Program Manager