GREEN RIVER — The Green River City Council voted unanimously to approve a $10,100 feasibility study to determine if it’s possible to develop a second grocery store in downtown Green River.
The city will not have to pay for the project because the URA/Main Street Agency has received an $8,080 grant Technical Assistance Grant from Wyoming Main Street, GR URA/Main Street Agency Administrator, Jennie Melvin said.
The remaining $2,020, which is the required cash amount, will be provided by Wild Sage Market. Wild Sage Market is a food co-op composed of local residents who would like to get a second grocery store in Green River.
“This will not be coming out of the cities monies at all,” Melvin said.
Even though the city doesn’t have to pay for the study, it will still own it and the public can look at it, Melvin said.
According to the contract for services agreement between Green River and Columinate of Wisconsin, “Columinate will provide a market study to evaluate the sales potential for a proposed hybrid grocery store, selling conventional, local, natural, and organic foods, to be located in downtown Green River.”
“We want to revitalize our downtown,” Melvin said, “We need an anchor business: a grocery store would be that anchor.”
She said a downtown grocery store would attract other businesses downtown.
Councilman Gary Killpack asked what would happen if the study determined a grocery store would do better in another area of the city.
“They aren’t looking at any other part of the city. Just downtown,” Melvin said. “We’re going to get an answer.”
Agreement With Wyoming Business Council
To go along with the approval of the feasibility study contract, the Council also approved a memorandum of understanding with with the Wyoming Business Council on behalf of the GR URA/Main Street Agency.
According to this agreement, the city must have the services completed by July 31, 2020, to receive the $8,080.
Melvin said representatives from Columinate will be in Green River in about six weeks. After they are done with their work, it will take two weeks before the city receives the report.
