What path should the Development Corporation of Snyder (DCOS) take, given the economic downturn caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic? The DCOS board of directors discussed that direction during their meeting Wednesday morning.
“Just a small discussion on the financials, I did see where we actually, our cash flow went just negative,” board member Tommy Henderson said. “It was about a 19 percent drop in revenue and pre-COVID. I’m just pointing it out because I’m that type of person. Cash flow is going to get worse and worse.”
DCOS Executive Director Brooke Proctor confirmed that the monthly total was about $10,000 less than the same month in 2019.
“It was $78,000, about $10,000 less than last year,” she said.
Board member Michael Hoyle said monthly revenues for the next few months should be telling.
“I think the thing to note is, there is going to be a jump in May. It looks like it could be because of the rush in buying on everything that we had in March,” Hoyle said. “The thing to note is, what’s it going to look like in April and May, as we still have reduced oilfield work?”
Henderson said the DCOS should be proactive rather than simply continuing to operate on a deficit basis.
“My personal thought is that I know where the trend is going to be and we’ll be on a negative cash flow on a monthly basis,” he said. “We do have reserves to cover that, and I’m good with that, but at some point, if it lasts six months, I don’t want to be a board of inaction and just sit there and spend our reserves. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I wouldn’t do that with my own business, I wouldn’t do that if I ran somebody else’s business or a branch of Capital Farm Credit. If I see downward trends, I’m going to make, most likely, some extremely difficult decisions to correct it.”
Proctor said the DCOS’ Snyder Thrives grant program was popular.
“We opened it up last Monday at 8:30, and within 10 minutes, we had 10 businesses apply,” she said. “And then it took until Thursday night to fill it up, so we had 20 businesses by Thursday night.”
The program offered $2,000 grants to 20 local businesses on a first come, first served basis. Half of each grant was earmarked for advertising. Proctor said consulting sessions started Monday.
The board also voted to extend Proctor’s contract until June 30, when a grant partially funding her salary expires. Proctor resigned her position effective March 27 as she has moved to Lubbock.
The board tabled a proposal by the Mike Barnes Group economic development firm to run the DCOS on an interim basis until a new full-time director can be found.
Following closure for the COVID-19 quarantine, the DCOS office, 2514 Ave. R, had been re-opened for about two weeks, but closed again Thursday due to the two new coronavirus cases in Scurry County.
Image
Body