Rib Lake seeks grant to start angel investment program
Rib Lake residents want to grow their community and downtown area and are hoping to tap into grant funds in order to help make that happen.
At the November 13 village board meeting, board members approved a resolution in support of the application for a WEDC Small Business Development Grant and collaborating with the Rib Lake Community Development Foundation (RLCDF) to apply for and administer an Angel Investment Grant Program.
Travis Grubbs of the RLCDF explained the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has $2 million available across the state to put into the hands of small business development. Grubbs credited his wife with coming up with the idea to create an angel investment fund.
Under the program, start-up businesses would be able to go through an application process to get additional financial support for their businesses. What separates angel investing from other kinds is that while the business would still eventually have to repay the money along with some level of fee, the repayment would not take place until the company showed a profit.
Grubbs said the RLCDF would write the bylaws for the program to prioritize things like a grocery store and daycare center which are considered to be high community needs.
Grubbs explained that the RLCDF needed to have a municipal partner in order to apply for the state grant funds to set up a program. Board members unanimously agreed to apply for the grant funds.
They were less eager to commit to using village funds to contribute to a small business development fund. Grubbs noted that the possibility of getting grant funding increases with the availability of local matching grant funds. He proposed both RLCDF and the village each contribute $25,000 to have $50,000 as matching funds for if the grant was successful. He said the money from the village would be designated to only go to businesses located inside the village.
“I don’t know where we would pull another $25,000,” said Kristin Lueck, the village clerk/treasurer.
Village president Bill Schreiner echoed those concerns noting that the village board had approved its budget for the coming year just prior to Grubbs speaking to the board.
Grubbs urged board members to consider the funding request, noting that the first grants would likely not be given out until early 2026.
Grubbs also sought the village’s support in applying for a Vibrant Spaces Grant for the Band Shell Project. This is another grant program through the WEDC and is designed to create spaces that attract people to the downtown area.
The application would be done in cooperation with the RLCDF and the Friends of Rib Lake group.
Board members unanimously approved applying for the grant.
In other business, board members:
• Approved a a budget calling for $796,657 in total spending. The biggest budget areas are in public safety with $209,907 projected to be spent in 2025, public works with $208,400 project to be spent and general government with $166,050 projected to be spent. The budget called for $592,708 in revenues including $428,687 in state shared revenues. The local tax levy is the difference between the outside revenue and expenses. For 2025, the village tax levy will be $203,949.
• Following a closed session, the board approved a 25 cent per hour wage increase for part-time employees and a 50 cent per hour wage increase for full-time employees. They also approved to continue with the village’s current employee health insurance plan.
