By PETER HUSSMANN
Jasper County's economic development efforts in the past fiscal year played out like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the board of supervisors were told in a report delivered to them today.
Craig Hamilton, executive director of the Jasper County Economic Development Corporation, presented the organization's annual report to county supervisors saying past fiscal year exhibited traits of "a dual personality."
"The first half of the year saw Jasper County continue to recover from the Maytag closure with TPI having their grand opening in September and Trinity Towers producing their first tower in late October," Hamilton wrote in his report to the board. "Shortly thereafter, however, the national economy spiraled into recession, and although its impact on Jasper County was less severe than in other parts of the country, the downturn has had a dampening effect on the post-Maytag recovery."
Hamilton's presentation of the county-wide development group's activities for the fiscal year coincided with his request for Jasper County's financial participation of $34,250 for the first half of fiscal year 2009-2010.
TPI, the maker of wind turbines in a new facility built with considerable assistance from JEDCO, was a classic example of the "dual personality" the economic development year exhibited, Hamilton noted in his report.
Shortly after the company began production, talk ensued about expanding the facility and workforce to accommodate the manufacturing of larger wind turbine blades. However, the faltering economy scuttled those plans, at least for now.
"Because of the change in business conditions, TPI did announce that their expansion had been put on hold," Hamilton's report states. "It is hoped that a period of recovery and the current administration's emphasis on renewable energy will make the hold temporary."
Hamilton also noted the slow economy dragged on plans to reopen Monroe Table Company in Colfax, although the effort is moving forward. The company, with JEDCO's assistance, has secured a $50,000 forgivable loan from the state, along with a local match of $20,000 from the City of Colfax, and job training credits from DMACC.
"The company is in the final stages of securing their financial package and hopes to soon reopen Monroe Table with 16 employees," Hamilton noted.
JEDCO, along with the City of Newton and the Newton Development Corporation, has responded to numerous business opportunity leads provided by the Iowa Department of Economic Development over the course of the past fiscal year. Most, Hamilton noted, relate to the wind energy industry, but others have included food packaging, solar power equipment, data centers and motion picture production studios.
Hamilton told the board in his report that JEDCO continues to be actively involved in marketing initiatives.
For the coming year, Hamilton is hoping for some reverse psychology.
"While there is no denying that the recent economic downturn has had a negative effect on business activity in Jasper County, we seem to have thus far fared better than many others parts of the country," he wrote. "The presence of two new manufacturers of parts for wind turbines has undoubtedly helped to soften the local impacts of the recession.
"The timing of the recovery will largely determine the amount of development activity through fiscal year 2009-2010. Entrepreneurial activity should continue to grow and we should continue to see prospect activity within the county as a result of the large available Maytag buildings.
"Let's hope that 2009-2010 is a dichotomy in the reverse of what occurred in 2008-2009."
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