(GRANTS PASS, OR) — In response to yesterday’s article regarding Project CARRIAGE and Recoil Suppression Systems, new information has come to light correcting the financial details surrounding the controversial economic development effort.
According to Colleen Padilla, former Executive Director of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI), and the business development manager during the time of the project, a significant portion of the funds associated with Recoil Suppression Systems was indeed repaid.
Padilla clarified that Recoil founder Joseph Rice repaid $50,000 to SOREDI, which had initially been issued as a loan to support the failed startup. Following that repayment, SOREDI issued a $25,000 reimbursement check to Josephine County. These funds were originally contributed by the Josephine County Board of Commissioners to help fund the project. At the time of this transaction, Commissioners Simon Hare, Dan DeYoung, and Lily Morgan were in office. Padilla noted the presentation of the repayment check to the board occurred sometime between 2017 and 2019.
The remaining $25,000 invested in the project came from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency. That portion of the funding was ultimately written off as unrecoverable.
Yesterday’s report did not account for these repayments and suggested that public funds were wholly lost in the endeavor. This correction aims to provide a fuller picture of the financial outcome, acknowledging that while Business Oregon’s contribution was forfeited, both SOREDI and Josephine County were reimbursed for their shares.
The Tribune regrets the oversight and is committed to publishing accurate and complete information as additional facts become available.