By Sara Quam
Rock County Board of Commissioners Tuesday decided to advance the Southwest Regional Development Commission $18,000.
The RDC has said that without the advance against future tax levies, it would dissolve.
The Rock County Board is one of six that have approved the advance. Pipestone voted the measure down, and two others were waiting for results from the rest of the counties.
The motion from Rock County's commissioners came from Wendell Erickson and was seconded by Ken Hoime. Commissioner Jane Wildung attached an amendment to the motion that the RDC would not be able to bond for money that counties would be liable for in case of non-repayment.
"I don't want to be held responsible for something I've never had a vote on. The people in my district don't support this advance of $18,000," Wildung said.
The amended motion then passed with Commissioners Bob Jarchow and Ron Boyenga voting against it.
Jarchow said he still had concerns about communication and management within the group.
Before the vote
The Rock County Board had previously tabled a vote on the advance money twice because of concerns over operations and communications within the RDC.
The county's issues with the RDC largely stem from the organization bleeding its reserves to operate Prairie Expo, which closed in August, and the air of secrecy in which it was done.
Craig Rubis, a Jackson County commissioner who serves on the RDC's Executive Board, said, "We look at it as a so-called loan against our future taxes. This is not a gift; it is cash flow for the Regional Development Commission, not Prairie Expo."
However, the advanced $18,000 from the counties that vote in favor of it will go toward paying short-term Expo debt of $81,000 and operations while it sits empty, as well as lawyer fees.
LuverneÕs Ben Vander Kooi has just signed on as the new legal counsel for the RDC. The RDC is negotiating settlements with 84 vendors that it owes money.
If the money going into the RDC is spent on outstanding bills, Rock County Attorney Don Klosterbuer wondered how staff at the RDC will be able to carry on with its regular operations and projects.
Jay Trusty, RDC director, said that if the organization can get past the Expo, other projects that actually generate money can be handled. Levy money makes up about a quarter of the RDC's budget.
The city of Worthington has its own issues with bonds and about 80 acres of land used for the Expo that the RDC has to handle.
But Rock County's concern is the state bonds of almost $6 million that it may have to pay one-ninth of.
Different state agencies have looked at the bond agreement and offered varying opinions on it.
One says that the counties would have to pay it back, and another says that as long as the building is kept for a public use, nothing will be done.
Rural Rock County resident Walter Kopp has been on the RDC board for less than a year, but he is convinced that it is a trustworthy organization.
"This is important that we have the RDC; there's no question about it. I do think they made a mistake on the Prairie Expo, but I don't think the RDC should pay the price," Kopp said.
Rubis and Trusty said the RDC is doing all it can to reduce costs in the meantime but reminded the county that it supported the efforts of the RDC in developing Prairie Expo.
Rubis said, "I haven't heard a lot of negative votes; a lot of negative comments, but not a lot of negative votes."
He pointed to a resolution of support the county passed in 1994 and 1998. Boyenga clarified that the county meant those as moral support for a project that was explained to be cost-free to the county. He said the board never wanted to be liable for state bond repayments.
What now?
The RDC will continue to operate in its usual functions of grant-writing for various community projects and use the money it has been advanced to pay off debts.
A special committee called the Blue Ribbon Task Force meets Nov. 29 to continue to generate ideas on what to do with the empty Expo building.
"Obviously, what to do with that building is our biggest challenge," Trusty said.
Trusty said he plans to start working on restricting what the Executive Board is allowed to do as far as money decisions for the RDC. It is the group that approved spending reserves on operating Expo in the absence of a director.
The fate of the RDC will probably be revealed within a year. If it dissolves or decides to sell the building, that's when the county will know what its liability is.
Even if the RDC folds, its debts can be levied for years until they are repaid.