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Holt County Commission Names Five to Enterprise Zone Board

By Matthew Leaf

01/24/2014

(KTNC) -- Holt County Commissioners have adopted a resolution to form a proposed Enhanced Enterprise Zone in the county. The EEZ, if approved by a seven-member board, would include unincorporated areas of the county, excluding one U.S. Census tract as required by law.
Commissioners selected five members to serve on the Enterprise Zone Board. They are Barry Kreek and Byron Fink from the Oregon area, former Craig School Superintendent Herschel Ferguson, Stephanie Miller-McCann representing the Big Lake area, and Linda Gallager of Maitland. The five members are from various parts of the county and County Clerk Kathy Kunkel says it’s a diverse group with a solid background in land, real estate, banking, and development.
Other political subdivisions in the county – fire districts, ambulance districts, and road districts – will meet on February 6th to select one board member, and county school boards will select another member to complete the seven member board. The board will meet the week of February 10th to decide whether to form the Enhanced Enterprise Zone.
The commission hopes that forming the Enhanced Enterprise Zone will help spur economic development in Holt County.
Discussion of the enterprise zone has come at the same time as a company, Element Power, has announced plans to build a 200-megawatt wind farm in southern Holt County. While the wind farm developer could apply to take advantage of incentives under the EEZ, Kunkel says county officials began discussing the Enhanced Enterprise Zone last summer, before the wind farm chose to locate in the county.
Element Power has asked to be included in an Enhanced Enterprise Zone, if one is created. Kunkel says the commission is not forming the EEZ to just help the wind company, but any company that wants to grow its business in Holt County.

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