The Koochiching Economic Development Authority Wednesday agreed to put developing the foreign trade zone site back on the front burner and reconsider bidding options.

The notion came when board member and International Falls City Council member Gail Rognerud said she was ready to see the rock on the site removed to prepare the area for potential customers.

“We are not shovel ready, we cannot bring in anyone because we still have that rock there,” she said.

The FTZ is owned by the city and Koochiching County and managed by the KEDA.

Last September, Dennis Wagner of Wagner Construction Inc., presented the board with an updated proposal regarding FTZ site development. The company withdrew its original proposal to blast and crush rock in 2010.

 KEDA Director Paul Nevanen said last September, that based on the revisions included in Wagner’s proposal, a new approach on rock removal and a lease agreement was taken back to the FTZ subcommittee made up of Nevanen; county Engineer Doug Grindall; Tim “Chopper” McBride, Falls Councilor and board member; Wade Pavleck, Koochiching County commissioner and board member; and Gary Skallman, Falls public works director. The committee in October, said it was reworking the approach to developing the site.

Nevanen Wednesday said an area around the FTZ had rock crushing and blasting occurring making now “an opportune time” to put the FTZ back in priority.

“Let’s revisit this and see if (Wagner) would be willing to revisit this to at least get this site ready...but I don’t want to go through this exercise if there is not support to do so,” Nevanen said.

“I’m open to just about anything,” board member and Koochiching County Commissioner Mike Hanson said of his support.

Nevanen also suggested making a potential deal more of a negotiation rather than the controversy that led Wagner to withdraw his 2010 proposal.

“Let’s frame it as site readiness versus rock,” Nevanen said. “Let’s get back to opportunities and utilize this area for what it was intended for — job creation.”

Falls Mayor Shawn Mason, who was filling in for McBride, said, “I think Paul just nailed it. Site preparedness is the terminology we’re going for.”

She added that the city is working with a Boise Inc. developer who is interested in property west of the FTZ along County Highway 155 for a warehouse project.

“We’re able to publicly say (Boise) is working with us in securing an appraisal for the 80 acres,” she said. “This is a real project that could have started in the foreign trade zone had we been prepared. But I think it’s going to create a domino effect.”

KEDA Chairman Allen Rasmussen said the project would have to be reopened for bids.

“There are several other companies that said they would have offered (to do the project),” he said.

Board member and county commissioner Rob Ecklund agreed. “We’re talking about Mr. Wagner and this whole thing, but there are other potential contractors or business people that may be interested, so I think in fairness we need to put it out there for all contractors.”

In other business Wednesday, the board supported Nevanen seeking a grant from the Innovative Business Development Public Infrastructure program through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The grant money would be used to help construct a second cold box to be located at the Falls cold weather testing facility. The cold box will be used by Jaguar Land Rover of the United Kingdom to test at the facility for 10 years.

The BDPI program focuses on job creation and retention through the growth of new innovative businesses and organizations while providing grants to local governmental units on a competitive basis statewide for up to 50 percent of the capital cost of the public infrastructure necessary to expand or retain jobs.

“The amount is $200,000 and that would help defray the local costs,” Nevanen said. International Falls and Koochiching County have each pledged up to $350,000 toward the project.

Nevanen said a bid package is being compiled for construction of the second cold box and will be advertised beginning Wednesday and are scheduled to be opened July 12.

“It’s going to be tight, but that still allows us in terms of the time table to get (construction) done by the target date of Nov. 15,” Nevanen said of cold box bids.

Also Wednesday, board agreed to hire Kyra Briggs as the KEDA administrative assistant on a part-time basis.