JEDI Tours West End Event Center
The Jasper County Economic Development April meeting was held on Tuesday, April 6 at West End Reception and Event Center in Newton. Those in attendance included: Mark Bolander, Doug Weddell, Louis Ochs, Frank Dhom, Tom Brown, Ben Bollman, Marlene Harris, Larry Brown, Sarah Kinkade, Mindy Hartke, Beth Probst, Amber Wakefield, Amber Volk, Don Leventhal, Lenny Meinhart, and Theresa Leohr.
Secretary Mark Bolander called the meeting to order. The motion to approve the previous March meeting minutes was made by Sarah Kinkade and seconded by Marlene Harris.
In Monthly Updates, Amber Volk began by discussing the completion of the Chamber of Commerce 360 video. The final cost for the video was $300. Amber will email the business members of JEDI to begin creating a list of interested businesses.
Amber Wakefield has offered, for a fee of $25 per paragraph, to do the voiceover for any businesses interested. As an example, the Chamber video is two paragraphs. This cost will be incurred by the business.
The next 360 video will be of the Peoples State Bank.
Brady and Alissa Shull have announced their new business Flo’s Coffee Shop in the old Medicine Shoppe building. They will be able to use several different sources of funding such as TIF, facade grants, and Enterprise Zone funds.
The JEDI minutes state, “Hog Slat, Inc. is the largest construction contractor and manufacturer of hog production equipment in the United States with approximately 1,000 people directly employed and an additional 1,400 subcontractors working on the company’s construction projects. Hog Slat and its subsidiaries have constructed turnkey swine and poultry units for both family farms and large corporate farm entities in the United States. Hog Slat also sells equipment packages to customers who choose to construct their own facilities, both domestically and internationally. In addition to our construction services, we maintain a network of over 80 retail store locations distributed throughout the US to supply local pork and poultry growers with a complete selection of parts and equipment needed to support their operations. “
The Downstate Small Business Stabilization Grant Newton Elite Fitness received has been completed and turned into the state, once the state confirms it will be completely done.
Amber Volk will be attending the Spring ITIA Conference April 6-8th. With continuing COVID restrictions, this will be via Zoom.
On April 20th at 11 am via Zoom, there will be the second JEDItalks. Mitch and Brock Mammoser will be speaking about their product Frostbuddy. As the date nears, more information will be available and the event will be open to the public.
Mark Bolander spoke for the City of Newton citing the day being Election Day. Mindy Hartke (Jasper County Daily News) will post results on Facebook and the website.
Doug Weddell spoke for the Jasper County Board stating the Jail Project has been approved and Grunloh Construction won the bid. It will begin on May 1st. The Road Material Tax is renewed every five years and keeps our county roads in good shape.
Beth Probst updated on the school stating everything is going well and the end of the year is fast approaching.
Sarah Kinkade, Executive Director for the Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the ribbon cuttings at Pro-Rehab and West End Reception and Events. She also spoke about the Miss Bradlie Mercantile Co. ribbon cutting being rescheduled. Sky Saloon will have a ribbon cutting on Sunday, April 18 at 3pm. The University of Illinois Extension office will be moving into the Chamber and utilizing two of the incubator units.
Amber Wakefield, Marketing Director, spoke about the 618 tour the Chamber of Commerce is hosting over the summer. She is also working with the City on their website.
Motion to close meeting made by Louis Ochs, second by Marlene Harris, and motion passed.
The group then toured the West End Reception and Event Center.
