Commissioners discuss criteria for county support letters for destination development grants

Williams County commissioners debated Sept. 2 how the county should handle requests for letters of support for state destination development grants and tasked staff to produce guidance on when the county will sign such letters. A commissioner said he had received a request for a letter supporting a project in the county (the Red Mike Golf Course) and questioned why staff had declined to provide a letter. Helen and other staff explained the county’s informal practice is to require some specific financial, ownership or sponsorship involvement before committing to letters of support, because otherwise county staff would be asked to write letters constantly. Helen said multiple requests had arrived and that none met the county’s general criteria for letters of support. A commissioner argued a simple letter signaling county support is not a financial commitment and could be helpful to local projects. Helen said she would inventory recent requests and recommend whether the board should handle letters centrally or provide staff authority and whether to prepare a template. She also said the destination development grant deadline was imminent and county staff planned to treat that grant specifically in the near term. Commissioners asked staff to return with a recommended approach clarifying thresholds for county letters of support and to handle the immediate destination development grant letters in time for the application deadline.