McCook Economic Development Corp.: A snapshot

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The likely pending increase to water and sewer rates, in addition to one city councilman's proposal to include unmarried partners on the city employee insurance plan, drew the attention of McCook citizens who packed the McCook City Council chambers during the Aug. 15 meeting. Feedback from citizens varied from criticism to budgeting practices and the city employee pay scale, to a request for the city to do its part in maintaining the sanctity of the American family.

Jerie Quinty of McCook expressed her frustration with several items during the city council meeting but said the McCook Economic Development Corp. was her biggest frustration. "Have not seen much return on our investment or from many of the things that they have done," said Quinty. Council members did not respond to Quinty's comments directly, but later in the evening Mayor Dennis Berry said that he was pleased with the work MEDC had done. "We wouldn't have Valmont, the Work Ethic Camp or at least one hotel," said Berry, adding that without MEDC those businesses wouldn't be here and the community would be in a much worse position than it is. "Every community is looking for jobs," said Berry.

Later in the evening, during closing comments, Berry addressed the topic again by saying that "the city is funding MEDC because the taxpayers voted to do so."

In response to the comments, and in an attempt to raise awareness, Executive Director Rex Nelson provided the Gazette with a summary of the MEDC development activities in McCook.

With 2011 sales tax receipts continuing to see increases over prior year, MEDC has been able to actively promote that funding source, but that hasn't always been the case. Nelson said that "because the economy and sales tax receipts went flat shortly after the program started, and because the bonding company for the Keystone required funding a year's payments in reserve on top of the regular payments, we have not had much free cash to work with in the program until recently. That reserve payment of $112,000 will be available at the end of the 10-year bond payoff. In the meantime, MEDC staff has had funds available from the Red Willow County revolving loan fund when needed. Now that sales tax receipts have picked up, the city loan fund is growing rapidly and we are able to actively promote this funding source."

According to Nelson, here is where the money has gone;

* The Keystone Business Center. A community centerpiece, event center and meeting facility which brings Chamber of Commerce, MEDC, McCook Community College, Rural Enterprise Assistance Project, Nebraska Business Development Center and others to improve services to all businesses. According to Nelson the Keystone offered McCook a business incubation facility that provides office space for startup businesses. "One floor has been developed for technology business development and the last chapter has not been written yet. We are working on new possibilities with promising prospects," said Nelson.

* MEDC administration. "City staff took this expense out of their general fund and put it on the sales tax fund, so although the number has increased from $75,000 five years ago to $110,000 today, it is not a new expense to the city, and does not fund new activities per se, except to offer some support for the business coaching position," explained Nelson.

* Entrepreneur attraction. Knowing that they needed to promote the community to attract both residents and potential entrepreneurial businesses, MEDC engaged the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship (RUPRI) using a matching grant from SBA to do research into the area needs and assets, in order to develop a professional strategy that is targeted at guiding their work for several years.

* Careerlink.com. "We funded set up fees to put Southwest Nebraska on the careerlink website, this is the leading job listing website in Nebraska and the best location to connect those who might want to move back to McCook with a business needing young professional help," said Nelson. Nelson added that promotion is underway to get local businesses involved and Careerlink in the meantime hosted more than 200,000 users a week.

* Vision McCook. A consortium of organizations working together in a branding effort for McCook. A new community logo and tagline are ready for a upcoming launch, according to Nelson, and a website targeted at potential new residents is nearing completion.

"Passage of the city sales tax for economic development has enabled a higher level of engagement at nearly every level of our work," says Nelson. He believes the most important facet is the administrative and staff component, which comprises approximately 30 percent of the sales tax investment. "The work is multi-faceted, generally out of sight and vitally important to any community," said Nelson.

Most job creation in the United States comes from the growth of existing businesses, and McCook is no exception. "A core component of any economic development program should always be taking care of those businesses, helping them succeed and reach their potential for growth. Many in the community may be unaware for instance that Valmont Industries has added nearly 100 new employees in the last three years. MEDC staff assisted in getting the key players together to address the need for trained welders with the end result being a multi player partnership that ramped up the college welding program at the new CAST center," said Nelson.

Just as important as the big businesses are the multitude of medium to small ones and staying connected with them, according to Nelson MEDC maintains an aggressive Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) visitation program which involves meeting with existing businesses to discover opportunities for growth and discovering what kinds of assistance may be needed. "This is also vital in knowing, as early as possible, if a business is in danger of closing," said Nelson.

Another area that Nelson says supports existing businesses, and forms the infrastructure for all businesses, is our housing sector in McCook. "The MEDC Housing department runs several ongoing programs including those to provide Down-payment Assistance to first time homebuyers and a Purchase Rehab Re-