Business Prospects
I met with Gary Satter and Patti Deranek from Glacial Hills Small Business Development Program. They explained their services and offered to sponsor a 10-week training program about starting a new business. The program will cover financing, business plans, feasibility and break-even analyses, and many issues that one must take into account before beginning a business. RDA will co-sponsor the program at a site to be determined.

Two separate local residents asked questions about opening a small business. The clients asked about Women/Minority Owned Enterprise assistance. I provided some information and contact numbers. I will provide more information about RDA services and government programs.

A local business in Morrill inquired about business grants and/or low-interest loans. I will send some information to the business owners. I also briefly explained the CDBG Microloan program should the counties decide to apply for the program.

I completed the cost-benefit analysis for the Koch & Co. tax abatement application. Thus far, some of the ratios are relatively low. Currently, it appears as if the City of Seneca sells electricity to Koch & Co. at a loss. This negatively impacts current as well as future revenues from the company, which, in turn negatively impact the ratios. I will speak with Richard Massieon, Special Projects Coordinator for the City of Seneca, and Thurman Miller, Nemaha County Appraiser, to develop alternatives and different scenarios to increase the ratio.

I am continuing to assist a potential manufacturing interest with locating and operating in either Brown or Nemaha County. I will meet with representatives from each county and develop proposals that will be presented to the organization. The proposals will list information such as infrastructure capacity, land availability, tax incentives, available labor supply, and overall cost of living in each area.

A local business was interested in USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business Enterprise Loans, 0% loans funneled through rural electric cooperatives. After being rejected by the Nemaha-Marshall Electric Co-op, I called Randy Snyder with USDA Rural Development in Iola. USDA Rural Development policies state that if an REA participates in the program, they must consider applications without regard to service area. Randy spoke with a representative of KEPCO (Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.), a statewide electric cooperative organization. KEPCO may be interested in taking on the project.

Local Government Relations
Recently, the City of Waterville contacted RDA to inform them of a street project with which they were asking assistance. RDA provided assistance to the City in the process of hiring an engineer for the project.

I attended a public forum in the City of Hamlin regarding the construction of a public sewer system. Most of the residents are in favor of the project; but there are some objections. Galen Lay, architect for Bartlett and West Engineers, recommends not moving forward with the project unless an overwhelming majority of the population favors the project. The City will continue to discuss the issue. If they can reach a consensus, they will move forward with the project.

I attended the mass transportation meetings on August 1 and August 14, sponsored by the Kickapoo Tribe. I have been named to the planning executive committee on behalf of RDA. I offered some assistance with a planning grant application they are submitting to the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT).

I attended the July meeting of the Everest Housing Authority. I gave the members information on rent and income guidelines for projects that use Housing Tax Credits for financing. Shannon Scott, secretary/treasurer of the Authority, and I will meet with the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing in early September to learn more about the Housing Tax Credits program.

I finished the CDBG grant application for Marshall County. We will submit the application before the September 1^st deadline. Although the application calls for a preliminary architectural report, two of the commissioners did not want to pay the fee of $2000 for this report as there is not guarantee of the county receiving the grant. We did receive a "Opinion of Probable Cost" for Facility Consultants, Inc. of Kansas City, MO. We will submit this report and hope that it is sufficient. On August 14, I attended the public hearing concerning the ADA grant. The commission approved the grant by a vote of 2-1.

Marshall County voters rejected a measure to institute a ¼ cent sales tax to fund economic development.

.Miscellaneous
Connie Steinlage has been taking digital photographs of local attractions and economic interests for use on NEKCRED.com as well as RDA’s website, RDANEK.com. We will maintain a pictorial database of potential economic development sites for use in business recruitment and site selection.

Respectfully submitted,

Scott M. Huizenga
Executive Director