The Starke County Commissioners approved the Starke County Economic Development Foundation (SCEDF) contract during their meeting Tuesday night.
Commissioner Mark Gourley, who is the commissioners’ representative in the negotiation process, said all of the terms included in the contract were what they previously discussed.
Some of the terms of the one-year contract include that the SCEDF would serve as the county’s primary point of contact for community development and economic services, conduct business recruitment activities designed to provide new employment and an improved tax base throughout the county, marketing and promotion of the county which includes a website, industrial park planning and promotion, build relationships with other entities engaged in community and economic development, engage with current businesses and promote retention and expansion, acquire land for industrial growth, and more.
A few changes were made since the last review of the contract. One change clarified that the county will pay Starke County Economic Development Foundation $159,480 with no less than $80,000 to be dedicated to the SCILL Center. Commission President Charlie Chesak noted that the county leaders know the importance of the SCILL Center and they wanted to make that compensation amount clear.
Another change included the development of a plan to reduce the Board of Directors to a total of 15 voting members by February 1, 2022. That plan will need to be submitted by September 1, 2021.
The SCEDF will also need to submit a plan by January 1, 2022 for dividing Starke County Economic Development Foundation and the Starke County Initiative for Lifelong Learning into two separate entities.
The contract was approved by the commissioners with a unanimous vote. The contract is in effect from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022.
