The Greene County Development Corporation Board met on Tuesday in regular session.

The meeting started with an update from Iowa Economic Development Authority Business Development Manager Amber Rodgers mentioned the City of Jefferson was one of 11 recipients of the Iowa Thriving Communities designation. She said 36 communities applied and 20 were pre-selected to give their pitch to IEDA. Rodgers also talked about the High Quality Jobs program for businesses looking to expand. This program offers tax credits, sales tax rebates and cash for businesses that qualify.

A representative with Alliant Energy said the company filed a rate base increase request with the Iowa Utilities Board for natural gas and electric. The last rate base increase was in 2019 and it was mentioned to expect to see this new increase take effect by October of 2024. 

GCDC Executive Director Ken Paxton said GCDC signed a development agreement with Kading Properties to build 100-140 rental housing units in the GCDC East Business Park along Gallup Road, south of Highway 30. He shared that the City of Jefferson and Region XII Council of Governments are applying for a grant through the Iowa Department of Transportation to offset the cost of building an access road to the property. 

Paxton also mentioned receiving a US Department of Agriculture grant for a multicultural family resource center. He mentioned they are also asking for funding from the Greene County School District, local businesses, the City of Jefferson and the Greene County Board of Supervisors to provide additional funding for the following three years. GCDC is also interviewing candidates for the director of the center.