CEDA

Article by: Chris Giesen

The City of Chatfield, MN was recently notified that their application to the DEED Minnesota Investment Fund was fully awarded in support of an expansion of a local manufacturer, EZ Fabricating.  The award will grant $375,000 to Chatfield to then lend to EZ Fabricating with very favorable terms which will allow the business to add approximately 10,000 square feet of manufacturing space and create 17 new full time jobs at an average wage of $19.06.  CEDA team member Chris Giesen who serves the City of Chatfield was able to successfully author this application which gives the business a 1% fixed interest rate on a 15 year loan, and if the job and wage goals are met, $255,000 of loan will be forgiven by the state.

“This was exciting news; we’re so happy to see EZ Fabricating continue to grow especially because they do a lot of work for other businesses in our CEDA communities” said Giesen. “We had to really hustle on this application because the business had a client that was willing to give them significant new business but only if EZ Fabricating could meet their production goals, which required adding on to their building, right now.  The Company needed to start construction before winter or risk losing this new business.” He added “these applications can be very complex with a lot of moving parts, and can take a considerable amount of time to complete.  However, we were able to work with the business owners to get the required application materials together, hold the necessary public hearings, make all the approvals, and submit a full application in about two and half weeks. DEED was also very helpful in answering questions, coordinating the process, and even sped up their normal review process for us so that we could keep the owner on track to start building.”

In addition to the state program the City of Chatfield also approved a $25,000 loan to EZ Fabricating with a 1% fixed rate for a 10 year term.  This expansion is the second expansion CEDA assisted EZ Fabricating with, in 2013, Giesen assisted the business with a major expansion that resulted in several additional grant awards to assist the business as it built a new facility in Chatfield.  In this previous expansion, the Company met its job and wage goals within two months of finishing their expansion instead of the two years they were allowed.  For its help on the 2013 project, CEDA was nominated by partner F&M Community Bank and received a 2^nd place “Strong Community” award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.

Article by: Reva Mische

At their September meeting, the City of Cold Spring’s Economic Development Authority (CSEDA) approved updated guidelines and application documents for their Revolving Loan Fund! These documents and their corresponding research were completed by CEDA team member Reva Mische with an important review and editing process by City Administrator Brigid Murphy and the EDA.

After months of research and review, Mische and the CSEDA are happy to get the word out to area businesses. While the purpose of the Revolving Loan Fund remains unchanged, the revamped guidelines and application documents are intended to be more “user friendly” to encourage new and existing businesses to take advantage of the Fund. These updates come after years without applications for Revolving Loan Fund dollars.

Mische notes the importance of knowing about the source of the Revolving Loan Fund as these funds can have different sources. With this comes a set of reporting requirements unique to the funding source. For Cold Spring, their Revolving Loan Fund originated from a Federal Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) grant. Once the EDA understood what requirements were tied to the Loan dollars, they were able to align the rest of their guidelines with their mission. The mission of the CSEDA is to ensure the sustainability and viability of the community and to maximize community assets. With revamped guidelines and a more “user friendly” process, the CSEDA looks forward to furthering this mission through reinvestment using the Revolving Loan Fund.

Since the adoption of the updated materials, the CSEDA has welcomed inquiries and applications—and they look forward to these translating into new and expanded business for the City.

“The City is now receiving applications requesting funds for new start-up businesses and requests for funds to make upgrades to current businesses in Cold Spring,” said CSEDA and City Council member Gary Theisen. “We look forward to working with our new applicants and expect more will now apply.”

Article by: Mary Kennedy

Ninth grade Human Geography students at Blue Earth Area Schools (BEAS) had a chance last month to learn about some of the exciting projects going on in their community when CEDA team member, Mary Kennedy was invited into their classroom to speak about local economic development.

Mary, who serves as both the City of Blue Earth, MN and Faribault County, MN EDA Specialist, was able to provide unique insight into local economic development efforts including a new housing development, two new business parks, and an exciting downtown redevelopment project. Mary was provided with the unit’s four (4) learning outcomes and was able to use those to guide her presentation to the students. Topics included: 1) acquiring, processing, and reporting information within a spatial context, 2) Geographic Inquiry, 3) distinguishing between physical and human characteristics that identify places, 4) identify, organize, and analyze areas of the earth’s surface.

The students were engaged, interested, and had thoughtful questions, while also providing useful feedback about what they feel is needed in the community and what they would like to see and do in the future.

Mary was able to walk the students through an activity using a Geographic Information System (GIS) tool. A favorite moment for both Mary and the students was when the class was able to see how GIS is often used to identify places, acquire information, process data, and create maps.

It was a great experience and great information was shared by both the presenter and the students!

Article by: Stephanie Lawson

Every year the Dodge County, MN Economic Development Authority has hosted a summit on a topic that aligns with the priorities set forth by the board.  This year, due to a rapidly changing business environment, the board felt that it was imperative to address the challenges County businesses are faced with, providing the tools, strategies and best practices needed to be successful.  To ensure that the potential summit’s format was the most effective, CEDA team member Stephanie Lawson, who serves Dodge County, put together a survey to gauge interest of those in the business community.

Though survey responses were limited, they revealed that businesses had interest in the education opportunity that the County was looking to offer, however a summit setting was not one that they were seeking.  With this information the board went back to work looking for an alternative, one that would eliminate barriers, allowing entrepreneurs and business owners access to these tools without the need of being present.  Their solution, a blog!  Offering high-quality monthly content postings on various business related topics, the blog will allow viewers access to additional resources and implementation ideas from the luxury of their home or business office.

The blog, managed by Lawson, is anticipated to go live after the first of the year!

 

Article by: Bryce Lange

In the City of Mabel, MN, there is a new building standing tall near the steam engine grounds. In early 2018, the Mabel EDA and the City of Mabel awarded a bid to Tollefson Construction, a local contractor, to construct the city’s first business incubator building. The purpose of the incubator building will be to help Mabel’s startup businesses test the market by leasing the building, before committing to buying or building their own building in the City. The incubator will also assist businesses that have good ideas, but a lack of financial backing.

The City of Mabel recognized the opportunities that exist within their City, and decided to play a proactive role in business development. Projects like these are very capital intensive, however, Bryce Lange, the CEDA team member in Mabel, was able to facilitate discussions and partnerships with both the Mabel Telephone Cooperative and MiEnergy Cooperative for bond financing that offered lower interest rates than the private market could, which ultimately helped the project cashflow.

The building was finished and ready for use on September 17th, 2018. The first tenant is Nisse Treehouse, a current childcare provider in Spring Grove, MN. Darcy Thorson, the owner, has stated that she has had numerous families interested in sending their kids to the facility in Mabel, long before the building was even completed. The incubator building, for childcare purposes, will be able to accommodate approximately 60 children.

Many Mabel residents believe that the incubator’s first tenant couldn’t have been a better fit for the community. Lange stated, “in most greater Minnesota cities, finding daycare providers is one of the largest challenges. Having a daycare facility or not, could mean the difference between a young family moving to one city or another.” Recognizing this challenge, the City of Mabel hopes to keep the ball rolling in terms of development and hopes to ramp up interest in housing developments and other business development in the area.