Logan County Zoning and Planning
Committee hears Regional Planning Commission plan to assist with the
Enterprise Zone
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[July 08, 2023]
This
past week the Logan County Regional Planning Commission (RPC) and
the Logan County Board Zoning and Planning Committee net on
Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The common topic between the
two meetings was how to proceed with aiding the Logan County Zoning
Office with respect to the Enterprise Zone (EZ).
Both meetings came to the same conclusion. Former EZ administrator
Will D’Andrea will be contracted to assist the county zoning officer
in getting EZ applications up to date.
Regional Planning Commission meeting
The Wednesday meeting of the RPC yielded a discussion about the
legalities of the situation. Keenan Leesman, who sits on the RPC as
well as the corresponding county board committee, said that he had
asked County Attorney Bradly Hauge to review the current EZ contract
and offer an opinion as to the legality of the RPC contracting
D’Andrea to assist. He reported that Hauge said the RPC did have the
authority to contract D’Andrea at their own expense.
The RPC discussed budget constraints. There is $5,000 available that
can be moved from one expense category to another to cover the cost
of contractual services provided by D’Andrea. The commission
discussed how the contract should be drafted. It was reported that
D’Andrea had recommended that the contract be set up with an hourly
pay rate, saying he felt that would be a more fair and equitable way
to utilize the funds available.
The RPC concluded with three votes. The first was to amend the
budget for the contractual services, the second to contract D’Andrea,
and a third to turn the rate of pay question over to the RPC
Executive Committee. All three motions passed unanimously.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/08/images/ads/current/napa_sda_HEROES_2023.png)
Logan County Board Zoning and Planning Committee
meeting
On Thursday night, the meeting was called to order by Zoning and
Planning Committee vice-chair Dale Nelson. The topic was introduced
and Leesman offered up the recommendation of the RPC to the
committee.
During his explanation, he was able to clear up some of the
confusion regarding the action being taken. D’Andrea will be
contracted on a temporary basis to assist the current zoning officer
with matters regarding the EZ. Leesman said that a review of the
contract with the state shows that the official administrator must
be a county employee. But in line E of the contract it states that
the RPC may contract the services of a consultant of sorts, who will
be responsible for assuring that the EZ program is running smoothly.
D'Andrea fields questions from committee members
D'Andrea was present for the meeting and the floor was opened to
committee members who wished to ask questions of D’Andrea.
Leesman noted that after the June meeting of the Zoning and Planning
Committee D’Andrea had sent all the board members an email that had
gone a long way to explaining and clarifying some of the questions
surrounding the EZ.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/08/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
Leesman recapped some of the email points by asking
D’Andrea to outline the application process briefly. D’Andrea said
that for the developer or business owner to gain EZ status there is
an application that must be filled out for the overall project. Then
each contractor that is hired to work on the project must also fill
out an application. He said the overall goal is to establish an
estimated cost of the total project and an estimated cost of the
individual components. Later he would explain that when the project
was completed the state would seek an accurate accounting of the
money spent on the total project and by each contractor, but the EZ
administrator had no responsibility in gathering that information.
Leesman asked how long it takes to process an application on the
local level and about the turnaround time for the state.
D’Andrea said he had created an application form that is on the
county website that mirrors the form the administrator has to fill
out on the state website. When the paper applications came to him he
would review to be assured that all the boxes contained answers,
then he entered it into the state website. The total time invested
he said was on average between 15 to 30 minutes. He said often, the
application would be approved by the state in less than a day. The
EZ certificates would then be emailed to the applicants by the
state.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/08/images/ads/current/graue_sda_042021.png)
Leesman asked if the EZ certification could be made
retroactive if the project has already started. D’Andrea said no,
because the certificate must be shown to suppliers at the point of
purchase to get the tax exemption.
Former Zoning and Planning Chair-person James Glenn said he had
several questions for D’Andrea. First he wanted to know about
D’Andrea’s years of service and the number of applications he had
processed. D’Andrea said he served as the administrator for 11 years
and had processed over 100 applications.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
Glenn asked about oversight and
review of the applications. D’Andrea said that when the
applicant filled out the boxes on the form he made, there was
little else to do. He said the most common omission was the
email address where the certificates could be sent by the state.
