Rush County approves economic-development deal for farm project, citing jobs and local impact

Rush County’s governing body approved an economic development agreement (EDA) and a confirmatory resolution for a farm project that county staff identified in the meeting as Holzbacher Farms LLC.

County staff described the EDA as an arrangement that routes payments that would otherwise be tax revenue into a discretionary fund the county can use for local needs. John McCain, introduced by staff to brief the board, said the project would create about 45 jobs and estimated “there is a $9,000,000 annual impact of the dairy to Rush County.” He also told the board the positions would carry average salaries the presentation summarized in aggregate as roughly $2.7 million in annual payroll.

The meeting included a readout of the developer’s statement of benefits. The chair recited an assessed valuation for real-estate improvements of $14,321,760 and explained that abatements apply to improvements—not pre-existing land or buildings. The chair said personal-property valuation figures were discussed in the session but the transcript record of those figures was not consistently clear.

Commissioners discussed how the EDA funds are managed. A staff member told the board those payments are directed to a special fund and that the board (commissioners/council) will determine how that money is spent. One commissioner asked the board to “please remember the schools” when allocating development revenues.

A motion to approve the EDA and a separate motion to approve a confirmatory resolution were made, seconded and carried by the body; the chair announced the motions passed. The meeting record did not include a roll-call vote or a written tally in the transcript; approval was recorded by voice as “motion carries.”

Next steps: staff said state and local clearances are in progress and that the developer hoped to begin site work in the coming week. The board did not set additional conditions in the meeting record.