While the Das Greenhaus business incubator idea was born from the minds of Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corp. members, the newly formed nonprofit is operated separately from the EDC.
There’s plenty of overlap between the two agencies – and also with the Boerne Angel Network – but Kathy Estes, president of the Das Greenhaus board, noted the EDC is independent of the nonprofit, which is designed to give nascent businesses a boost.
“EDC is one of our investors, but there is no money that goes to EDC from Das Greenhaus,” Estes said. “It doesn’t work that way. We’re raising funds to begin our operations and just kind of get through the first year, so we will
be continuing to raise funds. We’re a nonprofit. Nonprofits always raise money.”
While the City Council voted to approve a regular investment for the EDC this month, sending another $75,000 to the agency, no money from the city has gone to the burgeoning incubator program.
The EDC has invested $75,000 of its funds, which come from county and city contributions, membership fees and other avenues, into the business incubator. But, leaders of Das Greenhaus said this level of involvement mirrors that of any other investor in the new agency.
Any overlap between the EDC and Das Greenhaus is only temporary, said Amy Story, CEO of the EDC.
“My goal is to get this up and launched and step back,” Story said. “Somebody’s got to do it. So, I think that’s where some of the confusion has been. It’s like, ‘Oh, Amy’s the president of the EDC. This is an EDC initiative.’ And it is, but all the funding is separate, the board is separate, the bylaws are different. I’d like to think we are all independent parts of this ecosystem that we’re trying to create.”
In fact, all of the agencies involved operate independently, she added.
The project’s launch has been marked by some controversy, too. Das Greenhaus recently had to return a $500,000 check to the Kendall County Commissioners Court after breaching the terms of an agreement with the government.
Last year, the commissioners approved – by a 3-2 split vote – giving the nonprofit half-amillion dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds to renovate the former Boerne public works building on Blanco Road.
ARPA, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Packaged, was signed into law by President Joe Biden last March.
When the initial inspection of the property revealed renovations would run roughly $1.3 million, Das Greenhaus leaders, including Estes, Story and local Angel Network Founder Justin McKenzie, sought a new home for the startup.
This rendered the agreement between the county and Das Greenhaus null and void, causing the new cohort of commissioners and the newly elected county judge, Shane Stolarczyk, to ask for the check back.
“The plain language of the written contract entered, and promises made by the parties, show that Das Greenhaus changed course without notifying the county and elected to pursue using a private building (as opposed to using the public funds to renovate a public building that may have been usable by the county under certain circumstances),” Stolarczyk told The Star in an email. “Das Greenhaus did not notify the county of this change of course and did not seek the consent of the county for this change of course. Instead, Das Greenhaus breached and terminated the written contract by its own conduct.”
The three incubator board members have plans to go back before the commissioners soon, but they may face a tough audience.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Christina Bergmann and Precinct 3 Commissioner Richard Chapman both voted against the $500,000 contribution. However, once the amount was approved by the split vote, Bergmann voted in favor of the agreement with Das Greenhaus to renovate the former city public works building.
Chapman continue his opposition to the agreement.
Meanwhile, Stolarczyk told The Star he does not think county dollars should fund the endeavor but urged the “generous” residents of Kendall County to contribute.
“This contract was entered before I began serving as county judge and was breached by Das Greenhaus. But, as I now sit as county judge, it is my personal belief that it is not within the purview of this county to allocate taxpayers’ funds, whether received from federal, state or county sources, to support this project,” Stolarczyk said.
He added, “I encourage those individual citizens and businesses who want to support the Das Greenhaus project to do so. Our county is comprised of generous individuals, but I do not believe I or our county has the right to take taxpayer dollars and force the use of those taxpayer dollars for special interests in light of all of the pressing needs facing our county when it comes to our operations, wildfires and other public safety concerns.”
In contrast, Precinct 4 Commissioner Chad Carpenter voiced strong support for the nonprofit during a meeting Feb. 13.
At that session, Carpenter said his constituents favor Das Greenhaus, noting the costs for a new business to enter the marketplace have become exorbitant.
Business incubators offer space and sometimes resources at reduced costs to help startups hire locals and conduct commerce to buoy local revenue.
“I still continue to support what you guys are doing,” Carpenter said at the time. “I’m going to surprise some people out there that know I’m ultra conservative in spending government funds. ... I think we need to work through the process of fixing the contract to represent the use that you guys are wanting.”
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