County approves abatement request for Rock River Ag

Rock County Commissioners approved a 10-year abatement of county taxes March 2 for Rock River Ag Properties LLC south of Luverne.
Owners Brad Bergman and Joshua Renault requested abating 100 percent of taxes on the six acres in Clinton Township.
It’s the site of a combined warehouse, seed storage and office facility recently built at the intersection of Highway 75 and 61st Street.
Five jobs will be created with the new agronomy sales facility, according to the abatement application.
The county assessor determined the improvements would add $2,958 to the county’s current tax base annually or $29,577 over 10 years.
No one from the public attended the public hearing for the abatement consideration.
Commissioner Stan Williamson questioned making decisions for future commissioners, whose four-year terms would include honoring a decision they made in 2021.
“That’s two-and-a-half in terms of change of commissioners,” he said.
Instead of 10 years, commissioners unanimously approved five years of tax abatement at 100 percent or $2,958 annually with a 20-percent reduction each year over the remaining four years.
 
Future hearings to take place quarterly
Commissioners also agreed at their March 2 meeting that all future abatements hearings will take place at the last commissioner meeting of each quarter.
For 2021 those meetings will be June 22, Sept. 21 and Dec. 21.
However, two abatement applications have already been submitted and commissioners agreed to conduct the public hearings April 6.
Ross Van Hulzen submitted a tax abatement for a new home in Battle Plain Township, and a business tax abatement was submitted by Kelly and Tammie Leuthold in Martin Township for a salon and spa.