TEDA secures ILTAP projects grant

The Terrebonne Economic Development Authority Board of Commissioners approved a marketing committee plan that included grants being offered to the commerce support agency for the establishment of a permanent business lending account along with limited funding for part-time staff to administer the project.

Secured through the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Unit Innovation Loan and Technical Assistance Program, TEDA has been awarded $1.3 million for revolving loan funds and an additional $200,000 to pay for technical assistance during the next two years.

ILTAP is a combined program of funds either left over or rededicated from Community Development Block Grants awarded following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 as well as Gustav and Ike in 2008, according to TEDA researcher and grant writer Lisa Maloz.

“We applied for it [in August 2010] through the state office of community development,” she said.

TEDA Marketing Director Michelle Edwards Eroche said they intend to roll out the lending program on Sept. 1. “We should have all our documents in place,” she said. “We are just trying to tie up some loose ends.”

Maloz and Eroche explained that the ILTAP program is designed to offer low interest loans, initially on a scale of 1 to 4 percent, to qualified existing businesses in Terrebonne Parish at amounts ranging from $50,000 to $250,000.

“It’s going to be a grassroots effort,” Eroche said. “We have target markets and the mainstream media might not be the way to go [to advertise the program]. The three target areas are minority and women-owned businesses, the disadvantaged and the downtown [Houma] development area because it is kind of a census tract that falls into an area that is not up to the rest of the census tract.”

As for technical staff through ILTAP funding, current TEDA staff said it would help enhance the services this agency already provides by offering one person to focus on this program alone. Details on requirements and expectations have not yet been finalized.

ILTAP was established to encourage private and philanthropic investments to rebuild commercial enterprise in Louisiana following the devastating storms of 2005-08. The segment awarded to TEDA is part of a third phase in an overall project that was established in 2007. Phases 1 and 2 provided more than $147 million to approximately 4,500 small businesses.

In addition to business loans, TEDA intends to use part of the funds to continue offering informational and educational opportunities to area businesses.

“We are always looking for input from the business community for what sort of educational offerings they would like to see,” said TEDA Business Retention and Expansion Director Katherine Gilbert.

Eroche said that assisting borrowers with business plans will be part of their lending procedure and that while TEDA is always interested in attracting new business, this is one way to offer a unique opportunity to those that have remained loyal to the region. “We are going to continually learn what we can provide to the public and that will evolve,” Eroche said.

In other TEDA board business, eight of 14 board members in attendance approved advance notification of business expansion projects that could add as many as eight jobs through Pro-Gulf Services and 170 jobs through T. Baker Smith to the area workforce.