A part of the OACCT's Public Policy efforts for 2010 is for volunteers from the Public Policy committee attend both City and County meetings and report back on items that are of interest/concern to business.
Most of the time was spent listening to problems with rain water runoff at Beaver Lake. It was sent to committee. Two fellows from Matt Lewis Construction got a permit to have a drive way approved. Maintenance issues are being handled at the Steele County Fair. There will be a deputy on duty at the County Court house when job slot is filled.
20 Acres were deeded to the county in Summit Township. Bixby is seeking grant money for upgrading their sewer. The sheriff’s office will provide local security for Medford.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Steele County Board Notes-June 21, 2010
A part of the OACCT's Public Policy efforts for 2010 is for volunteers from the Public Policy committee attend both City and County meetings and report back on items that are of interest/concern to business.
Chamber of Commerce Policy Committee Report
Steele County Board Meeting, June 21st
3:00pm East Beltline EA/EAW – WSB & Associates
Anita Benson – Public Works Director, County Engineer and Jack Forslund – WSB gave East Beltline Workshop. They handed out agendas and a Project Matrix that included where they are and summaries of open houses held to date. The information is also available on their website.
The Beltline Technical Advisory Committee includes the City of Owatonna, MNDot and Steele County and meets every month to complete study analysis. News releases and two open houses have been held regarding the East Beltline. April 29th and June 2nd and they will have one more to present the recommended alternative analysis methodology. They are looking at a September timeframe.
A question was asked by commissioners if input from the townships were going to be included. It was decided they should be included in the conversation. They will include them going forward.
In general there seemed to be an equal number of valid comments or concerns for either of the eastern beltline options. They expressed the need for an objective evaluation to compare the beltline options. Evaluation criteria for comparing options may include wetland impacts, farmland impacts, forecasted daily traffic, travel time savings, right of way needs, construction costs, etc….need to remove the emotional aspects and determine what is best for the community.
They are upgrading HWY 14 to a freeway status and all at grade intersections will be eliminated escalating the need for a determination of the connection to HWY 14 and the East Beltline. The East beltline study will determine where to place the East Beltline interchange will be located.
Final report from the Advisory Committee is scheduled for April 2011. The surveys completed by the county commissioners and township supervisors will assist with weighting. Including the following categories:
Current Survey (each category is weighted 1 – 10)
Project Cost 9
Increased County Maintenance 8
Wetland Impacts 2
Farmland Impacts 5
Daily Traffic 6
Mobility (travel time) 3
Consistency with comprehensive plan 5
Number of required relocations 7
Number of property access points 5
Number of directly impacted farms 5
Wildlife habitat Impacts 5
Next steps – commissioners and township supervisors will complete surveys that will be used as a tool to make decisions and lead them in the right direction. Once they have the composite score they will issue the report.
If the county gets money from the fed and select longer term project funding challenge to get the hwy done - Hwy 43 and will handle traffic now. They will start making acquisitions throughout to get the ability to do that. Once they designate corridor any construction has to meet the needs of the county for that corridor. Currently both corridors are officially mapped. East beltline originally mapped so there has to be collaboration between the city the county and property owners. Decisions are driven by traffic demand and decisions made by the county. You might still need to connect to 43rd in the interim until 34th can be connected to 26th St. Kenyon road might be affected by the decision as well. Interim projects should be taken into consideration before weighting the report by the beltline technical advisory committee. County Commissioners added the interim construction under Mobility on the survey.
4:00pm Dental and Life Insurance
The county must bid their insurance every five years by statute.
Life - They sent out for bids and received five bids. MN Life came back as the lowest bid and they are the company they are currently with. It will be cheaper for the employee and the county. The new rates will begin in September. Savings of about $12,000 a 25% reduction.
Dental – Oaks has been looking at Dental trying to get a better rate for the county. They presented it to a meeting and had the employees vote ending at the end of this week going into effect August 1st. Cheaper and guaranteed for 2011 we know if we didn’t change Humana would go up at least 7%.
4:30pm Storm Damage Report
Local disaster declaration would impact this years taxes in 2010
Credits payable next year disaster credits……..homestead disaster credit area has to be an emergency area which it has been. 25 have to have been damaged at 5,000 total county value and 1% is reported 3.2 billion currently there were only 24 reported.
Any storm related damage it needs to be reported to the county. Reporting is very similar to flood reporting. Disaster abatement applies homestead applies only to houses not outbuildings. Damage that’s repaired made by the inspectors and Keep us informed. No roads lost. Road signs twisted but no roads and trees down power lines were back up and get loads out leaning on 45 and should be fixed today. Lots of debris roads were good Blooming Prairie Township and Berlin had theirs cleared provided traffic control and let the townships take care of it. Minimal damage.
Chamber of Commerce Policy Committee Report
Steele County Board Meeting, June 21st
3:00pm East Beltline EA/EAW – WSB & Associates
Anita Benson – Public Works Director, County Engineer and Jack Forslund – WSB gave East Beltline Workshop. They handed out agendas and a Project Matrix that included where they are and summaries of open houses held to date. The information is also available on their website.
The Beltline Technical Advisory Committee includes the City of Owatonna, MNDot and Steele County and meets every month to complete study analysis. News releases and two open houses have been held regarding the East Beltline. April 29th and June 2nd and they will have one more to present the recommended alternative analysis methodology. They are looking at a September timeframe.
A question was asked by commissioners if input from the townships were going to be included. It was decided they should be included in the conversation. They will include them going forward.
In general there seemed to be an equal number of valid comments or concerns for either of the eastern beltline options. They expressed the need for an objective evaluation to compare the beltline options. Evaluation criteria for comparing options may include wetland impacts, farmland impacts, forecasted daily traffic, travel time savings, right of way needs, construction costs, etc….need to remove the emotional aspects and determine what is best for the community.
They are upgrading HWY 14 to a freeway status and all at grade intersections will be eliminated escalating the need for a determination of the connection to HWY 14 and the East Beltline. The East beltline study will determine where to place the East Beltline interchange will be located.
Final report from the Advisory Committee is scheduled for April 2011. The surveys completed by the county commissioners and township supervisors will assist with weighting. Including the following categories:
Current Survey (each category is weighted 1 – 10)
Project Cost 9
Increased County Maintenance 8
Wetland Impacts 2
Farmland Impacts 5
Daily Traffic 6
Mobility (travel time) 3
Consistency with comprehensive plan 5
Number of required relocations 7
Number of property access points 5
Number of directly impacted farms 5
Wildlife habitat Impacts 5
Next steps – commissioners and township supervisors will complete surveys that will be used as a tool to make decisions and lead them in the right direction. Once they have the composite score they will issue the report.
If the county gets money from the fed and select longer term project funding challenge to get the hwy done - Hwy 43 and will handle traffic now. They will start making acquisitions throughout to get the ability to do that. Once they designate corridor any construction has to meet the needs of the county for that corridor. Currently both corridors are officially mapped. East beltline originally mapped so there has to be collaboration between the city the county and property owners. Decisions are driven by traffic demand and decisions made by the county. You might still need to connect to 43rd in the interim until 34th can be connected to 26th St. Kenyon road might be affected by the decision as well. Interim projects should be taken into consideration before weighting the report by the beltline technical advisory committee. County Commissioners added the interim construction under Mobility on the survey.
4:00pm Dental and Life Insurance
The county must bid their insurance every five years by statute.
Life - They sent out for bids and received five bids. MN Life came back as the lowest bid and they are the company they are currently with. It will be cheaper for the employee and the county. The new rates will begin in September. Savings of about $12,000 a 25% reduction.
Dental – Oaks has been looking at Dental trying to get a better rate for the county. They presented it to a meeting and had the employees vote ending at the end of this week going into effect August 1st. Cheaper and guaranteed for 2011 we know if we didn’t change Humana would go up at least 7%.
4:30pm Storm Damage Report
Local disaster declaration would impact this years taxes in 2010
Credits payable next year disaster credits……..homestead disaster credit area has to be an emergency area which it has been. 25 have to have been damaged at 5,000 total county value and 1% is reported 3.2 billion currently there were only 24 reported.
