The McLeod County Board wants a working group to look at the pros and cons of a countywide economic development association.

Tuesday, the board charged a group of four countywide EDA supporters to help draft a list of potential working group members. The EDA supporters include:
• Dan Ehrke, Glencoe Chamber of Commerce executive director,
• Brent Mareck, Winsted city administrator,
• Miles Seppelt, Hutchinson economic development director, and
• Kerry Venier, Silver Lake city clerk.

The board asked the group to include members from the agricultural community and township government. The county commissioners will also recommend a person from each of their districts to help Ehrke, Mareck, Seppelt and Venier evaluate the potential advantages and disadvantages of a McLeod County EDA.

Seppelt believes such an entity can help create jobs, expand the local tax base and stimulate local communities’ economies.

Board Chair Grant Knutson is concerned about how an EDA would be funded. He’s wary that establishing the EDA as a separate taxing authority would place a disproportionately large burden on owners of farm property.

Knutson said, “I’m 100 percent in favor of such a thing if it’s funded properly.”

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)