FAIRMONT — The Fairmont Economic Development Authority took proactive steps on Monday by approving an option to purchase land for potential development.

The 37-acre parcel in the 1300 block of 190th Avenue, just southwest of exit 99 on Interstate 90. The site is just northwest of the fairgrounds.

Fairmont economic development director Linsey Preuss said she regularly fields calls from businesses investigating the availability of buildable land, something she says is in limited supply in the city. She has been working on this project for the past year.

The agreement with owner David Meschke calls for FEDA to pay $12,000 for a six-year option to purchase the land. If FEDA exercises the option, it will pay $19,250 per acre or 2.5 times the property’s most recent appraisal.

FEDA’s future plans include the completion of an engineering study on the property to estimate the cost of installing utilities. In order to justify the engineering and infrastructure costs, Andy Noll suggested marketing the property with a requirement that a buyer purchase at least half of the land, and the board agreed.

In another matter, the board approved a $30,000 loan for Tim Meyer of TMeyer Inc., which specializes in precision automotive machine work and parts that are sold worldwide. Meyer is looking to expand his business to include engine blocks.

“There is a solid market out there for this block the way he’s designing it and the way he’s building it,” said FEDA chairman Tom Lytle, who visited the business several times. “There’s a pent-up demand.”

Preuss agreed, saying Meyer “has a serious following” on social media and video sharing sites.

The business expansion will add one full-time job and one part-time job.

In another loan issue, the board tabled a proposal from Preuss to write off the debt owed by Wendy’s, which still owes more than $64,000 of the initial $75,000 loan. Collection attempts have been ongoing for about eight years and have been unsuccessful. The business has gone through bankruptcy court, and Elizabeth Bloomquist, city attorney, has recommended writing off the loan.

FEDA members noted tat the vast majority of their loans have been repaid, but the last two it has been unable to collect, both restaurant-related, have been large ones.

They tabled any action until hearing from Bloomquist about any possible avenues of collection, such as personal guarantees, that might remain.