Electric City turns down EDC

Electric City’s city council meeting lasted just 18 minutes Feb. 14, but it gave members plenty of time to rebuff a request by Grant County’s Economic Development Council on a funding request.

The EDC had asked for $532.50 from Electric City, only to have Councilmember Bob Rupe ask, “What have they done for us on this end of the county?”

Fellow Councilmember John Nordine said the work of the EDC helped keep taxes lower for everyone, including people in Electric City.

Mayor Jerry Sands said the last time the city had responded favorably to an EDC request for funding was in 2009.

That prompted Rupe to move that the council deny the request.

That motion ended up lacking a second, so died on the floor, but none of the council members made a motion to move forward on the request.

It was the shortest Electric City council meeting in recent memory, with the council having a history of long meetings.

A couple of weeks ago, Grand Coulee voted to support the EDC on condition that someone from the organization come and tell the city what the EDC is doing.