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The Llano Economic Development Corporation has received a list of federal and private foundation grants from Ketchum and Co., the capital campaign consultants who are helping the EDC plan a fund-raising campaign to fund the construction of a multi-purpose event center on Highway 71. The EDC also received a timeline and a priority list for applying for the grants.

Reaction from LEDC members at last Wednesday’s meeting was mixed. “I was frankly disappointed with the federal list,” Vice-President Sharon Keilin reported. “There is only one that might help with the actual construction of the center, and its main concern is how many jobs will be created.” The rest of the federal grants are more focused on programs at the center once the buildings are completed. And virtually all of the grants would require a separate non-profit entity – not the EDC — as the “lead applicant” for the grants.

“But,” Keilin added, “the foundation list is more interesting.” Since the $5-6 million event center is too small a project to interest most of the national foundations, Ketchum focused on foundations in Texas when compiling its list. There are 54 foundations on the list, and Ketchum recommended that the EDC send a delegation to establish contacts with some of them, particularly those clustered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Several board members expressed an interest in reviving the Llano Agricultural Sports Site Organization (LASSO), a non-profit entity specifically formed for an earlier version of the event center which has been dormant for the last few years, to serve as the non-profit grant applicant. Reviving LASSO would also gifts from local donors tax-deductible. That possibility, which would be much simpler than starting over with a new 501(c)(3), will be further explored before the next meeting.

After some discussion, the board voted to accept Ketchum’s proposal to develop a strategy and write applications for 3 major and seven minor grants. At the same time, the EDC will proceed with a fully-engineered site plan, and begin work on the planned RV park at the event center site.

In other business, Mayor Mike Reagor reported that the broadband project is “in better shape than I expected.” As far as he knows, all the easement problems have been solved, and the fiber-optic lines could well be completed by February 19, as planned. “We need an aggressive marketing plan to businesses in Austin,” Mayor Reagor continued, pointing out that high tech businesses might be interested in moving to Llano now that high-speed internet is available here.