Grant To Help Economic Development
A $50,000 award was granted to the Central Sierra Economic Development District to create a five-county economic development strategy.
CSEDD is one of five federal economic development districts in the State of California, and is now under the management of the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority (TCEDA) and Director Larry Cope. The award provides TCEDA the funding to prepare a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) on behalf of the counties of Tuolumne, Calaveras, Alpine, Mariposa and Amador. It also includes municipalities like the City of Sonora and Angels Camp.
According to information from Cope, as part of the CEDS report, member entities are encouraged to submit narratives for infrastructure projects, including: sewer, water, connector roads, broadband gaps, biomass, “waste to energy” and forest-related projects. Two main criteria for these projects are job creation for long-term employment opportunities and public/private collaborations. Engineering, planning studies and land acquisition also may be fundable. So far, over 70 infrastructure projects have been submitted to TCEDA from private developers, public utilities, engineering firms, and member counties and cities throughout the region. The new CEDS will also include county and regional demographic information on unemployment, industry clusters, and economic development strategy.
The funding is from the Economic Development Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
