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Enclosure <br /> <br />Proposal for a USDA Rural BUsiness Enterprise Grant <br /> <br />The City of Martinsville is applying for a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant for the <br />purpose of supporting the development of small and emerging businesses in the City of <br />Martinsville, Virginia. The grant request is for a revolving loan fund program of <br />$99,900. <br /> r <br /> <br />Proposed Scope of Work <br />The City of Martinsville is located in South Central Virginia, between (he cities of <br />Roanoke, Virginia to the north and Greensboro, NC to the south. The population of <br />Martinsville in 2001 was an estimated 15,311. Martinsville has a median household <br />income of $27,441 compared to Virginia's median household income of $46,677. The <br />current unemployment rate for Martinsville for October 2003 is 11.1% compared to the <br />State of Virginia's October rate of 3.4%. <br /> <br />Martinsville and surrounding Henry County have been hit hard by losses in both the <br />furniture and textile industries. Over the past 10 years, the area has lost more than 10,000 <br />jobs including the recent closing of Pillowtex, when nearly 1000 people lost their jobs. <br />The area is working hard to recover from these losses, recruiting new companies like <br />MZM and CIT to the city. However there am still thousands in the area looking for <br />work. <br /> <br />It is the plan of the City of Martinsville to set up a revolving loan program in order to <br />assist in the development of small and emerging businesses within the city limits. We <br />have spoken with at least one potential business who is interested in a loan to start a small <br />business in the city. A letter of interest is attached. <br /> <br />In order to manage the revolving loan fund, a loan review committee would be <br />established. The make up of the committee would include: <br /> <br />· One representative from the City of Martinsville Economic Development <br /> Department <br />· One representative from Dupont Credit Union <br />· One representative fromBB&T <br />· One representative from Smith River Community Bank <br />· The executive director of the Longwood College Small Business Development <br /> Center <br /> <br /> <br />