JSDC: Stick with council

Talk about it

The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. Board voted unanimously Monday to recommend continued membership in South Central Dakota Regional Council for 2013. The recommendation will be acted on by the Jamestown City Council and Stutsman County Commission in future meetings.

In October, the JSDC executive board recommended dropping the county’s membership in SCDRC. The executive board unanimously reversed that action at its November meeting — with some stipulations concerning possible membership in 2014 and beyond.

“We need to move forward for 2013,” said Jamestown Mayor Katie Andersen. “But with the intent they look for different revenue streams in the future.”

Mark Klose, chairman of the Stutsman County Commission and a member of the JSDC board, agreed.

“It is close to 2013 now,” he said. “This is not the time to pull the rug out from under them but we should look at it again at midyear.”

The board also recommended entering into a $35,000 contract with KK Bold of Bismarck for Internet and social media marketing for JSDC. The efforts would concentrate on connecting people and businesses looking to relocate with the JSDC website.

“The workforce we need is online,” said Connie Ova, CEO of the JSDC. “That is where we need to recruit.”

The motion to recommend the contract passed on a 13-1 vote with Chris Rathjen the lone dissenting vote.

The JSDC also recognized three departing board members who had served on the board for the maximum period. Jim Boyd, Denny Olafson and Alex Schweitzer were all awarded plaques for their service.

Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at 701-952-8452 or by email at knorman@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, jsdc