Keller discussed the history of his business, speaking of both insurance and agronomy services and mentioning various stages of growth, including the acquisition of a Veris machine for enhanced soil mapping and the expansion into property-and-casualty insurance. Keller noted his rural location has proven to be helpful, offering a centrally-located office to serve rural denizens who do not have to travel to larger communities. Asked what sets his business apart, Keller suggested that not selling inputs allows him to be trusted as unbiased in making recommendations.

Addressing agricultural trends, Keller  remarked upon the significant increase in the use of pivot irrigation and speculated that, with a decrease in commodity prices, fewer new installations likely would be taking place. Crop insurance has also become more popular over the last few years with the rise of input costs. He noted the increased openness to technology in farming amongst younger farmers. Asked as to how KICG’s crop-insurance strategy differs from others',  Keller emphasized the extent to which his company maps fields and the superior customer service offered by KICG.

Asked about the challenges of starting up, Keller suggested that being able to provide certainty to prospective clients created potential risks. Asked how PCED could have helped him, or could assist someone in a similar situation, Keller emphasized the importance of business planning, as well as start-up capital. A board member observed that, as a farmer,  Keller is uniquely qualified to know and understand farmer-clients’ needs. Keller noted, “You gotta fit in,” suggesting that being engaged in the community matters.

PCED Director Nathan Origer asked Keller for his advice regarding how PCED better could reach out to and serve the farming and agri-business community. He responded by suggesting speaking with individuals such as himself and his uncle, John Keller, who operates Keller Advisory Group in Winamac. Further, he suggested deciding exactly what the purpose of such outreach would be and preparing an information flyer to distribute to farmers. Finally, Keller remarked upon the increased average age of a farmer and the difficulty that young would-be farmers face trying to begin their own operations.

Also in attendance were Keller's wife Kathy, who is vice-president of KICG, and their daughters Sarah and Caroline.

PCED discusses hotel project, county assets for population, job attraction

Under old business, PCED reviewed the following:

PC-CARE engineering study: Territorial Engineering will make a presentation on the first two study sites at the June PCED meeting; Origer expects to receive documents in advance. Origer recently met with the owner of property south of Francesville; the individual expressed willingness to work with PCED. Origer will follow-up with one other landowner before reaching a decision on the third study site. The south-of-town property offers the benefit of being in an already developed area, but also would require significantly higher utility-construction costs.

CAGIT-rate issue: Origer noted that State Sen. Charbonneau had expressed support for addressing the language in the Indiana Code pertaining to this issue, but suggested that holding off until 2015 would be wise. With that in mind, Origer said that he would address the issue individually with county commissioners and councilmen to build support for this, and he asked that the matter be tabled until he had held such discussions. The board voted its approval.

Pulaski County Young Professionals Network: The committee will schedule a second meeting to discuss the information Origer had received from leaders and founders of Lafayette/Tippecanoe County’s TippyConnect group. Locally, Origer has received mixed responses from potential members, with a number of questions receiving satisfactory answers which he hoped would increase interest.

Pulaski Online: Origer met with Crane + Grey; the Website will be live by mid-June, and what Origer has seen so far impressed him. They will set up a meeting with Jacki Frain to discuss Pulaski County Human Services’ needs. Upon a board inquiry, Origer confirmed he will be able to maintain and to update the Website locally.

Hotel project: Noting that securing investors has been a struggle, Origer presented two alternative-financing options for consideration.

In the first, Cobblestone/BriMark would retain ownership of the property, at least short-term, and a local unit of government would pledge annually enough funds to pay for debt service; if hotel revenues would suffice to cover annual debt payments, then the locality would owe no money, but if revenues were to fall short of the necessary total, then tax money would pay for part of the debt. The director praised the creativity of this solution, but expressed doubts about the feasibility of it in Pulaski County, particularly given current budgetary concerns. The board members agreed with Origer’s observation.

The second option involves a crowd-funding mechanism, specifically through Localstake, a small-business–investment organization out of Indianapolis. The director is awaiting a reply from John Seibert of Cobblestone/BriMark regarding the possibility of using this non-equity, revenue-sharing mechanism to supplement investments from equity partners.

Further discussion ensued, with the director reiterating previous information. Board member John Plowman noted that Delphi is proceeding with a Cobblestone hotel. Origer mentioned a few other communities moving forward. Board member Jamie Bales enquired about the use of small-business loans for the project.

Revolving Loan Fund cash injection: In light of necessary changes to the application process and of county fiscal sensitivities, Origer judged it prudent to delay the PCED-supported request for county funds to expand lending opportunities. He will continue to consider outside sources, such as USDA Rural Development.

In the meantime, Origer requested that further discussion of the hotel project and the Revolving Loan Fund be tabled until such time as new information becomes available. The board voted its agreement.

2014 Summit: Having expressed his pleasure with the recent Summit, Origer asked, “What next? How does PCED and the community at-large address the concerns raised by Dick Heupel’s keynote address regarding the importance of quality of life to economic growth and sustainability?"

Lengthy discussion ensued regarding amplified marketing of existing amenities, types of amenities that would improve resident-attraction efforts, the relationship between resident attraction and job creation, the possible need for a hotel in order to keep visitors in the area longer, local-company employee-attraction struggles — particularly pertaining to management, obvious deficits — and positive attributes — in the community, struggles that start-up restaurants face, members’ own preferences, and other topics.

Board member Becky Anspach suggested that a significant number of small-group community conversations should be conducted, with a focus on aspirations, rather than issues, to gauge residents’ insights on what Pulaski County’s vision should be, and self-image is; what quality-of-life improvements should be made; and how progress should occur. Board president Bill Champion agreed.  Origer suggested starting with a non-profit summit, which he will discuss with a staffer from the Purdue Center for Regional Development who had recently spoken at one in Boone County. Mrs. Anspach and board member Krysten Hinkle followed up on this with insights on the Cass County Resource Network.

Origer expressed his desire to continue this conversation in the future, emphasizing that PCED need not merely focus on individual economic-growth projects, but also build capacity for long-term economic and community health.

New Business

Proposed changes to By-laws: Origer presented a list of changes to the PCED by-laws that he had proposed to the executive board, which approved them for full-commission consideration. He explained that the changes could not be approved at this meeting, but that he wanted to have them reviewed prior to a special session after the June meeting. Origer explained the rationale for each change and asked for questions and comments; none were offered.

2015-budget proposal: Origer presented the executive board approved proposal for the 2015 budget, noting a decrease of nearly $40,000 in operational costs from 2014, but also an increase of $42,444 in personnel costs, to the end of upgrading the assistant position to full-time, pending County Council approval; he explained the rationale for his desire to make Terry Howard a full-time employee. Discussion followed on the budget. The members decided to vote on the budget proposal in June, after having reviewed a requested job description for the assistant position. 

Items of Interest

Individual board members reported on various local items of interest, including the following:

• The Winamac Town Council will open bids for the pool-restoration project in May. Costs are expected to fall in the area of $600,000; on the previous night, a budget-discussion meeting had been held.
• Antares Trailers in Winamac has successfully begun operations with a number of trailers having left the property already.
• Four County Counseling Center is preparing for its first summer group for children staffed in-house in Pulaski County. Collaboration efforts with Pulaski Memorial Hospital and Eastern Pulaski Schools being expanded.
• Sales figures at Plymouth Tube have improved. Workforce loss through attrition has bottomed out, replacement hiring has begun, with six new employees so far.
• CSX Railroad has been significantly upgrading the old Monon line between Monon and Medaryville. The harsh winter greatly harmed the existing railroad, so the CSX project has been both welcomed and mesmerizing to watch. A CSX employee remarked to a PCED board member that the company would like nothing more than to see industrial growth north of FRATCO in Francesville.
• Star City Youth Baseball has 202 participants this year.
• Operations are underway at Winamac Coil Spring at the new Winamac Division.
• The Chamber of Commerce has been making preparations for German Fest, which will take place on Saturday, Aug. 9.
• FRATCO has been extraordinarily busy, and the new injection-molding machine has been a great boon to production.