Although there wasn’t much on the agenda, county officials still had plenty to discuss during Tuesday’s meeting.

The Mower County Board met Tuesday  afternoon to discuss committee reports and approve several tax abatement requests in the area. Even though there weren’t too many items on the agenda, there were still things that needed to be addressed:

County budget, levy

County Administrator Trish Harren shared minor updates pertaining to the county’s budget and the proposed levy at the county level.

Although there weren’t specific numbers shared yet about what the county plans to share with taxpayers, Harren anticipates that the county would not be going for a levy that’s above 4 percent at this point in time.

“We want to hold out for the update on our budget,” she said. “But, I anticipate that the levy would fall under 4 percent.”

Rural broadband

Since Mid Continent Communications expressed its intent on assisting Mower County in establishing stable, high-speed internet in the rural parts of the area, another internet provider questioned the county’s relationship with MIDCO.

Harren noted that Jaguar Communications had asked about the county’s relationship with MIDCO over the recent news that the provider received funding from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help establish fiber or terrestrial fixed assets to help boost rural broadband in several towns in the area.

“Jaguar said that it has planned to build out fiber to Dexter in the next couple years and put fiber in the ground,” Harren said. “I don’t see why two competitors don’t offer similar services to the towns.”

It was noted that since Jaguar does not have CAF funding from the FCC, that it does not have the means to build broadband out to much of rural Mower County.

“We hope they can work together and that they want to be able to cohabitate,” she added.

Noise complaints with Purple Ribbon Plaza

Although the new event space at the Mower County Fairgrounds has shown promise in attracting residents to booking the area for special occasions, it has caused some noise complaints for neighboring homes.

Commissioner Jerry Reinartz shared that he was approached by a resident who complained about a recent party that was held at the rented-out space and had “went way into the night.”

“He was complaining about how noisy it was,” Reinartz said. “That’s probably something that should be brought up with the city in regards to a noise ordinance. Users may need to be given instructions on their rental agreements.”

The Fair Board has met about arranging something for use of the facility by the Ag Society and the county to fulfill needs for county residents for fair week and off-season events. The new space features a large open indoor area with tables and chairs for guests to sit and relax.

“That’s probably something that they would want to bring up with the city council,” said Commissioner Tim Gabrielson. “That’s not something we deal with.”

Supporting economic development

Regarding the GrandStay Hotel project that the county board had previously rejected its tax abatement application, misinformation had spread regarding Mower County’s overall commitment to economic development.

Harren noted that during a meeting with the government affairs committee, it was brought to her attention that several companies had thought about reaching out to Mower County about possible builds for their businesses in the area, but expressed hesitation.

“They thought we were not economic development friendly,” Harren said. “There’s been some misinformation about that particular conversation and what it means to add value to the county. We have an applicant for a biotech firm that was hesitant because support (for the GrandStay Hotel project) wasn’t unanimous and couldn’t approve economic development in Mower County.”

Gabrielson noted that he had “many conversations” with various individuals who wanted to build more businesses in the area, but felt there were far too many restrictions that make it near-impossible to bring something new into town.

“The problem is that there are so many restrictions that make it unfriendly for economic development,” he said. “There are so many hoops to jump through. Menard’s was one of them.”

Commissioner Jeff Baldus noted that Owatonna has outpaced Mower County in economic development mostly because of the abundance of small start-up businesses and manufacturers added builds to its community.

However, Harren noted that just because the county commissioners voted down the tax abatement for the GrandStay Hotel did not mean that overall support for the project wasn’t there from the county.

“We need to educate each other about what it means to be adding value,” Harren explained. “There are also state restrictions that may be causing obstacles for businesses to want to build.