Dear Editor,

In response to the recent article in the Des Moines Register regarding my position with AEDC and the dispute over Verista Imaging, Inc. After it was made clear to me that Verista was no longer interested in Centerville as a new location for their business, I immediately tried to salvage some of the job creation potential for Appanoose residents, by referring them to another community within commuting distance so that we could incent the company to hire some Appanoose County residents through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program. The WOTC program amended in May of 2007 to expand application for employers that hire new employees in a “rural renewal county”. Appanoose is one of 30 counties to be designated as such. The employer does not have to be in Appanoose County but in order to qualify for up to $2400 per employee in credits, they would have to hire a “designated community resident” (a person who is at least 18 and under 40 years of age at the date of hire and who has their principal place of residence established in a “rural renewal” area that has experienced net population declines during a specified time frame. I did not make any effort to contact the other communities they were looking at, such as Madison County, Norwalk, Des Moines and Windom, Minnesota because they had absolutely NO possible employment benefit to Appanoose County residents.

It is so unfortunate that we lost the company in the way we did. That is unethical! There is no doubt in my mind that we would have landed in Centerville in the Knight Rifle building, had board members not acted out of personal greed during the recruitment process.

We almost lost Lee Container in the recruitment process because a board member had the nerve to complain about wages that they were going to pay to the State of Iowa. Maybe if that board member would lose his job, he would better understand the need that an economic development corporation is designed to fill. I had calls every day from people so anxious to apply for the jobs being offered by Lee Container. We cannot be discriminatory when it comes to job creation. The AEDC board president is quoted as saying “My personal observation, just be thankful if you have not had to be involved in any of the recruitment processes with this particular client”. Lee Container will be creating in excess of 125 jobs and as a result of Lee Container, another company by the name of Flouro-Seal will be creating additional jobs and co-locating with Lee Container in the old Rubbermaid building.

I have been approached by companies willing to pay a private economic development professional for assistance in site location, incentive application processes and building acquisition in order to avoid the politics, greed and risk of information leakage during the recruitment process. I am hoping to build a private business based off the needs of this niche market. I can name three local companies that expanded without notifying AEDC or asking for assistance. We were the last to find out. Why?

When County and City Government monies are given to these organizations for job creation purposes, there ought to be some accountability to make sure the funds are being used to do just that. As the director, I was never asked to provide any information accounting for job creation, that I challenged the City and County to contract with me on per job created basis. That way if I don’t produce, they don’t pay. I loved Centerville and in spite of everything that has happened, I will still work to bring industry to the area on an independent basis.

The same goes for Knoxville. In spite of the harsh criticism of their director, I believe the board of directors and residents welcome any job creation opportunity that I or anyone else can offer.

In response to trying to cash in on the building acquisition, I am a real estate agent, not a broker, licensed to practice in Iowa and Nebraska. I identified myself as such and provided all of the name and contact information for the company to the listing agent. I did not ask for or receive any commission or any other compensation from the listing company for the sale or referral even though there were no stipulations making it unethical or illegal.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lyn Corkery