January 10, 2008

Ag-Industrial park plans unveiled

Webster County is in a strong position to take advantage of newly emerging agriculture-based industries, with the potential for up to 3,400 jobs.

However, attracting such businesses to the area will come at what could be substantial cost, according to a study conducted at the behest of the county and the Development Corporation of Fort Dodge and Webster County.

A draft plan for the proposed Northcentral Iowa Ag-Industrial Park was unveiled Wednesday.

More than 50 people, including some of the current owners of the land in question, attended a presentation conducted by Michael Stumpf of R.A. Smith & Associates Inc. Wednesday.

According to the plan, VeraSun Energy and the Tate & Lyle plant currently under construction would serve as the ‘‘anchors’’ of the park. A 240-acre tract adjacent to the two facilities is identified as a ‘‘contingent development site’’ for use by these companies or other companies that may partner with them, according to the plan.

An 800-acre site to the southeast of VeraSun and Tate & Lyle would be developed to house future businesses.

Said development, along with other associated improvements to the area, would cost an estimated $45.3 million dollars.

Much of this cost could be borne by sources other than Webster County, including state and federal grants and the industries seeking to locate within the park themselves, Stumpf said.

Neither does the $45.3 million figure represent an initial startup cost, Stumpf said.

‘‘The site is set up to develop over a period of 15 to 30 years,’’ he said.

Though the park is unlikely to attract additional ethanol manufacturers, Stumpf said that numerous other bio-refining opportunities exist and will develop in the coming years.

‘‘Bio-refining is right now where oil refining was 80 or 100 years ago,’’ Stumpf said. ‘‘We make many more products out of oil today than was ever imagined then.’’

Such will likely be the case with bio-refining, said Stumpf.

In the future, agricultural products such as corn will be processed into materials that could possibly be used as textiles, building materials, or have any number of other applications, Stumpf said.

‘‘We’re getting there,’’ Stumpf said. ‘‘This agricultural park, with the resources it has, could be a prime site.’’

Among the strengths of the site, according to Stumpf, is the presence of rail transport services. Both the Union Pacific and Canadian National railroads are accessible in the area.

The most acute concern, according to the study, is roadway access to the new site.

A high-capacity road extending from Iowa Highway 7 to the future Moorland interchange of U.S Highway 20 is recommended in the plan.

The road would be built to the Iowa ‘‘super-two’’ highway standards, which call for wider lanes and shoulders.

Estimated cost for the new road is approximately $6 million.

Water supply upgrades are the most costly infrastructure improvements that would eventually be required by the park. Water and sewer lines are currently provided to VeraSun and Tate & Lyle by the city of Fort Dodge.

According to the plan, the ag park could demand up to 17 million gallons of water per day, which is beyond the city’s current capacity to provide.

In order to meet water demand for the park, the plan calls for:

Expansion of the city’s water treatment plant to a minimum capacity of 20 million gallons per day. Current capacity is 14 million gallons per day, according to the study.

Development of new wells to provide a minimum capacity of 20 million gallons per day.

Construction of an additional 30-inch water main to provide an additional 10 million gallons of water per day to the ag park.

Looping the existing 30-inch main back to the treatment plant, which would, according to the study, increase its total capacity to 10 million gallons per day.

Construction of a water storage facility, tentatively considered as a one million gallon elevated storage tank, near the ag park.

Construction of a local water distribution system in the ag park.

Constructing the new main, looping the existing main and building the storage tank would cost an estimated $31.6 million, according to the study.

Stumpf said most of the identified infrastructure upgrades could be constructed in phases, which could be advantageous from a financial standpoint.

The costs listed are only estimates, Stumpf said.

‘‘We try to err on the high side,’’ he said.

One cost not estimated in the plan is that of land acquisition.

Joel Lizer, chairman of the Webster County Board of Supervisors, stressed that the county is not interested in ‘‘taking anybody’s land.’’

‘‘We want you involved,’’ Lizer said.

Supervisors Keith Dencklau and Phil Condon said they have been talking one-on-one with landowners that could potentially be affected by the ag park plan.