Chris Nation (pictured, right), regional manager of West Central Coop, began a three-year term as president of Greene County Development Corp at the group’s annual meeting Sept. 3 at Clover Hall in Jefferson. He takes the helm from Norm Fandel (left) of Midland Power. Nation said GCDC is “going at full throttle. I’m going to hold on for dear life.”
GCDC executive director Ken Paxton recapped a busy year, highlighting the work of the labor task force for its work on the Home Base Iowa Initiative and on developing local education to fill the needs of local employers; of GCDC’s role in the effort to bring Wild Rose to Jefferson and in the expansion project at Scranton Manufacturing; of the business park on the east side of Highway 4 south of Highway 30; and of a new business brochure.
Paxton told of trips to Minneapolis, Chicago and Omaha on behalf of all eight counties that are part of the Midwest Partnership economic development group. At those site selector visits he markets possible business and industrial sites to potential employees. He also spoke of updates to the GCDC website, including lists of available housing, job listings, and a generic job application available for veterans. Ongoing work he named included the major employers’ round table, the housing committee, a smart conference, the labor task force, leadership training and the group working on a countywide marketing plan.
Greene County Medical Center CEO Carl Behne and Jefferson Hy-Vee manager Lori Subbert both spoke, but had little new information since the more public town hall meeting in Jefferson last month. Wild Rose vice president Amy Ruble also spoke and showed artist renderings of the interior of the casino, conference center and restaurant. She said the plans are not final at this time. She also repeated what she said in August about hiring. Those who are interested in employment at Wild Rose should visit the company website or watch for a job fair next spring.
Dave Sturtz briefed those in attendance about new Bauer developments in Paton. He reported 209 Main is doing well, with 45 full- and part-time employees. He said a truck-friendly convenience store and gas station being built across County Road E-18 from the original Bauer plant (now John Deere) has been delayed by the weather. An opening is now anticipated for January rather than November. Construction on the new Bauer production facility north of the former facility is under way. The 192,000 square-foot building will be state-of-the-art, with geothermal heating and cooling. There will also be a two-story office annex attached to the building. Sturtz thanked GCDC and the county for its support.
In closing the meeting, Nation acknowledged the countywide economic development efforts. He thanked all partners involved – the Greene County Chamber, the county board of supervisors, Jefferson Matters: Main Street, and all the city councils.
