The City of Kamas is partnering with Blazzard Lumber to apply for the state’s Rural Communities Opportunity Grant in hopes that the potential funding will allow the historic business to rebuild following a devastating fire last winter.
The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, which annually distributes the grant to projects, described the award as a way to empower “rural communities to take responsibility for economic development planning, projects and activities.” Specifically, the grant aims to address business recruitment, development and expansion; workforce training and development; and infrastructure, industrial building development and capital facilities improvements for business development.
Kamas Mayor Matt McCormick said he was drawn to the grant because of its focus on industrial development and infrastructure, which he believed matched the Blazzard family’s situation and efforts to rebuild their sawmill operations.
Blazzard Lumber had been in business for over 70 years until a fire destroyed everything on the property last November, including an irreplaceable German saw no longer in production. John Blazzard estimated it was worth more than a million dollars.
“Based on some other conversations and meetings that we’ve been in, there’s an interest to make sure the timber industry in Utah doesn’t die, and that’s another plus we have. There are several components that could potentially work in our favor,” McCormick said.
Kamas officials are also working with Spencer Foster, a local administrative adviser for the Mountainland Association of Governments, to put together the grant application materials.
McCormick and Foster spoke to the Kamas City Council on Aug. 26 to receive permission from the municipality’s governing body to proceed. Foster explained he would be in charge of gathering necessary data from Blazzard Lumber and the city for the application, in addition to assisting city employees with reporting on the business’s use of the funds if Blazzard Lumber were awarded the grant.
The Office of Economic Opportunity has $2.5 million earmarked for the Rural Communities Opportunity Grant, with up to $600,000 available for each grantee. However, Foster warned the city that the grant is more competitive than it has been in the past, as state funding for the program was cut from $5 million this year.
Foster told the City Council he didn’t see any downsides for Kamas in terms of applying, though. The grant requires a 20% match, which the Blazzard family would pay. Kamas would essentially act as a pass-through, accepting the funds from the state and then handing them over to the sawmill.
Sawmill operations in Summit County have an $8 million economic impact, with Blazzard Lumber generating $2 million alone, according to Foster.
“Doing this grant and helping them get back on their feet with it would be a reasonable request for this grant funding,” he said.
McCormick told the City Council he thought helping Blazzard Lumber financially fits within the city’s general plan, too, which states the municipality should do what it can to encourage local business growth.
“If you look at Blazzard, they employ about 15 people, but it’s pretty good wages, so that’s the main purpose of this grant, to have business development,” Foster agreed. “If we can show the economic benefit behind helping with a project like this and what it means for the community, what it means for taxes for the city and your funding here, there are some good things we can show to be able to have a good argument for the grant.”
If for some reason the Blazzard family didn’t hold up their end of the deal, Foster added that Kamas wouldn’t be on the hook for anything other than returning the money to the state. Instead, the city would mostly help by providing staff to assist Foster when needed and to report to the state as work gets underway, assuming the Blazzard family is awarded the funds.
The application window opens on Sept. 15 and closes at the end of October, and the Kamas City Council unanimously approved moving forward the application process.