Council OKs reuse funds for Pacha Soap to add 11 positions - Hastings Tribune

Pacha Soap will soon be growing its workforce by more than 30 percent thanks to Community Development Block Grant reuse funds.

Members of the Hastings City Council voted 6-0 during their regular meeting Monday on separate votes to approve different items pertaining to the $385,000 CDBG loan to Pacha. Council members Phil Odom and Sarah Hoops were absent.

The council approved a memorandum of understanding with the Hastings Economic Development Corp., to serve a nonprofit development corporation for loans to be made from the city CDBG reuse funds as well as a professional services agreement with the South Central Economic Development District to service CDBG economic development fund administration.

In accepting the reuse funds, Pacha commits to providing a $385,000 match, which will add and sustain 11 full-time positions, bringing the company’s workforce from 35 to 46 employees.

“It’s really government working hand-in-hand with a company and the company’s lending institution to help everyone succeed,” HEDC Executive Director Dave Rippe said in an interview before the council meeting.

Pacha founder Andrew Vrbas said in an interview after the meeting he is grateful to have the opportunity to continue to grow his company and attract employees to Hastings.

“We recently hired an employee that came from California and one from Texas,” he said. “We’re attracting people from all over the place and bringing people in from Omaha in for interviews and Colorado. This really just helps us to continue on that growth pattern and attract the right people to work at Pacha.”

The people in these new positions, who will be hired over the next couple of years, will help with expanded production lines and expanded distribution into retailers and new product lines into existing retailers.

Pacha's mission is to create livelihoods globally. The company enacts its mission through the set-up of soap shops, clean water initiatives and other sustainable ventures in developing nations. By purchasing Pacha's all-natural, environmentally safe and artfully crafted bath products, customers provide opportunities for others to free their entrepreneurial spirits and lift themselves from poverty around the world.

“We’re excited for Pacha Soap,” Rippe told the council. “We’re excited to help them move into more Whole Foods, more Bed Bath and Beyonds, more Targets and introduce more product lines that bring more jobs to Hastings.”

The city of Hastings has had an economic development reuse fund used to help companies grow over the years that was handled by a loan review committee. Due to changing federal regulations, approval of those funds now is subject to public hearing at a city council meeting.

Pacha received a similar loan in 2014, which helped the company increase from one to three employees. Pacha repaid that loan five years ahead of schedule.

“As a community, it’s incumbent upon us to help our companies grow,” Rippe said. “One of the ways in which we can assist is financing, especially with young companies when traditional financing isn’t always available and there is a public interest in helping those companies like Pacha Soap grow it’s an excellent chance for us to step in and promote growth in our community. We look at a company here, when we made the first loan to them in 2014 we tied that first note to the creation of two jobs and they were going from one job to three jobs. Now we’re talking about going from 35 jobs to 46 jobs.

“So it just shows the tremendous growth trajectory of this young company in a short amount of time, but it also speaks to the necessity of our community to help them when assistance is needed.”

Mayor Corey Stutte thanked Rippe for his work on the loan.

“Pacha Soap is certainly a success story in our town,” Stutte said. “I think we should celebrate that. I think as these funds are moved out of the current fund and into another fund that are going to be made accessible for other start-up companies or other companies in our town, this is a very positive move. I really do look forward to seeing this expansion of Pacha Soap. They’ve been good stewards of loans in the past. They’ve been a very good company here in the city of Hastings.”

Also during the meeting, the council conducted a public hearing on the city’s $51.5 million 2017-2018 annual budget and unanimously approved a resolution establishing the city’s property tax requirement for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which is .449687 — the same as last year.

The council also unanimously approved Ordinance 4518, adopting the annual appropriation bill for the city and adopting appropriate sums for the necessary expenses and liability for fiscal year 2017-2018, which begins Oct. 1. Council members also unanimously suspended the requirement for three readings to pass an ordinance.

The council also approved a resolution adopting the 2017-2018 annual fee resolution, which calls for fee changes pertaining to the community center and ambulance usage.

In other business, the Council:

— Unanimously approved the final plat for the North Park Commons.

— Unanimously approved Ordinance 4520 approving the zoning change for North Park Commons ground from agricultural to commercial business and agricultural planned district, providing flexibility for future development. Council members also unanimously suspended the requirement for three readings to pass an ordinance.

— Unanimously approved a conditional use permit from Grace Baptist Church for neighborhood assembly in suite D of the building at 235 S. Burlington Ave., which is used by the church between 9 a.m. and noon on Sundays and between 6 and 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, with seven conditions:

— The permitee or property owner notify the development services office annually to verify the continuance of the use.

— All signage be subject to the provisions of the city’s sign code and reviewed by the building inspector for compliance.

— Assembly activities be limited to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and weekdays between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

— The outside of the property shall be kept free of any nuisances as defined in the Hastings City Code.

— Prior to occupancy by the church, the site shall be re-inspected and re-approved by the Hastings Fire Inspector and the building inspector.

— No accessory uses shall be permitted on site unless approved by a separate amendment action to the conditional use permit.

— Noise shall be kept at a level so as not to create a nuisance to the adjacent neighborhood.

— Unanimously approved Ordinance 4521, approving a change of zoning from single family residential to multiple family residential at 850 S. Kansas Ave., for a duplex. Council members also unanimously suspended the requirement for three readings to pass an ordinance.

— Unanimously approved Ordinance 4522 amending the comprehensive plan of the city to change the future land use from agricultural to suburban residential for portions of Westbrook Village 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15 additions. Council members also unanimously suspended the requirement for three readings to pass an ordinance.

— Unanimously approved a resolution determining Redevelopment Area No. 14 blighted and substandard, for the North Park Commons and adjacent area.

— Unanimously approved the application for participation in a CDBG program for downtown revitalization.

— Unanimously approved the final plat for Lakeview seventh subdivision, along Merle Avenue north of Lakeridge Drive.

— Unanimously approved the preliminary plat for Shadow Ridge seventh addition, beyond the current western edge of 33rd Street.

— Unanimously approved a lease agreement between the city and Nebraska Department of Administrative Services on behalf of the Nebraska State Patrol for office space at the Hastings Police Station.

— Unanimously approved a resolution granting levy authority of 2.6 cents for the Community Redevelopment Authority, which CRA executive director Randy Chick said will generate about $344,000 and fund various activities, pay bills and “hopefully make great projects happen.”

— Unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Stutte to sign an application for CDBG funds.

— Unanimously approved a resolution adopting the Four Factor Analysis, which states that the city of Hastings will provide assistance to those in need of translation assistance regarding documents associated with CDBG funded projects.

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