The Journal

The Montezuma Food Coalition ShareHouse, the Rico Town Hall and Good Food Collective recently were approved as Enterprise Zone Contribution Projects by the State Economic Development Commission.

The Fort Lewis College Foundation and Southwest Memorial Hospital Foundation also were renewed as contribution projects for five years during the meeting. This designation allows donors of $250 or more to be eligible for a 25% state tax credit and a 12.5% state tax credit on in-kind donations.

The Montezuma Food Coalition ShareHouse’s EZ project will help secure a facility in downtown Cortez, providing a commercial kitchen to create value-added products for farmers. The Rico Town Hall EZ project is to renovate the 1892 building with a new roof, masonry work, new boiler and remove asbestos.

The Good Food Collective project will create a shared infrastructure for small farms, assisting with value-added products, brand recognition and a roving workforce to help harvest.

The renewal of the Fort Lewis College Foundation’s infrastructure project will help fundraising for a new Health and Sciences building, renovating Berndt Hall and Sky Hall and covering the football field with synthetic turf. The Southwest Memorial Hospital Foundation’s community facilities project will help provide a new HVAC system and priority equipment needs.

For more information, call the Region 9 Economic Development District at 247-9621.