Minutes Enterprise Comm 5 7 03ENTERPRISE ZONE COMMISSION
City of Dubuque, Iowa
MINUTES
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:
COMMISSION:
STAFF:
May 7, 2003
4:00 P.M.
Conference Room B, City Hall
50 West 13th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001
P~esent: Dave Baker, Doug Buswell, Doug Stillings, Dan LoB~anco,
Andrea Muntz, Rick Stein, Mike Van Milligen
Absent: Dan White, Kelly Deutmeyer
Bill Baum, Pamela Myhre
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 4:10 p.m. by Commission Chair Rick Stein. Staff
certified that the meeting was being held in compliance with the Iowa Open Meetings
Law.
REAFFIRMATION OF AT-LARGE MEMBERS
Motion by Baker, second by Van Milligen, to reaffirm the three at-large members for
another 3-year term. Doug Buswell, Dan LoBianco and Doug Stillings were
unanimously reaffirmed. In addition, Stillings represents EZ-1.
MINUTES
LoBianco moved and Van Milligen seconded a motion to approve the minutes of April
25, 2002. Motion passed unanimously.
BUSINESS
Barnstead International Application
Stein referenced the ~ligibility checklist that indicated that the application did meet all
requirements for submission and asked staffto elaborate. Myhre reviewed the eligibility
requirements, noting that IDED had been consulted about the benefits. Baum
summarized the project that involves the acquisition of ERTCO, Ever Ready
Thermometer Compaay of New Jersey, and the addition of 20 new, high paying jobs in
Dubuque. He recommended approval of the application. He then introduced Duncan
Ross, President of Ba~nstead International, who attended on behalf of the business.
Duncan Ross shared his excitement about the project, explaining the company was a
stable, 125 year old company. He has been in Dubuque for 2 % years and was pleased
to recommend the expansion in Dubuque due to the quality of the workforce and the
Greater Dubuque Development Corporation's encouragement. Both Dubuque and
Melrose Park, Illinois were in the running for the expansion. He discussed the
company's benefit package, noting that it was one of the richest in the industry with one
of the best medical plans in the city. He said it was a key retention strategy for the
company. He thanked the Commission for their consideration of the application.
Buswell lauded the project and asked a question about the corporate structure that
Duncan Ross answered.
Baker indicated support for the project but asked about the $10.41 wage rate used on
the eligibility checklist. The computation was explained. He also asked whether the
building was being remodeled or an addition constructed. Duncan Ross explained that
it would be interior remodeling of existing space. Baker noted that the benefits were
definitely a Cadillac version but wondered about the 80~20 requirement.
Baum explained how the state interpreted a "standard" 80/20 plan for medical and
dental insurance and that the state had approved Barnstead's plan as meeting the
monetary equivalent standard. Duncan Ross further explained how the plans worked
and what value they meant to the employee. Stein asked whether any other
Commissioners were concerned with the 80120 requirement. No one indicated a
concern:
Public input was solicited by the Chair. Bud lsenhart, a Dubuque County citizen, noted
that Barnstead was in an NICC TIF district and asked if they were transferring any
employees from New Jersey. Duncan Ross indicated that offers were made to two
individuals to transfer, but they had declined, lsenhart agreed that it was a great project
for Dubuque. The downside was taking jobs away from another part of the country, but
he thought the wages and benefits were worth the incentives being offered by the state.
Rick Dickinson, executive director of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation,
thanked both Duncan Ross and the Commission for their commitment to the project.
Muntz noted that in over 20 years with the Iowa Workforce Development Center, she
has heard no negative comments about the local company and she was thrilled the
company was expanding in Dubuque. After the media coverage about the new jobs,
she said citizens were calling her office about the job openings.
Motion by Van Milligen, second by Stillings, to approve the application. The following
vote was taken:
Nay:
Abstain:
Baker, Buswell, LoBianco, Muntz, Stein, Stillings and Van Milligen
None
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m.
Approved
F:\USERS\Pmyare\WPDOCS~EZ'~Minutes~MIN5-7-03.doc
Chairperson