City of Harrison accepting economic development applications for local business grants

$325,000 has been allocated for local economic development grants.

Part of the permanent $0.25 sales tax passed by Harrison voters in 2021 was designated to go toward economic development. After its passage the mayor and other city leaders are working to define just how the money can be used for that purpose.

The City of Harrison is now accepting applications from individuals and businesses to receive part of $325,000 that the city has set aside for economic development.

The first candidate for such funding spoke to the city council finance committee last week and requested $50,000 to $75,000 for renovations to a building bought to expand their business. Jamie and Angela Akers own three restaurants in town including Buckets Sports Bar & Grill.  They recently purchased the former Dragon King building and plan to move Buckets Sports Bar & Grill there after the renovation is complete.

The Akers say that the money they are requesting will go toward the outdoor renovations they plan to make, which will be most visible to the community. In addition to that they plan to spend substantially more inside the building and add approximately 20 more jobs to the community.

The committee is considering their application and is accepting public comment on it before their full council meeting on July 28^th.

Luke Feighert, Chief Financial Officer for the city urged to council to discuss the application at length because the terms by which they approve or reject this first proposal will go a long way in determining how future requests are handled.

To get an application for the grant funding the public can call Harrison City Hall and request an application or stop by and pick one up. The applications will list several qualifying factors to be eligible for the funds.

A few of those factors include the business being inside the city limits of Harrison, all requests must be made in writing with a specified amount and project for the money to go to, and if the money is granted the business is required to submit a quarterly progress report on the project to the council.

The guidelines state, “Economic Development means different things to different people; however, all requests must include how it will help grow or improve our local economy.”

The full list of guidelines for the funding is below: