MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors has approved $500,000 in aid for a redevelopment project in downtown Mason City.
Eric Bookmeyer, Brent Trout, Alex Kuhn and other officials attended Tuesday’s supervisors meeting and lobbied for financial assistance to support a new development in downtown Mason City involving an ice arena, parking ramp, hotel and more.
The supervisors agreed to give $200,000 in the first fiscal year and $100,000 for the next 3 years, for a total of $500,000.
According to a county official:
The Board authorized the Chair to sign a letter of support and commitment for Mason City’s application to the Iowa Reinvestment Act program. The county agreed to commit $500,000 over the next 4 years towards the arena project with $200,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, and $100,000 in each of the three following fiscal years (through the FY ending 6/30/2019). The funding strategy is similar to what the Board has employed in other public-private partnership projects with Clear Lake (CLEAR Project) and Mason City (Hotel).
The potential sources of funds include a mixture of local option sales tax revenue earmarked for economic development purposes and capital improvements funds derived from the sale of county land and granting of easements.
The funding is, of course, contingent on the city’s Iowa Reinvestment Act application being approved by the state.