Any storm related damage it needs to be reported to the county. Reporting is very similar to flood reporting. Disaster abatement applies homestead applies only to houses not outbuildings. Damage that’s repaired made by the inspectors and Keep us informed. No roads lost. Road signs twisted but no roads and trees down power lines were back up and get loads out leaning on 45 and should be fixed today. Lots of debris roads were good Blooming Prairie Township and Berlin had theirs cleared provided traffic control and let the townships take care of it. Minimal damage.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Paperwork Burdens in New Health Care Law
By Doug Loon
VP Regional Affairs
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Businesses, large and small, have many questions regarding the 2400-page health care reform bill – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) - that became law earlier this year. The complex legislation has made sweeping changes to our country’s health care system and will impose many new requirements and mandates for employers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce believes one in particular, unrelated to health care, should be repealed immediately. Included in Section 9006 of the PPACA is a provision that greatly expands the requirement for businesses to file information returns to the IRS. The provision was used as an unrelated “pay for” in the PPACA and we believe it should be rescinded based on the merits of the provision alone.
Starting in 2012, companies of all sizes will have to file a Form 1099-MISC with the IRS for all payments made to businesses in the 2011 calendar year, aggregating $600 or more for the purchase of property (goods) and services. The new law lifted the exemption for purchases from corporations and expanded the requirement to include property (goods).
Unless this section is repealed, businesses across the nation will be subjected to the folly of data collection and information filing on virtually all business-to-business transactions they make aggregating $600 or more in a year. This, at a time when many can least afford it. When the United States is depending on the small business community to generate jobs and grow the economy, lawmakers are diverting their precious time and resources to collecting volumes of information and filling out mounds of new paperwork for the government.
If implemented, Section 9006 of the PPACA will also have a chilling effect on new business relationships, most of which will be small businesses and startups. We fear that many businesses, in an attempt to reduce data collection and paperwork burdens, will simply reduce vendors and refuse to entertain new business dealings. This will have a disproportional impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs attempting to get a foot in the door.
The ultimate irony of these new burdens is that the IRS neither has the resources nor the ability to use the new information to reconstruct an accurate picture of a company’s revenues since a large volume of business-to-consumer transactions are not reported. While the vast majority of compliant taxpayers will bear the cost of implementing this law, it will have only minimal benefit as a government tool in reducing non-compliance.
H.R. 5141, the “Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act,” would repeal these onerous paperwork burdens imposed on business by this ill-conceived mandate. We urge business leaders to call their member of congress and urge support for this bill to repeal this onerous provision of the new health care law.
VP Regional Affairs
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Businesses, large and small, have many questions regarding the 2400-page health care reform bill – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) - that became law earlier this year. The complex legislation has made sweeping changes to our country’s health care system and will impose many new requirements and mandates for employers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce believes one in particular, unrelated to health care, should be repealed immediately. Included in Section 9006 of the PPACA is a provision that greatly expands the requirement for businesses to file information returns to the IRS. The provision was used as an unrelated “pay for” in the PPACA and we believe it should be rescinded based on the merits of the provision alone.
Starting in 2012, companies of all sizes will have to file a Form 1099-MISC with the IRS for all payments made to businesses in the 2011 calendar year, aggregating $600 or more for the purchase of property (goods) and services. The new law lifted the exemption for purchases from corporations and expanded the requirement to include property (goods).
Unless this section is repealed, businesses across the nation will be subjected to the folly of data collection and information filing on virtually all business-to-business transactions they make aggregating $600 or more in a year. This, at a time when many can least afford it. When the United States is depending on the small business community to generate jobs and grow the economy, lawmakers are diverting their precious time and resources to collecting volumes of information and filling out mounds of new paperwork for the government.
If implemented, Section 9006 of the PPACA will also have a chilling effect on new business relationships, most of which will be small businesses and startups. We fear that many businesses, in an attempt to reduce data collection and paperwork burdens, will simply reduce vendors and refuse to entertain new business dealings. This will have a disproportional impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs attempting to get a foot in the door.
The ultimate irony of these new burdens is that the IRS neither has the resources nor the ability to use the new information to reconstruct an accurate picture of a company’s revenues since a large volume of business-to-consumer transactions are not reported. While the vast majority of compliant taxpayers will bear the cost of implementing this law, it will have only minimal benefit as a government tool in reducing non-compliance.
