by Brad Tastad
After conducting a special meeting on Sept. 25 when the Traill County Commissioners talked about their concerns with the leadership of the economic development commission of the county, the county commissioners invited the TCEDC board to attend their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 16 to discuss the situation.
Attending Tuesday’s meeting were TCEDC Chairman Sven Mickels along with board members Elroy Lindaas, Paul Marchell, Rick Holman, Gail Aasen, Doug Melby and TCEDC Director Rick Forsgren.
Prior to Tuesday’s regular meeting, commissioners were considering making a change in the director’s position of the EDC prior to the beginning of the new budget year in January of 2008.
But the by-laws of the EDC clearly stated that hiring and firing practices of the EDC director could only be done by the EDC board, and not the county commissioners. The commissioners deal strictly with the budget of the EDC.
“The first we knew about this meeting was the letter of invitation we received to attend today’s regular commission meeting,” said Mickels. “It was a surprise to us.”
Commissioner Tom Eblen explained that under by-laws the EDC was subject to a yearly review of the commission, and that was the reason to have the special meeting on Sept. 25.
“We are elected by the people and they have questions and concerns about economic development,” continued Eblen. “There is public concern about this. We’re just doing our job.”
Mickels continued by saying their board was not aware that the commissioners had concerns about the county EDC and asked what the problems were. “What do you need from us to get to where we need to go?” asked Mickels.
Commission Chairman Ron Peterson began the dialogue and “went around the table” to let the other commissioners voice their concerns.
“We have not witnessed any noticeable improvement in the county and we are looking for something more concrete that the EDC actively brought to the county,” said Peterson. “It’s been sitting pretty still.”
Commissioner John Knudsvig voiced similar concerns. “Are we just helping the Ma and Pa shops or are we going beyond?” asked Knudsvig. “What are you doing to bring new businesses and new people into the county? I think the director should be more aggressive and get outside financial help.”
Commissioner Steve Larson agreed. “The director’s job should be finding new businesses and not just helping existing businesses,” said Larson. “That was the original description of the position in the by-laws.”
Eblen added to Knudsvig’s remark by pointing out that Sheriff Mike Crocker had put in time looking for grant money that could be available for possibly building a new jail.
“In my mind, that is economic development,” said Eblen. “Looking for grant money should have been something the EDC handled.”
Eblen added that he had concerns about a lack of complete financial information provided to the commissioners concerning where outside funding to the EDC for micro loans was coming from.
“It’s a hard process for us to understand and a hard process for the auditor to understand, there’s confusion about where this comes from,” said Eblen. “The truth of the matter is we have already approved the 2008 budget and the goal is to be able to tell the public where we are going to go with this. Right now I can’t address that. I don’t have an answer for the public.”
Commissioner Arne Osland also voiced concerns over the record-keeping of the EDC.
Osland asked if the EDC has a complete accounting system. After some discussion, Forsgren said that the EDC relies on spread sheets for financial information and does not have a complete accounting system.
“It all comes down to accountability and spread sheets are not accountable,” said Osland. “The issue of the books is very important and there are some serious issues here.”
Osland also voiced concerns over confidentiality issues regarding EDC loans made to various businesses.
“There are a lot of issues,” continued Osland. “One that has gotten a lot of weight is the budget. Maybe this should be a part-time position so we could corral more resources into economic development.”
Added Peterson:“To say we want to see something going on here is precisely right.”
The response
When commissioners had finished making their concerns known to the EDC board, Chairman Peterson asked for their input.
“None of us have intentionally done any wrong-doing,” said Lindaas. “Rick has a tough job but he brings a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge and he knows the ropes of economic development. I’m hoping we can work through these issues.”
Marchell said the the EDC board had not done its job to the best of its ability.
“We’ve strayed from our mission and the EDC board and commissioners have been drifting apart. I think it’s time to reassess where we want to go,” said Marchell. “Overall, I think economic development is needed, we do have a niche here,” began Marchell. “But we’ve been very lax as a board in giving Rick oversight as to what he should be doing.
Forsgren pointed out that he had no idea an ax had been hanging over his head concerning his job performance.
“I have never been told I was not doing my job,” said Forsgren. “I would like to continue this job. I think I’m good at this job.”
Holman added that he felt a 13-member EDC board was ineffective and that creating a smaller board is something the commissioners and board should look at.
“It’s a structural problem,” said Holman. “We have to develop short- and long-term planning and look at things on a county-wide basis. We’re all in this together. Let’s move forward and make Traill County grow.”
The EDC board was expected to continue the dialogue begun at Tuesday’s commission meeting at its regularly scheduled meeting the third Thursday of November.
