The joint venture between the Mower County Board of Commissioners, Development Corporation of Austin and McNeilus Companies, Inc. is not a "done deal."

It is an "almost done deal."

A delay in finalizing three separate agreements involving the financial partners occurred Tuesday. It required the Mower County Board of Commissioners to continue proposed action until next week.

When all is done, it will mark the first joint economic venture between the county and the DCA, but one county commissioner predicts the county would become a leader in economic development in the future thanks to a recent "windfall."

The reason for the delay: confusion over language in the business subsidy agreement, concerning wages to be paid to workers.

The confusion was discovered at a meeting Monday between Craig Oscarson, county coordinator, and DCA representatives Craig Johnson, president of the board of directors, and George Brophy, president and CEO of the DCA.

According to Oscarson, the terminology "a living wage" could mean as little as $8.70 per hour or a much as $12 per hour.

The county's application for a $175,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development specifically refers to the $12 per hour figure.

The county wants all agreements to reflect the $12 per hour figure.

According to Oscarson, 110 percent of the average hourly wage paid for a family of four people equals less than the $12 figure and both the DCA and the county agree the language should be more specific to guarantee the creation of the best-paying jobs.

"I'm sure we all want to put in the higher numbers in all the agreements, rather than the 110 percent language," 3rd District county commissioner Dave Hillier said.

The county board unanimously agreed with Hillier and the public hearing was continued to Tuesday, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Three separate agreements must be approved by all parties: a business subsidy agreement, plus loan and lease agreements.

Yanisch visits

On Tuesday afternoon DTED commissioner Rebecca Yanisch toured the Hormel Foods Corporation Austin plant and then the site for the proposed McNeilus Companies, Inc. plant near Dexter.

Ray Tucker, 2nd District county commissioner, met Yanisch and discussed progress in the project. What Yanisch saw Tuesday was a harvested bean field, but plans call for the development of a distribution and/or manufacturing facility for McNeilus Companies, Inc. that could employ between 12 and 50 people.

Mower County has pledged to loan the DCA $2.53 million at the maximum for the project.

The city of Dexter will receive a loan of $375,000.

The DCA will receive another loan of $175,000 for infrastructure and administrative costs.

The $165,000 grant from DTED will go to the city of Dexter as a "forgivable loan."

McNeilus Companies, Inc. will make a $125,000 financial commitment of their own.

The DCA wants to develop a facility for McNeilus Companies Inc. on a 10-acre parcel of land in the city of Dexter's Tan Incrementing Finance district at the intersection of Interstate 90 and Minnesota Highway 16.

With the monies it receives, the city of Dexter will construct a 100,000 gallon water tank and extend street, water and sanitary sewer services to the site near a Minnesota Department of Transportation and Mower County Highway Department garage and salt shed and the Mill Inn Motel.

More to come

The site is in Tucker's 2nd District and he has been a stronger supporter of the project since the start. Tucker also said Tuesday, there could be other joint ventures involving Mower County and the $2.5 million windfall the county received from Great River Energy.

Tucker negotiated the payment to the county two years ago and said Tuesday, "This money could be used for a revolving loan account for economic development purposes."

The $2.5 million presently is invested in a separate account and earning interest for the county.

Meanwhile, GRE's Pleasant Valley Township generating plant is contributing more than $300,000 in real estate taxes to Mower County this year.

"There's a lot of good we can do for Mower County with that money and economic development is one of those things," Tucker said.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com