REDCO
Project List
October 1 through June 30, 2003
Brief History & Highlights:
REDCO was created in 1999 by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to provide a politically
neutral economic development entity that is insulated from tribal politics
in order to create job opportunities and to improve the economic and social
welfare of tribal members. REDCO has set the stage for development by fostering
business incubation and giving technical assistance to the Rosebud Sioux
Tribe and tribal entrepreneurs, by generating systems management for development,
and by updating the Tribe’s Comprehensive Strategic Plan.
REDCO has worked diligently to fulfill the requirements
of its grant contracts, which included multiple objectives of the OEDP
written by RST Resource Development Office (RST-RDO) in 1998. During the
Fall Quarter of 2001, REDCO rewrote and updated the Overall Economic Development
Plan (OEDP) which contained a Comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Empowerment
Zone Round III application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This
plan was previously outsourced at a cost of $70,000 to the Tribe. The new
plan contains most of the objectives of the older plan, and provides additional
objectives derived from community inputs for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to
pursue during the next ten years. The plan was approved by the Tribal Council.
The plan provides a baseline for making economic development decisions
during the next 10 years.
During the Fall quarter of 2002, the Comprehensive
Strategic Plan was reformatted into the S.E.D.S. document for
the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to pave the way
for additional development capital for the Tribe. No significant
funds have been received from this agency since 1977. During
2002, EDA disclosed that further funding would require an updated
plan and a designation of specific property for development.
REDCO will request infrastructure money for a retail and light
industrial corridor named Sicangu (Burnt Thigh) Crossing. The
latest plan was also generated by REDCO and accepted thru resolution
by Tribal Council.
REDCO was originally funded by a U.S. Department
of HUD RHED contract written by the RST Resource Development
Office (RDO). This grant has been successfully completed. Another
grant written by RST-RDO during the early stages of REDCO’s
development is the Computer Workforce Enhancement Grant (HUD
RHED). This grant is also under evaluation to decide whether
the program should be continued or phased out.
Current grant contracts include the Rural Business
Enterprise Grant (RBEG) submitted to USDA during December of
2001 (funded at $99,975); the RBOG grant (funded at $50,000)
and the CDFI (funded at $100,000). The purposes of these grants
are to develop a small business incubator/mall, provide technical
assistance to emerging entrepreneurs on the Rosebud Reservation,
and pay for five (5) feasibility studies. The CDFI NACTA application
was also funded to train local leaders to set up and manage a
Community Development Financial Institution This organization
will initially offer micro-enterprise loans to entrepreneurs
and other loan products to tribal enterprises. New RBEG and RBOG
grants were submitted early in 2003 which have also been granted.
The new RBEG will continue the business incubator development
while the RBOG will provide matching funds for the Tribe's Research
and Development Fund.
Summary of Developments during the Quarter:
Beyond grant funding, REDCO’s mission
is also to foster economic change by transforming the current
grant and aid economy into a sustainable primary business sector
economy. One of the obstacles to economic development is the
lack of a standardized development process, i.e. all projects,
whether being developed by a group or an individual are handled
in different ways. Through the Clearinghouse Team, a concept
introduced by REDCO, a central gateway will be provided for all
development projects involving money and/or land. Up to this
point, the Team has not been functional, but the USDA Rural Development
staff has ruled that RBOG matching funds may be used to pay to
staff this endeavor. The Clearinghouse Team, will be also be
a tracking mechanism for matching fund commitments and a platform
for various entities to disclose to each other what they are
trying to do or build. The Clearinghouse Team will be the keeper
of the Comprehensive Strategic Plan, receiving and evaluating
updates for all strategic planning activities. Other offices
and individuals often attempt their own economic development
projects without involving appropriate tribal agencies in the
information loop. It is hoped that the Clearinghouse Team or
C-Team will ameliorate this problem.
During the last quarter, the business incubator
project and Casino C-store were the main focus of staff. A contract
was developed with Sinte Gleska University to begin a feasibility
study for an animal science facility and butcher shop. The auto
salvage and recycling feasibility study was put on hold due to
the unavailability of students in summer school to assist with
the car count portion of the study. Both REDCO planners attended
training through the National Business Incubation Association
(NBIA) and the business plan as well as fund raising package
for the incubator moved forward. Official notice of successful
grant awards for USDA RBEG and RBOG grants arrived on June 26
and 27, 2003. The next step for the incubator is to develop a
relationship with EDA in order to seek funding for the buildings
for the project.
The following list describes the projects that
REDCO has been involved in during the last quarter and current
fiscal year.
PROJECT LIST Fall Quarter 2002 (October 1 – December
31)
RBEG
Application and Implementation
Site Specific Planning for Small Business Incubation (Funded)to include
1. Management Plan
2. Site Development Plan
3. Funding Plan
4. Business Plan for Anchor Tenant (Twin Movie Theatres)
RBOG Application (Five Feasibility Studies)Funded
1. Auto Salvage and Recycling Feasibility
2. GOED Labor Availability Survey (Complete)
3. Construction Company Feasibility Study (In process)
4. Middle Income Housing Feasibility Study (In process)
5. Agricultural Value Added Products/Meat Processing Facility Feasibility
Study(in process) Partnership with the Sinte Gleska University Tribal Ranch
CDFI (Community Development Finance Institution Application)Funded
C.E.D.S. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to E.D.A. (Complete)
Computer Workforce Enhancement Grant Administration(ends October 31, 2003)
Casino Truckstop Development
Tribal Ranch Assessment and Management Proposal
Lakota Water—ANA rewrite for March deadline for bottling plant(pending)
Web Site Development for Tribal Enterprises (pending)
PONI Team and Construction Committee Participation (ongoing)
Investigation of Section 17 incorporation for better business development
structure
