Cole County Commission signs contract for economic development service

In this screenshot from the meeting's livestream on YouTube, Ed Wiliams, seen on the left side of the table in a light blue shirt, addresses the Cole County Commission on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.
In this screenshot from the meeting's livestream on YouTube, Ed Wiliams, seen on the left side of the table in a light blue shirt, addresses the Cole County Commission on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

The Cole County Commission on Tuesday signed a contract with the Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership to continue working on economic development for the county.

Commissioners voted unanimously for the contract, but not before hearing concerns from Ed Williams, a former candidate for the commission.

Williams took the commissioners to task, saying their support for the agreement was just supporting people "who are not in touch with the citizens of the county."

Williams recounted the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce and its supporters backed a Transformation sales tax issue for a variety of community projects that was defeated by Jefferson City voters in February 2012, a Cole County zoning proposal that was defeated in August 2014 and a use tax proposal that was defeated in August 2018.

Previous commissions had endorsed the three propositions when they were before voters.

"If the citizens were allowed to vote on giving money to the chamber, it would be crushed, immediately," Williams told commissioners. "Cole County's unemployment rate is around 1.9 percent. With a rate that low, who would want to come here to build a factory when there aren't enough workers?"

The county contracts with JCREP to provide economic development services. The county pays JCREP $120,000 in an annual contract. Jefferson City also has a contract with JCREP for similar services; it pays $185,000 a year.

Before hiring JCREP for those services, the county contracted with the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce. But in 2021, the chamber ceased providing those services so it could serve its member businesses. A separate entity, JCREP, was created to recruit new businesses or industries to the community by providing a more regional economic development approach. JCREP relies on a combination of private and public funding sources.

The county has contracted with JCREP to "dedicate staff for the sole purpose of new business development and such staff will aggressively pursue new business and assist developers in attracting new businesses for all of Cole County."

In a report to the commission last week, JCREP Executive Director Luke Holtschneider said their current focuses were on broadband expansion as well as aid in developing a port on the Missouri River and redeveloping the Missouri State Penitentiary.

Under the county's agreement with JCREP, the county will pay $30,000 each quarter of the year to fulfill that $120,000 contract. Tuesday's vote authorized payment for the first quarter of the year.

When commissioners told Williams the agreement they were discussing Tuesday wasn't a vote for the chamber, Williams responded, "Hog Wash. It's still the same people."

"The chamber knows they don't need the money to attract new jobs, they need the money to give it to their members," Williams added. "Giving tax breaks to businesses like Striker's for 25 years is unfair to the citizens who pay their taxes."

Williams was referring to a vote last month by the Jefferson City Council that authorized a development agreement and partial tax abatement for the redevelopment of 2017 Christy Drive, where the old Capitol Bowl was located before it was demolished due to tornado damage. In its place, DGVGB LLC has developed Striker's Grill & Tornado Alley as an entertainment center that includes bowling, video games, pool tables, an arcade, a restaurant and a bar.

"Twenty-five years is ridiculous and not even realistic," Williams said. "It was called seed money. It's a little late for seed money when it's already built and ready to open."

Williams told commissioners they should require JCREP officials to have something in print every quarter that all residents can see, rather than allowing just a presentation to the commission as a report.

Before commissioners voted on the contract and quarterly payment, Williams asked them to tell him why they would vote for this and to "do the right thing and not give them this money."

"I live on a road (Shepherd Hills Road) that I'd like to see paved, and there has been tremendous growth there," Williams said. "We've tried and tried to get it fully paved, and that's where this money should be going."

Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said many of the instances Williams cited, such as the Striker's abatement, were city matters and not county issues.

Williams responded: "You're giving money to these people and giving them authority to advocate for these things. If you think that you can convince me that this (JCREP) is not the chamber, you're wasting your time."

A second part of the county's economic development strategy is devoted to lobbying efforts on the behalf of the county. In October, the commission hired R.J. Scherr & Associates of Jefferson City as a lobbyist for the county. The contract calls for the lobbyists to provide the county regular updates during the legislative session and to inform commissioners of any regulatory matters that may be of interest to the commission.

According to the contract, Scherr will be paid $4,000 a month plus expenses through June. The contract could be extended for $4,000 per month for up to three 12-month periods beginning in July.

In other action Tuesday, commissioners awarded a contract for stormwater improvements on Darby Place Road.

The project involves adding a pipe to address runoff from a lot running into the road. The pipe will connect to the existing stormwater system in the subdivision.

GWH Landscape Contracting LLC was the apparent low bid at $37,624. The engineer's estimate was $74,833. Commissioners asked if public works staff does more checks when the difference between the estimate and the bid is substantial, as it was here.

Public Works Director Eric Landwehr said they do and also noted they had worked with GWH on another project and had no problems with their work.

In other business, Landwehr told commissioners a pipe had collapsed at Thoenen Park on South Brooks Drive and they had put up some temporary fencing around the affected area. He said they would have to close the park when repairs begin and until they are completed.

Watch the meeting video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFGymZKskmU.