NIACC’s John Pappajohn Center recently requested a $9,750 grant from Mason City to help start a Micro-Enterprise program for aiding small businesses. It was added to last Tuesday’s city council agenda by one of the program’s backers, Scott Tornquist. There’s a wide rift between backers of the program and those against it.|
NIACC’s John Pappajohn Center requested a $9,750 grant from Mason City to help start a program called the Micro-Enterprise Initiative. The Micro-Enterprise program would help small businesses get started in Mason City. It was added to Tuesday’s city council agenda by one of the program’s backers, Scott Tornquist.
Jamie Zanios, Vice President of NIACC’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) requested the grant in a recent letter to City Hall. “The goal of this program is to help drive business development, growth and jobs in Mason City.”
The grant would help JPEC “promote economic development by promoting the expansion of small businesses through the establishment of a Micro Enterprise Program with the goal of providing assistance for the retention of existing jobs and the potential creation of new jobs.”
The Micro-Enterprise program seemed to have the backing of a majority of the city council after a work session was held in January where Zanios presented the program.
However, a tight budget ultimately seemed to derail funding of the program, although $15,000 still remains in next year’s budget for the program to help get it started. JPEC had asked for an additional $150,000 in city funds for worthy small businesses going through the program. A participating business could be reimbursed for goods and services purchased in Mason City. These goods and services could include training, inventory, equipment, expenses related to hiring an employee, rent for commercial property, etc. The business would have to make the investments first, then apply for reimbursement, which the $150,000 in City funds would cover.
Backers of the program say that new tax revenues from the new businesses would make taking a chance on the program worth a try. City Administrator Brent Trout said in a memo “I was approached over two months ago by a company that could use this program. It would have provided just enough help for him to purchase and remodel a building that would allow him to hire an additional staff person and expand his business. We have no other programs in the city that will assist him in completing his project.”
Proponents, including three council members, in favor of the program, also say that any help the city can give small businesses is part of the council’s goals and should be pursued.
Three council members favor the program: Scott Tornquist, Janet Solberg and Travis Hickey. Three will not support the program at this time: Max Weaver, Jeff Marsters and Don Nelson. So far, the city has denied funding the program due to the deadlocked city council.
Nelson and Marsters feel that the economic climate is too rough in Mason City to use taxpayer dollars in investments like the Micro-Enterprise program. “The bottom line is, there is not one penny guaranteed payback to the taxpayers,” Marsters said.
Nelson said in the past that the program was good and he hoped that someday it could be brought back to the council, even telling Zanios in a letter that he “supports and respects the NIACC JPEC” but that the rough economic climate and tight city budget were too much and that he couldn’t support the program at this time.
Max Weaver doesn’t seem to like the program very much, but says he will bring the program back to the council and vote yes if Mayor Eric Bookmeyer appoints Sandy Servantez to the Mason City Human Rights Commission. So far, the Mayor has not shown that he will make that move. If Weaver’s request is granted, and Weaver follows through on his offer, it would effectively fund the Micro-Enterprise program with $165,000, not just the $9,750 grant it is asking for now. Because Weaver voted no on the program initially, he could bring it back to the table for reconsideration.
As far as the grant of $9,750 goes, because the amount requested is below $10,000, the Mayor can vote on the issue and break the 3-3 tie on the council, which would then award the grant. Bookmeyer has indicated that he supports the Micro-Enterprise program.
The flap between the mayor and council members on both sides of the issue culminated last Tuesday when Marsters, Weaver and Nelson walked out of the City Council meeting just as the grant issue was about to come up on the agenda. 
Jeff Marsters told NorthIowaToday.com that only after being denied funds elsewhere did JPEC introduce the Micro-Enterprise Initiative. “$15,000 dollars was the amount asked of the EDC, county & city nearly two months prior to dreaming up the micro-enterprise plan. All denied!” Marsters also said “the EDC and County with the City denied prior requests of $15,000 each along with the city; just prior to dreaming up this Micro-Enterprise crap.”
NorthIowaToday.com was also told that the grant amount of $9,750 was selected so that the mayor’s vote could be utilized and the program would get funded. Since JPEC wanted much more than $9,750, the grant would be brought to the council multiple times. Zanios told NorthIowaToday that “I was asked by the Mayor if we could do the up front work on further developing and launching the MCMI (Micro-Enterprise program) for less money. I replied that we had budgeted about $5,000 for marketing outside of the state to try to attract more start up companies to move and grow here and that if we backed that out we would be between $9,000 and $10,000. He asked that we submit a grant request with out the marketing dollars included to complete the work and change the program from having money available for businesses from which we would work with the city administrator and through processes yet to be set up, to instead bring each business to the city for approval, much like the EDC does on larger deals. So the request came from the Mayor.”
So, for now, the JPEC Micro-Enterprise program is at a standstill in Mason City. It does have a chance of getting funding if the Mayor makes the Servantez apppointment, or if the mayor and three supporting council members can get it to a vote.
The political tug-of-war will continue in the meantime.
Council member Marsters elaborates on his stance on the Pappajohn Micro-Enterprise program:
