The Greene County board of supervisors at its Feb. 3 meeting agreed to serve as fiscal agent in a grant application on behalf of Scranton Manufacturing.
The community development block grant, part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) Economic Development Set-Aside program, will fund the purchase of equipment in Scranton Manufacturing’s expansion project. The grant application is for up to $5,000 for each of up to 50 jobs, for a total request of $250,000. Under the program, those jobs must be available to low- to moderate-income workers.
Scranton Manufacturing plans to add up to 75 new jobs; of those, 50 will meet the income guideline.
Midwest Partnership executive director Chad Schreck and Region XII Council of Governments local assistance director Chris Whitaker met with the supervisors about the request. The fiscal agent receives the state funds and disburses them, handling accounting duties as required for audits. Schreck explained that the county was preferred over the Scranton city council as fiscal agent only because the supervisors meet weekly, whereas the Scranton council meets monthly. The less frequent meetings would delay the grant process, Schreck explained.
The grant application will be reviewed by IEDA in March.
