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FAIRMONT-- The Fairmont Economic Development Authority (FEDA) on Monday heard about a partnership with Martin County EDA.
Economic Development Coordinator, Ned Koppen, said he and Amber Patten with Martin County EDA have been discussing about engaging with a retail recruiter.
"There's a company called the Retail Coach and they specialize in engaging with EDA establishments like ours and the county's on identifying needs and what our best assets are and then going out and connecting with national and regional retailers, people in all likelihood I'll never have the relationship that they do with those people," Koppen said
He said that in addition to creating jobs and finding new development, retail plays an important part in doing that.
"The more choices we have, the more vibrant our community, the more likely to be successful in attracting other employers," Koppen said.
As for financing, Koppen said the cost will be split between the county EDA and FEDA but have a focus on Fairmont. Last week the Martin County EDA board approved of the partnership and on Monday FEDA also approved of it.
A question about the timeline was asked. Koppen said that it's a year-long engagement and that in the coming week he and Patten would reach out to get the process started.
The board also heard an update regarding the White Tail Ridge development.
"Essentially the project with Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership has not progressed as quickly as they wanted it to. In fact they've gone backward a little bit with having commitments or interest so we've had discussions about marketing a little more aggressively," Koppen said.
He said that because the property is owned by FEDA, there are issues with having the realtor engage with a group that markets the property but doesn't own it. Therefore, Koppen asked for the board's approval to have Remax market the properties for Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership. He added that there will be no financial obligation for FEDA but that Southwest has negotiated a fee agreement with Remax.
A representative of Remax said that Southwest wants to start building yet this fall. He said they will be slab on grade homes beginning at $388,000 for 1,433 sq. ft. with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two car garage.
"Really we just want to empower Southwest to market more aggressively," Koppen said.
It was asked what Southwest has been doing to market the properties. Koppen said there has been a public open house where images of the twin homes were shown and a prospect list was made but not much commitment came from it.
"They fell short and felt like it was time to be more aggressive and I'm in favor of that," Koppen said.
The board approved of having Koppen sign the listing contract with Remax.
In other business on Monday, the board discussed the Meschke property purchase agreement. FEDA had been looking at the 37.6 acres of land, located near Hwy 15, with a goal of turning it into an industrial park. At its meeting last month the board approved purchasing it for $832,000.
"The city attorney has looked it (the purchase agreement) over and we're ready to move forward and buy some property if it looks okay and you want to approve it," Koppen said.
The board unanimously approved of the purchase agreement.
The board also heard about another request for FEDA's new facade program, which is a forgivable loan. Koppen said that a business owner that has previously received a loan through the program, has reapplied for some more money. Koppen said it had been pre-approved by the loan committee. The board approved of the request.
Council liaison Jay Maynard asked where FEDA is at with that fund. Koppen said thy have enough money left to help one more business that applies.
"We've made it a max of $5,000 and we have about $3,500 left," Koppen said.