Officials with the USDA and Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) have announced AMU was awarded a $300,000 grant from the USDA Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant (REDL&G) program. The grant is to establish a revolving loan fund to support area development projects. AMU has added a $60,000 match for the grant, bringing the loan fund balance $360,000. The grant is federally funded for economic development purposes in rural areas. Historically, the grants and loans were available to Rural Electric Coops and phone companies. The last few years they have expanded applicants to municipal utilities.

The application was made by AMU for the purpose of erecting a pre-engineered building to be leased to an expanding business in the AMU district. The business would need to employ at least 25 people, with the promise of expansion. Cass/Atlantic Development Corp. owns development property northwest of Atlantic. CADCO was working with Precision Concrete Services (PCS) who were interested in a building at that site. The AMU Board agreed to loan the grant monies to CADCO who in return would be the general contractor and lessee of that building.

The rent from the building will be used to pay back the loan to AMU, over a period of up to ten years. The plan is that PCS will be the eventual owner of that building. SteveTjepkes, General Manager of Atlantic Municipal Utilities, says “Receipt of the grant and establishment of the revolving loan fund would not have been possible without the work of CADCO and the relationship they built with Precision Concrete Services to put this project together.”  Tjepkes added, “the great thing about this project is the money from the grant and matching funds, as repaid, will be used as a revolving loan fund that can then be re-loaned to foster future economic development activities. It does not have to be repaid to USDA.”

Henningson’s Construction is currently erecting the building northwest of Atlantic, off Hwy 83, north of the railroad tracts.