Business Prospects
Initial business contacts since December 1, 2000 - Sabetha 7; Horton 2; Seneca 1; Hiawatha, 3; Wetmore, 1; Corning, 1; Everest, 1; Goff, 1; Bern, 1; Out of Area, 1;

Existing business contacts since December 1, 2000 - Sabetha, 2; Out of Area, 2; Bern, 1; Seneca, 2; Horton, 2; Morrill, 2; Horton, 1;

The tax abatement application was on the agenda at the January 17, 2001 meeting of the City Council of Seneca. I was there to answer questions about the tax abatement process and cost-benefit analysis conducted for Koch & Company. The Council formed an administrative review committee consisting of the mayor, the city clerk, and one council member. The committee met on January 25 to review all of the application materials and recommend to the full council whether or not to approve the abatement. I attended the committee meeting. The committee will recommend to the council a full tax abatement on Phases I and II of the Koch & Co. expansion. A public hearing on the abatement is expected to be on February 21.

Dome Industries in Bern announced that its plant is closing on February 28. RDA is aiding in the process of finding potential buyers of the property. In addition, RDA will soon meet with the city council to discuss the possibility of establishing local tax abatement and industrial revenue bond possibilities. The Constitution of the State of Kansas requires that municipalities establish local policies and procedures before they award these incentives. In addition, the presence of fixed local incentives will aid in the attraction of a new firm.

Local Government Relations
The application to the State Housing Trust fund on behalf of the Everest Housing Authority is complete. Applications were due on December 1. Awards for the Trust Fund will be announced in January. We submitted an application for Housing Tax Credits due on February 9, 2001. The credits will be worth a total of over $700,000. These credits will be sold to the public as a way for the non-profit to gain much-needed equity on the project.

The Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing (KDOC&H) awarded Brown County with a $100,000 Microloan grant through its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. RDA prepared the application and applied on behalf of Brown County. This award coincided with Nemaha County’s award for the 2000 round.

I visited the City of Willis to explain available funding mechanisms for the demolition of residential structures. Because the city is just beginning the condemnation process on the buildings in question, the city will not be eligible for the 2001 CDBG application round.

The Wetmore Rural Fire District asked about grant money for a new fire truck. Nemaha County will have to sponsor any CDBG request on behalf of the rural fire district. The County is limited in the number of requests in can make per year. Therefore, I will have to inquire as to whether the County can sponsor the request in the upcoming round.

I attended the CDBG Microloan Workshop for Brown and Nemaha Counties on January 8, 2001. The workshop explained the necessary policies and procedures for setting up the Microloan program. Because RDA will be receiving CDBG funds for administration, regulations require that a public bid letting take place before any administration funds are awarded. RDA will complete the initial requirements, and then organize the loan committees.

The City of Robinson and Robinson Township are pursuing the possible development of a community center. I will assist the organizations with gathering funding information as well as formulating the early stages of development.

The Goff Rural Fire District plans to resubmit an application to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for new emergency. KDOC&H rejected the previous application in September. RDA will work to strengthen the application and submit the new application in March.

Miscellaneous
I attended the regular meeting of the Northeast Kansas Coalition for Economic Development (NEKCRED) meeting on October 26 and November 29. NEKCRED, of which RDA is a member, is planning to focus its efforts on recruiting and developing value-added agriculture facilities to the area. We will begin by working with the 21^st Century Alliance to form a strategy to move forward in the value-added industry. Lynn Rundle, CEO of 21^st Century Alliance, spoke about various cooperatives that 21^st Century helped to create in Western Kansas. He emphasized that it is important to organize a broad coalition of local farmers that are willing to work toward developing a niche product. The initial organization is usually the most difficult as producers tend to be independent-minded and traditional in their planting mechanisms. The greatest challenge will be to organize the producers into one unit that is willing to invest in alternative crops with higher profit margins. The 21^st Century Alliance is a firm in Manhattan that assists with developing in marketing new agricultural products.

The Northeast Kansas Coalition for Regional Economic Development (NEKCRED) held its annual legislative mission at the statehouse on January 30. I handed cereal produced by Wenger Manufacturing to all legislators and aides. We also spoke to legislators and lobbyists about issues concerning economic development including the tax lids and the lottery.

I attended the CDBG Workshop for the 2001 application round. The deadline for community facilities is March 15, 2001. Generally, the deadline was in September. This change makes for a quick turnaround on the deadline.

I attended the Hiawatha Chamber of Commerce annual meeting on February 5.

The Northeast Kansas Resource Coalition February meeting featured Gary Reckrodt, communications director for Seaboard Farms, Inc. Gary answered questions about the proposed plant and its potential impacts on the surrounding communities with particular emphasis on social service agencies.

Respectfully submitted,

Scott M. Huizenga
Executive Director