The Guilford County Board of Commissioners is considering three hefty distributions of federal money to local economic development organizations, and, in accordance with state law, the board is holding a public hearing on the potential moves.
That hearing will take place at the board’s Thursday, Feb. 23 regular meeting, which will start at 5:30 p.m.
The purpose of the hearing is to help determine the fate of money from the federal American Recue Plan money (ARP) and determine whether some of it should go to the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship, Action Greensboro and Forge Greensboro.
The Nussbaum Center is a small business incubator in Greensboro that provides office space and business tools collectively to smaller startups in the county. Action Greensboro is an organization associated with the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce meant to serve as “a catalyst” for public-private partnerships that advance Greensboro by “building and strengthening relationships between sectors,” enabling Greensboro to grow and meet economic and business demands. Forge Greensboro is a community makerspace for artists, entrepreneurs and inventors where they can make things, collaborate and learn.
The Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship is slated to receive $2 million of the federal money if the commissioners vote to approve. The funds will go to support improvements on the center’s Steel House project in East Greensboro described as a “center of urban manufacturing and innovation,” one that will have a “one-of-a-kind ecosystem that spans 13 acres, housing small businesses” and create high-paying jobs.
Forge Greensboro is set to get $300,000 if the board approves. That money will be used to enhance training and mentoring of the program as well as allow Forge Greensboro to purchase and repair equipment.
Action Greensboro is hoping to get a cool $1.2 million to conduct four yearly programs: Campus Greensboro Fellows, Refresh Learning Series, synerG Career Seeker Cohort and synerG Young Professional Educators Academy.
The meeting will be held in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room on the second floor of the Old Guilford County Court House at 301 W. Market St. in Greensboro.
Betting a done deal even if they hold a hearing.
If the money is from the Rescue Fund, shouldn’t it be going to help people & not these organizations? The Homeless is an issues, we have many people still struggling from financial & emotional situations that Covid brought on, schools are in desperate need for many things to include pay raises for teachers. Emergency assistance programs are almost deleted, Food Banks need to be restocked, Day Care assistance is needed. I mean really that’s a lot of money going to organizations?? Flowers, mentorship & other things can wait. Let’s get the population back on a strong foot first!
I totally agree with you. The daycare situation really needs help. New daycare programs could be started with this money, and 24-hour daycare programs opened for emergency service workers in order to attract more applicants. Restocking the food pantries in the City and County as well as funds for rental assistance for people who are losing their homes because of increasing prices, and funds for paying electric and gas bills. I think these should all be priorities other than funding these non-profit organizations. Students who can’t find housing because rent is too high could get help with financial assistance. There are so many other ways to use this money.
(Our local volunteer-paid fire department needs help buying new protective gear for the firefighters but is having trouble finding grant money that they qualify for, yet the County is willing to give groups like this are going to get hundreds of thousands to create ecosystems and synergy. Go figure.)
Govt does not “create jobs”, it destroys jobs.
Da-suh fack Jack.
it creates ‘govt’ jobs.