Rice City Council learns of development programs

by Dave DeMars

news@thenewsleaders.com

The Rice Park Board could receive a $5,000 grant for long-term park development, according to Brian Skroch, a member of the Rice City Council.

Skroch informed the council that in a recent meeting with Samantha Hageman, the Benton County SHIP coordinator, he learned of the possibility of the grant. SHIP is an acronym for the Statewide Health Improvement Program, a Minnesota Department of Health division that works to create good health in the state by decreasing obesity rates and reducing the number of people who use tobacco products or are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Part of that program is finding entities, like the Rice Park Board, that would be able to benefit from grants aimed at creating a more healthy environment for residents. The city is eligible for the grant, Skroch said, if it develops a long-term parks plan and meets other stipulations that will be forthcoming. The city would be obligated to pick up certain costs associated with the planning process.

Skroch also told the council he and Hageman would be meeting with members from the county Wednesday, Oct. 26 to discuss future funding and other funding mechanisms that could be utilized to enhance programs for the city. Another meeting will take place soon with Mark Hauck of the Department of Natural Resources, and Dr. Christina Bemboom, principal of Rice Elementary School.

Part of the SHIP program includes working with schools to encourage “Safe-Routes-to-School” programs so kids arrive safely at school ready to learn, and the “Farm-to-School” program to encourage schools to incorporate healthy local foods in their nutrition programs for kids.

The “Complete Streets” deals with making sure there are enough sidewalks and crosswalks to make it easier for people of all ages to get physical activity and providing trails and activity areas to improve health. There may even be some regional funding to help pay for trails and the development of more parks. A meeting with the park board is scheduled at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 at Rice City Hall.

Economic activity

John Uphoff of the Benton County Economic Development Partnership stopped by to introduce himself to the council and to briefly update its members on economic activity in the Rice area. Uphoff is new to the Economic Development Partnership with only four weeks on the job, but he has other ties in the area, having served a variety of economic development programs previously.

Uphoff said he intends to delve deeply into development plans that various locales in the county may have and to render assistance whenever possible.

“As the Benton County Economic Development Partnership develops its strategic plan,” Uphoff said, “we want to make sure we analyze the market and in so doing, take a good strong look at what has already been done and what is underway.”

Uphoff said he views his role as that of being the point person focusing on business retention in the area, growth and the addition of jobs. Right now, the focus is on developing the Benton County story to make the county an attractive place to do business. One business, Mighty Axe Hops, is in the early stages of developing a 120-acre farm expansion in Benton County’s Gilman Township, banking on the fast-growing craft-brewing industry’s demand for hops. Eric Sannerud, a young entrepreneur, has invested in a  $4.6-million project to grow and harvest the hops used in making beer. Brewers, it seems, want locally grown product when they brew their beer.

“Our goal is to be working at the federal level to be getting EDA money that all kinds of counties around us are getting,” Uphoff said, “but since we haven’t had a coordinated effort behind it, we were missing out. My goal is to get $25 million in federal funding in the next 10 years.”

Halloween event

Before approving the Rice Chamber of Commerce special-events permit, the council also heard a short summary from Sarah Wilczek of the “Trick-or-Treat Main Street” to be held from 3-5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 along downtown Rice.

“It’s an exciting and fun event for local businesses and our kids and families,” Wilczek said.

With 29 businesses signed up to take part and an expected 200 or more kids out trick-or-treating, a scary but fun time should be had by all. A fun photo-op will be provided in Veterans’ Park.

In other business, the council approved the following: a Turkey Bingo gambling permit for the Rice Firefighters’ Association; a request for proposal of a new assessor; and a request for proposal for a new insurance agent.