Kalispell business fund gets a boost

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell business development piggy bank received a $750,000 federal deposit Monday.

That money will increase the city's revolving loan fund to $1.38 million. The city government lends the money to small businesses as extra boosts to obtain larger loans from banks and other institutions.

"In the small business area, lot of times they don't have the credit history and need some help," said Kalispell City Manager Jim Patrick at a Monday press conference.

Sandy Wheeler, the city's community development manager said: "We hope these funds will help even more businesses."

So far, the Kalispell fund has helped start four small businesses and aided a fifth to expand since late 2004.

The Kalispell fund began with a $520,000 allocation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Intermediary Relending Program. The first loan helped Flathead Wellness & Fitness get off the ground in downtown Kalispell.

Additional loans helped start up Valley Linen in downtown Kalispell plus Little Caesar's Pizza and Unfinished Furniture Creations, both in Evergreen. Ventures within a roughly five-mile radius of Kalispell can seek loans. Those four new businesses created 47 jobs.

Recently, the fund loaned $150,000 to Distinctive Countertops, which is constructing an 18,000-square-foot building just south of Kalispell and is hiring 16 new people in the next few months -doubling its space and its workforce.

The USDA Intermediary Relending Program gave the latest $750,000 to the city's revolving loan program Monday. The program also has earned $105,646 in loan fees and interest payments from its recipients.

Loan applicants should contact Kalispell's Community Development Department.

These loans must be used to leverage other loans from lending institutions The maximum allowed loan is $150,000. The applicant must be trying to add or keep jobs in the area, and cannot use the money to move jobs out of the area.