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Officials trying to create Enhanced Enterprise Zone board
BENTON -- Scott County Commissioners will review a list of potential candidates for a county Enhanced Enterprise Zone board.
County Developer Joel Evans presented Scott County Commissioners with a list of members of the county's various taxing entities during the regular County Commission meeting Tuesday.
County officials are working on establishing an Enhanced Enterprise Zone to offer economic incentives to attract businesses to the county and tax abatements to bring in targeted industries, according to Evans.
"The process involves the establishment of an EEZ board which will make recommendations to the commissioners regarding the geographic boundaries of the district and abatement recommendations," Evans said. "The county will appoint five board members and there will be two additional members. One will be appointed by the school boards and the second will be appointed by the other taxing entities."
Evans said the individuals on the list may best represent the interests of taxing entities in all areas in the county.
"It's an important task," he said. "Their recommendations will be very instrumental in attracting industry to the county."
County officials have worked closely with the Bootheel Regional Planning Commission to come up with an area in the county that meets the Missouri Department of Economic Development requirements for an Enhanced Enterprise Zone.
"Twenty-six attempts were made to find an area that met the conditions," Evans said.
He added that one goal for the EEZ is to include all the major transportation corridors within the county -- I-55, I-57 and the Mississippi River -- as much as possible. The proposed area also meets this goal.
"We were almost completely able to encompass Interstates 55 and 57 and many of the areas in the county that have real potential for industrial development," Evans said.
In other business Tuesday:
* County officials are hoping the leak in the Scott County War Memorial's fountain is fixed.
Commissioner Ron McCormick said they are going to paint the fountain's collection basin once more and then wait 48 hours for it to dry before trying it again on Friday.
After a previous attempt to repair the fountain, officials were unable to detect any leaks when testing it. Once the pump was running again, however, the fountain appeared to be leaking 5 gallons per day.
While McCormick was looking the basin over Tuesday, Theresa Miller of Sikeston asked about the fountain and said the war memorial is very important to her because her uncle, Narciso G. Guzman, is listed on it among the veterans of the Korean War.
"It's important to me, too," McCormick said.
"My brother is listed on there," said another woman as she walked by.
"People are interested in that fountain," McCormick later said after returning to the County Commission meeting room.
* Commissioners approved the purchase of two computers for the county assessor's office, one from PC Connection, an Internet-based company, for $939 and one from PC Services of Sikeston for $657, as recommended by Assessor Teresa Houchin.
* County plat books available at the county clerk's office are being discounted to $20 due to their age.
The plat books normally are sold for $26 but are discounted as time goes by and the information becomes less current, Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said.
* The county will open its Board of Equalization at 10 a.m. July 10.
The BOE conducts hearings on property owner appeals of property valuations set by the assessor.