County OKs EDA, cities and townships to decide

In the coming weeks city and township officials will decide whether or not to join the newly formed Rock County Economic Development Authority.
A 14-member committee of county commissioners studied the pros and cons of forming a countywide EDA for two months before recommending the new board.
Robin Weis with the Southwest Regional Development Commission outlined the committee’s findings at the Rock County Board’s May 7 meeting.
She said three key issues had come into focus: economic development, housing, and community development programs and services.
Each issue was broken into three categories: current level, existing gaps in programs and services, and capacity and ability to expand services and/or opportunities for development.
“The most important area is the capacity and ability to expand services,” Weis said. “Those are areas where we felt there are gaps and something could be done about them, and it would definitely improve Rock County,” she said.
Cities and townships within Rock County need to pass resolutions to join the county EDA.
The committee also recommended a provision in case a city decides on membership to the county EDA and the surrounding township does not.
“A city may exercise ‘control,’ as it relates to development, as two miles from the city border,” according to the committee report.
The committee also recommended a nine-member EDA board that would include two county commissioners.
Commissioners adopted a resolution in early February to form the study committee.
The committee was comprised of representatives from the cities of Beaver Creek, Hills, Jasper, Luverne, Magnolia, Hardwick, Kenneth and Steen, three township representatives, a housing authority representative, and two county commissioners.
Commissioners Gary Overgaard and Jody Reisch served on the study committee.
“It was a good process to go through — it was much needed,” Reisch said. “I think it will help us to be more organized in our approach to development throughout the whole county.”
The committee met Feb. 19 and again April 4 before issuing a recommendation to establish a county EDA board.
The nine-member board would become advocates for Rock County.
While Luverne has a full-time EDA director, outlying towns and townships in Rock County do not have a dedicated person marketing the area. The county EDA board will fill that void for all members.
The board will become a point of contact or a reference to new or existing business owners expanding in or seeking to move the county.
“A lot of development is going on outside of city boundaries,” said County Administrator Kyle Oldre.
Within the past year, Midwest Dry Cast opened for business in Luverne Township.
Within the last six years, New Vision Co-Op expanded its fertilizer plant in Beaver Creek Township, its feed mill operation in Magnolia Township and the Prairie Rose Wind Farm constructed phase one of its renewable energy production project in Springwater, Denver and Rosedell townships.
The new county EDA will assist to find investors for the opportunity zones.
Last year the federal government designated the southern third of Rock County as Opportunity Zones. The zones are meant to encourage long-term business investments.