Glenn asked if D’Andrea had to investigate the
accuracy of the application. D’Andrea said he did not. The proof of
the scope of the money spent lies with the applicant, who will
answer directly to the state when the project is completed. It is in
the applicant’s best interest to be as accurate as possible.
D’Andrea was asked if he had to do anything to assure compliance
with the EZ rules. He answered that he had to verify that the
project was within the Enterprise Zone area and that it was within
the allowable parameters of types of businesses that can utilize the
EZ.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/08/images/ads/current/peasley_sda_PROMGRAD_2023.png)
Leesman asked about the designated area of the EZ. D’Andrea
explained that the EZ is established in areas that are deemed to be
“depressed” as it pertains to income levels of residents. He said
that the Logan County Zone is primarily centered in Lincoln with
three-foot wide stripes stretching out to areas such as Atlanta, New
Holland, and Mt. Pulaski to draw a district for a specific project.
He mentioned that several grain elevators in the county had taken
advantage of the EZ.
D'Andrea was asked if the areas could be expanded or decreased.
D’Andrea said that expanding the reach of the EZ could be done as
long as the expansion did not exceed the total 12 to 15 square miles
of acreage in the zone designation. He said only once did he know
that the zone was decreased. He added that changes to the size of
the zone either direction must be “signed off” on by all the
governing bodies in the county including incorporated areas outside
of Lincoln, such as New Holland, Atlanta, etc.
Glenn asked about the use of the company named Opportunity Alliance
in the EZ application process. D’Andrea said that the use of that
firm was only for the overall expansion of the zone and not for the
individual applications for tax credits.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/08/images/ads/current/nutrienag_sda_HEROES_2023.png)
He said that the application process for expanding
the zone overall was a “bear” and that utilizing professional
services to map out the area and write the application was
necessary. [In an email on
Friday, D'Andrea explained that the firm is hired by entities that
are seeking an expansion of the existing zone boundaries so that
their project may be included. This is done at the business or
developers expense.]
Public Participation
Nelson invited public participation, reminding everyone to remain
civil and respectful in their comments.
Jeremy Wells with Wells Firearms said that he had received his
certification the day prior, on Wednesday July 5th. He said he
received an email that his application was in process and six
minutes later he received his certificate from the state. However,
he said now his issue is that he had reported the expansion project
at his business in Lincoln would be at a cost of approximately
$1,000,000 but his certificate said the overall expenditure would be
only $5,000. He asked if the application could be amended to the
correct amount.
D'Andrea said he has never had that happen but could investigate it.
Logan County Zoning Officer and EZ Administrator Beth Davis-Kavelman
stood and said that she had asked four separate times for Wells to
verify information. Nelson stopped her and said the question was a
simple yes or no, could the certificate be amended. Davis-Kavelman
said yes it can.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/08/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
Local Attorney and business investor Doug Muck stood
and said he felt it was very good that the RPC was providing some
assistance to the county in the EZ. He said he felt the commission
should be certain they have the power to do so. Nelson said the RPC
has the authority to contract D’Andrea to assist in the smooth
operation of the EZ.
Logan County Board Chair-person Emily Davenport commented that she
was glad to see the RPC finally getting involved in the issue. She
said that Davis-Kavelman had no help or training coming into the job
over a year ago, and had the RPC taken some action then to assure
the zoning office was properly trained, everything would have run
more smoothly from the get-go.
As discussion began to wind down, there were no votes to be taken by
the committee as the decision to hire D’Andrea rests entirely on the
RPC.
The meeting therefore adjourned, with the expectation that D’Andrea
will be contracted on a temporary basis to assist the zoning office.
D’Andrea has stated that he does not want the contract on a
permanent basis. It will be at the discretion of the RPC if another
contracted individual fills the position later.
[Nila Smith] |