County commissioners adopt new economic-growth plan

by Patty Decker

The Free Press

The Marion County Commission unanimously approved at its Feb. 28 meeting supporting the county-wide Economic Develop­ment Corp., and appropriating a five-year annual budget of $165,000 for the fiscal years of 2018 through 2022.

Volunteers representing the Marion County Com­mun­ity Economic Develop­ment Corp. were Roger Holter and Russell Groves with Teresa Huffman, county economic development director, also present.

In addition to providing money for the five-year commitment, the commissioners directed County Clerk Tina Spencer to review areas of the 2017 budget to determine what amount of support might be available.

Commissioner Randy Dallke said he hopes everyone in the county will get behind the group and help to move this community forward.

The origin

More than a year ago on Feb. 18, the commissioners met with business owners, elected officials and the public to talk about assets in Marion County, Holter said. From that first meeting, conversations grew into relationship and then into trust.

“For those who haven’t been privileged to be part of these conversations, trust is hard to grant,” he said. “Our biggest mission is to get everybody to understand that when there are business professionals directing business growth, the achievement will be at a level that we’ve not experienced before.”

Holter said “advocacy” describes the corporation in one word. The corporation will advocate what is important to the towns represented and to the citizens who represent the county’s future.

Rationale and baseline

Holter said $165,000 seems like a large amount, but the overall amount the corporation is hoping to receive from the three governmental entities is $275,000.

“That amount is what the county, city of Marion and city of Hillsboro designated in their 2016 budgets for economic development,” he said. “(The group’s) guiding principle was not asking for a greater investment from taxpayers, and we want to facilitate where there was representation for everyone and return some equity and investment.”

This is a Marion County community-wide effort, he added, and not about a constant competition with certain entities trying to outdo another.

Holter cited trash removal out of the county as an example of the MCCEDC baseline.

“Everyone pays $33.50 a year in the form of a special property tax allocated for that,” he said. “After looking at that cost, then analyze the cost of economic development at $22.50 in Marion, and $24 in Hillsboro. The city of Marion and part of its economic development is still anchored in paying taxes on the industrial and business park, making the per capital investment about $46.”

The county’s cost of $165,000, Holter said, covers the 10 small cities and unincorporated areas influencing 7,325 people.

“Using the overall population of 7,325 and taking $22.50 per person on average, the amount came to about $165,000,” he said.

Over the next few weeks, he said, representatives from the group will visit Hillsboro and Marion.

“Hillsboro invests $77,000 a year as a line item for economic development, and city officials will be asked for $65,400, which is tied to the permanent population of 2,903,” Holter said.

“The city of Marion represents 1,980 people and if they support the MCCEDC’s efforts, it would total $44,600.”

In addition, Holter said Hillsboro will have an opportunity to lower the economic development line item in its budget based on its contribution should support be given.

Members of the committees have set up meetings this week in Tampa and Durham. City officials in Florence and Lincolnville are expected to meet with the corporation in the next couple of weeks, according to Holter.

Committees

The MCCEDC board of directors will set priorities, the executive director’s performance when hired, and business advocacy, Holter said.

“(The board) will continue to work on subcommittees that target specific areas,” he said.

The budget will have line items within each of the specific committees, ranging from training and marketing to personnel, office and benefits, he said.

Examples of expenses could include travel, conferences, events and memberships in the marketing subcommittee or vocational training, K-12 entrepreneurial and workforce and leadership training in the educa­tional committee.

The future bylaws indicate nine board of directors, but it is adaptable, Holter said. Getting nine people together on a consistent basis will be a challenge, but going to a subcommittee format only requires three people, Holter added.

“Those three people also have the ability to ask outside people to join them, and so far, we haven’t been turned down by an outside person,” he said.

Holter said he thinks the reason why is because everyone asked believes change is needed.

“We have businessmen asking how they can help and some have made verbal commitments on the educational committee for vocational scholarships or donating equipment for hands-on training,” he said.

Philosophy

Holter said far too often, the approach to economic development has been “here you go, it’s yours.”

In the MCCEDC structure, he said the future is the nine-person leadership team that is deeply rooted into the community as a whole. The director that’s hired will bring all their circles of influence with them.

Holter said he encouraged people to look at the big picture and how much has been spent in the past 10 years.

“It’s a sizable amount, and still not what we pay to move trash around,” he said. “I bring that up to keep things in perspective. If somebody told me I need $20, $22 or $25 from you for the next five years because we want to improve the sustainability of our community and lifestyle that exists, a lot of people will say, ‘Is that all?’”

Other business

In other business, the commissioners:

• heard from Emma Tajchman, director of planning and zoning, regarding the Straub building and results of the Marion City Council meeting.

The council voted 3-2 to approve the conditional-use permit, but because of a protest petition filed with the city, a two-thirds majority was needed. The council then voted to send the application back to the city’s planning commission to further evaluate the economic impact of the project.

The petitioners’ biggest concern was possible relocation of the transfer station, but the county said that wasn’t going to happen. Based on the city’s vote, the process could take another 60 days before the council would vote on the issue again.

• learned from Jesse Hamm, road and bridge director, that the bid documents have been prepared and a permit application submitted to the state regarding repairs on 190th Road.

Dallke said he was contacted by a business owner on 190th who asked for swift repair and reopening of the road because his business has been affected by the reduced traffic.

• listened to Mayor Delores Dalke of Hillsboro, who said the city has always been supportive regarding the Marion County EMS, and said she would provide any help if asked.

Dalke said she also questioned whether additional staff should be added without first determining where they would be housed, which continues to be of concern to Ed Debesis, EMS director.

• went into a five-minute executive session with Diedre Serene, director of county health, for personnel performance. No action taken when the public session resumed.

Dallke asked Serene if it was necessary to close the office during the prior week for staff to attend a training exercise. Serene said it was because it was disaster training and everyone on the staff had a role in the exercise.

• heard from Dan Holub, former commissioner, who wanted to clarify inaccuracies regarding the Straub building purchase. Those clarifications included loss of property taxes for entities in the county.

Holub said these entities wouldn’t lose value on the tax base but instead would get those property taxes back when the county sold buildings no longer needed. Inclusion of the transfer station, he said, was in the CUP application based on guidance from the city. Holub said locations outside the city would be better for the transfer station.

Regarding the idea that the county shut down the city from developing the Straub property was not true. The preference of the county continues to be the same as it was when they were first interested in the property.

“If anyone expressed interest in the building, we would back away,” he said.

• heard from Randy Eitzen regarding changes in the control burn guidelines. He said he has heard different things and encouraged the commissioners to include citizens who need to conduct burns.

Dallke said the county will try to make things work for everyone. A copy of the proposed changes were given to Eitzen for review.

• heard from Dallke after the vote of 3-0 in favor of $165,000 for the MCCEDC.

“In the near future, I would like to be holding my shovel to break ground on a building project for a new business in Marion County,” he said.

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