Rosterolla is planning a $400,000 project to expand the brewery to include a currently vacant warehouse next door and to use the grant funds to help level out the floor plan.

“At the end of the project, what we’d really like is to have an approved kitchen and some banquet space,” said Terry Wagstaff, a member of the brewery’s board of directors. “That’s a ways down the road.”

First-time program

The brewery is one of a handful of businesses locally that were awarded funds from a first-time $50,000 city grant program tagged for spurring economic development and improving the aesthetics of the downtown area. Klamath Falls City Council authorized the awards Monday evening. A full list of the projects are included in the city’s agenda packet available at City Hall or online at klamathfalls.city.

“We just look at this as a vote of confidence from the city that we’re on the right track,” said Rob Jellesed, operational manager at the brewery.

Businesses such as the brewery plan to inject funding right back into projects and add thousands more in renovations, with plans to collectively pump a total $1.8 million in improvements to the downtown area.

The city’s grant program attracted 14 applicants with a total $130,000 in requests for funding overall.

Creating change

Joe Wall, assistant to the city manager, believes the grant program may help spur more than just aesthetic improvements.

“We have a number of unoccupied buildings and unoccupied second floors,” Wall said. “There’s a number of impediments to getting people in those spaces and getting them reoccupied. So the city was looking at a method that we could leverage our dollars.”

Kendall Bell, incoming city council member and president of the Klamath Falls Downtown Association, agrees.

“That’s enough in most of these projects to make a difference,” Bell said.

“It’ll be really fascinating to see the impact over the year.”

Jellesed believes improvements like those proposed by the brewery and other projects awarded funding from the city are part of promoting a more livable downtown area attractive to residents and visitors.

“As far as getting a thriving community in the downtown corridor,” Jellesed added, “we’re going to have to have people live here and want to stay here and make this place a better place.

“We’d like it to see it grow as well because we want this to be a thriving part of downtown.”

Residential concerns

Not everyone attending the city council meeting regarding the business grants agreed with the approach of the grant program as a means to economic development.

“I really feel that the city council may be making a mistake in working on improving aesthetics of downtown versus economic development,” said Don Dumbeck, a downtown area resident.

Dumbeck said he and some neighbors believe funding could be placed elsewhere, such as in recruiting a grocery store to the area. (The city is currently aware of a prospect.)

“I think we make the mistake that aesthetic improvements help the economy and I don’t know if that’s correct,” Dumbeck added.

Grants were available for facade and architectural restoration and building improvement, which city staff are saying will promote economic development.

“We can enhance the aesthetics of downtown buildings,” Wall said.

“I think that does a fair deal for economic development.”

Different perspective

Councilman Bill Adams acknowledged Dumbeck’s concern, but shared a different perspective.

“We’re giving as awards to somebody that’s going to spend or they’re talking about spending $582,000 on a project, and they’re going to get a $10,000 award,” Adams said. “I think the difference between the two – it’s keeping contractors working in our community and it keeps us generating jobs.

“While this doesn’t take care of everything, I think this goes a long ways toward improving the community,” Adams said.

The funding for the grants was allocated for the Downtown Facade and Building Improvement Grant Programs within the 2016-17 budget general fund.

Applicants were selected by members of a review committee appointed by city council.

Eligible improvements included fire sprinkler systems, elevators, seismic improvements, and HVAC improvements.

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Building Up Businesses (H&N)