H.R. 5141, the “Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act,” would repeal these onerous paperwork burdens imposed on business by this ill-conceived mandate. We urge business leaders to call their member of congress and urge support for this bill to repeal this onerous provision of the new health care law.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Six Ways We Serve You
Membership Strengthen membership to represent the significant majority of business in Steele County and meet members’ needs and expectations.
Economic Development Maintain a strong economic development environment for the community.
Advocacy Create a public policy agenda that will reflect business priorities, enhancing the climate for growing businesses.
Tourism Development Maximize the viability of the Owatonna area as a travel destination.
Community Serve as a resource center for the community by providing information and personal service to inquirers and visitors.
Model Chamber To be recognized as the premier business resource center for economic growth, education and relationship building.
Economic Development Maintain a strong economic development environment for the community.
Advocacy Create a public policy agenda that will reflect business priorities, enhancing the climate for growing businesses.
Tourism Development Maximize the viability of the Owatonna area as a travel destination.
Community Serve as a resource center for the community by providing information and personal service to inquirers and visitors.
Model Chamber To be recognized as the premier business resource center for economic growth, education and relationship building.
5 Days of Fun
What is Crazy Days? We believe it could be/should be a million dollar event-before any multiplier/re-spending factor. We estimated the economic impact of last year’s Crazy Days in excess of half a million dollars.
But, with the transition of the Owatonna Business Partnership to the OACCT Promotions Committee, this promotion is now open to all OACCT members. And, the potential economic impact for our community could be much greater! But, Crazy Days is more-it’s Sidewalk Sales, Children’s Parade, Music, Fun, Hog Roast, Street Dance, Class Reunions, Arts Fair, Visitors, Meeting Friends and sharing our community.
Where is Crazy Days? A lot of the activities will be downtown, but Crazy Days includes the entire Owatonna Community.
When is Crazy Days? This month! July 21-25th.
How do we plan and coordinate Crazy Days? The Promotions Committee of OACCT plans and coordinates Crazy Days with the help of a lot of member businesses and volunteers.
Why do we have Crazy Days? Crazy Days is part social and part economics-fun! We like to think Crazy Days is the second biggest get together in Steele County-some classes plan their class reunions around it!
Crazy Days brings many visitors and shoppers to our community. It generates additional traffic and revenues for our community-it is our own Economic Stimulus package!
Who makes Crazy Days happen? You-our members! The Promotions Committee needs your help to make this year’s Crazy Days promotion another great event. You are encouraged to participate. If you would like to participate, volunteer, or have questions-please contact a Committee member or the Chamber. You’ll have fun and you’ll get lots of support!
But, with the transition of the Owatonna Business Partnership to the OACCT Promotions Committee, this promotion is now open to all OACCT members. And, the potential economic impact for our community could be much greater! But, Crazy Days is more-it’s Sidewalk Sales, Children’s Parade, Music, Fun, Hog Roast, Street Dance, Class Reunions, Arts Fair, Visitors, Meeting Friends and sharing our community.
Where is Crazy Days? A lot of the activities will be downtown, but Crazy Days includes the entire Owatonna Community.
When is Crazy Days? This month! July 21-25th.
How do we plan and coordinate Crazy Days? The Promotions Committee of OACCT plans and coordinates Crazy Days with the help of a lot of member businesses and volunteers.
Why do we have Crazy Days? Crazy Days is part social and part economics-fun! We like to think Crazy Days is the second biggest get together in Steele County-some classes plan their class reunions around it!
Crazy Days brings many visitors and shoppers to our community. It generates additional traffic and revenues for our community-it is our own Economic Stimulus package!
Who makes Crazy Days happen? You-our members! The Promotions Committee needs your help to make this year’s Crazy Days promotion another great event. You are encouraged to participate. If you would like to participate, volunteer, or have questions-please contact a Committee member or the Chamber. You’ll have fun and you’ll get lots of support!
Business After Hours Adds 13th Event
Business After Hours continues to be a very popular event so, we’ve added a 13th event to our calendar. This event will be the fourth Tuesday in August, starting in 2011.
Remember to mark your calendars for two Business After Hour events in August 2011.
5 Years of Service
Congratulations to Beverly Bowers, membership manager for five years of employment at OACCT!
Well done!
Well done!
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