Comment on Nugget Project Economic Incubator dropped from CDBG funding list by Joe Childs
While I am pleased to see the application by Carson City’s Office of Business Development (CCBD) for HUD funds to build a business incubator have been withdrawn, I am still very concerned that it was even submitted.
To ask for and somehow rationalize that the Nugget Project was deserving of $2.1 million of these funds is mind boggling. These monies are intended for economically disadvantaged people, not “High-Tech Incubators” The public is going to have a hard time placing any trust in a city department (CCOBD) and by extension, the Board of Supervisors, when they see that this type of application could have been actually submitted for consideration.
Even though the application was withdrawn (after first being rejected by the review committee), the damage has been done. By applying for these funds the Office of Business Development has demonstrated that it is not acting in the best interests of the residents of this city. This is just the latest of what many consider a long string of missteps by that department.
Before advancing this project any further I suggest the BOS reach out to the public
to regain our trust. Without public approval, this “Public” portion of this project can never be considered successful.