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Lee County Delays "Mega-Site" Funding

The Lee County Board of Supervisors will wait until next week to decide whether to make a hefty contribution to an economic development project.

The Lee County Economic Development Group is asking for $100,000 from the county.

The money would help pay for archeological and environmental work on roughly 2,700 acres of land just north of Wever, near the Iowa Fertilizer Company plant.

About a dozen people who own or rent nearby property showed up at the county board’s weekly meeting to oppose the plan.

Among other things, they questioned why the county would use public money to improve the value of land owned by a private family.

Vice Chairman Matt Pflug shares that concern.

"Obviously it is going to be a win-win for the landowner," says Pflug. "I want to make sure it is a win-win for the taxpayers as well."

LCEDG says the land is not being improved, but rather, the studies will simply show whether the site is ready for rapid development if an industry expresses an interest in it.

The group is reaching out to several other organizations to secure the $275,000 needed for this phase of the mega-site project.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.