Who wouldn’t move forward with a plan that could pump an extra $500,000 annually into the local economy?
But just how to pay up-front costs to construct a second cold box in the community’s cold weather testing facility seems to be the issue.
An undisclosed client has said it will agree to use the box for 10 years and repay a more than $600,000 loan at 2 percent interest to get the needed equipment.
That client over the 10 years will cycle its staff through our community, using our local airport, restaurants, and other facilities, boosting our economy by more than $500,000, according to estimates.
The idea presents great opportunities now and in the future. And that’s why local governments and area economic development agencies need plans in place to address such opportunities.
Instead, it appears that we haggle over who will pay what and when. It’s how looming opportunities can be lost.
Clearly, it’s time for this undisclosed client to anti up and sign a contract, which would reduce much of the risk associated with a loan, and relieve some of the anxiety that Koochiching County commissioners feel when discussing the idea of loaning more than $300,000.
Years ago, local officials provided money to establish the first cold box which truly anchored the area’s cold weather testing capabilities. At that time, there were no agreements in place with clients, just an assumption that, if we build it, they will come. And come they have. The cold weather testing program through the Koochiching Economic Development Authority has not only paid for itself, but generated money to help fund the KEDA’s activities.
We’ve heard no opposition to the concept of establishing a second cold box at the facility, only concern about fronting the money.
It’s time for the potential client and local officials to put up or shut up by signing an agreement and finding the money before this opportunity is lost.
