NYM EDA discusses need for succession planning

Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The New York Mills Economic Development Authority met for its monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 17 at the city hall and discussed a smattering of topics.

The only new business on the agenda was the West Central Highway 10 Corridor Main Street Grant funding available to businesses and organizations. The application for funding is open for communities from Moorhead to Bluffton along State Highway 10 and is in place to help support small businesses and organizations. Applications are due by June 26.

The NY Mills Civic & Commerce and EDA joint internship has received three applications and each applicant will be interviewed by Latham Hetland and Amy Sobieski. They hope to have an intern in place by June 1.

Julie Roberts, NY Mills City Clerk, said that the lots in Country View should be listed through Centennial Realty like they were in the past. Centennial Realty does not charge the city a fee for the service as all interested parties are directed to the city office for more information.

Latham Hetland provided an update for NYM Forward (formerly NYM2025). He said the executive committee has been meeting and their main goal at the present is to be proactive about the Welcoming Communities grant that is coming up in the fall. Betsy Roder also noted that they learned that a 15-person design team will be needed to support the efforts starting in September.

Roberts said that the infrastructure work in the South Point addition is nearing completion. The construction crew will start on the roadwork there after the infrastructure is installed. They will be re-establishing a surface as well. Gohmann, the owner of the lot destined to house the 60-unit apartment building is working on getting everything in place to start construction soon.

An inquiry from Amy Baldwin, Community Development Director for Otter Tail County, asked about a possibility of an elder’s home project similar to the one in place in Dalton. The question was simply asking about interest and feasibility of investing in such a project in NY Mills.

Roder reported that 37 total applications have been received at the county level for the tax rebate program, though none from NY Mills as of yet. These rebates are available county-wide.

Another comment was received about the need for succession planning for businesses in town. The EDA is concerned that as business owners retire, there is often nobody to take over the practice, so NY Mills loses an essential business in the process. Succession planning would line up interested community members to be able to take over these businesses as their owners come up for retirement and transition the business into the next generation.

The next EDA meeting will take place on June 21 at 8:30 a.m. at the city hall.