Dear editor:
Partnerships in our community and county involving service clubs volunteers private groups and public bodies have a long history and are one of the great aspects of living in Iola and Allen County.
Recently in the paper the sports stadium improvements at Riverside Park in Iola were in the spotlight. Kudos to Donna Houser her donors, volunteers, USD 257 staff and administrators for all the hard work and generosity in the stadium restoration. Riverside Park is a wonderful example of the partnerships we celebrate given as a gift to the City of Iola by private sector men and women over a hundred years ago. Its a wonderful park with picnic and playground space, six baseball diamonds, skateboard park, swimming pool and meeting venues. Some space there is used by USD 257 for many of its athletic events; by the Allen County Fair Board for annual events; by Columbia Metal as a manufacturing facility (Iolas oldest industry,) facilitated by Iola Industries (III) which leases the old armory at the park to Columbia.
Riverside Park is a shining example in Iola of public and private partnership.
Recent discussions about selling the Lehigh lake and surrounding property are interesting because as public-private partners for over 60 years, Allen County and Iola Industries have worked on many successful projects together.
And the times they have partnered in the past have produced many successes and have increased the tax base or employment of Allen County. Two big successes are Gates Rubber Co. and Russell Stover Candies, but they are not the only ones.
As the industrial development arm of both the City of Iola and Allen County, Iola Industries a volunteer-led corporation exists solely for the purpose of making Iola and Allen County economically successful. Iola Industries is a for-profit corporation and does pay income taxes and property taxes, but it has no employees and it has not paid dividends to its stockholders ever.
All volunteer efforts and profits go into projects like the recent construction of the Eastgate Lofts on the old Allen County Hospital site, where it was part of the neighborhood revitalization project that attracted G&W Foods. The 12-unit apartment building is full, by the way, and was made possible by selling farmground that was part of the original Lehigh Cement Plant industrial complex.
If Allen County commissioners vote to buy the remaining Lehigh property including the lake on contract over a period of five years, what will Iola Industries do with the money it receives from the county?
No decisions have been made, however, Ill has to spend it in the year each installment is received or there will be substantial income tax liability.
What are some good ideas?
1) Build another apartment building or some multifamily housing like duplexes, tri-plexes or four-plexes
2) Offer $10,000 grants to any Allen County qualifying individual or household that wants to build a new affordable house ($80,000 to $150,000) in Allen County using a local financial institution?
3) Take applications from all the communities in the county with shovel-ready projects to improve their respective communities and award grants to the best three or four projects every year?
4) Put a down-payment on a new medical office building (MOB) for Allen County Regional Hospital (ACRH) and help organize a group to build the MOB and lease it back to ACRH?
5) Work with all three school districts in Allen County and the regional tech center on a housing project to increase affordable housing and tax base in all three of the school districts?
And so forth…..
The wildest suggestion was no. 2.
If the lake sold for $1 million and was paid for over five years, the $200,000 each year could provide 20 $10,000 grants for new affordable housing in the county and in five years there could be $10 million of new housing in the 100 new homes constructed.
Think of that: Allen County could purchase the lake AND create $10 million in new tax base with purchase. We believe there will be many fine ideas as to what Ill may do with the money received from Allen County. What everyone should remember, though, is that whatever the selling price ALL THE MONEY WILL GO BACK INTO THE TAX BASE OF ALLEN COUNTY! Isnt that a good deal for everyone?
