Council Bluffs Eyes Annexation Of Land In Northern Mills County


Rendering of the proposed Cattlemen's Heritage beef processing facility.

The City of Council Bluffs has its sights set on annexing land in Mills County for economic development purposes.

Addressing the Mills County Board of Supervisors last week, Mark Norman, director of the Mills County Economic Development Foundation (MCEDF), said the annexation would be required for the city of Council Bluffs to provide waste water services for two projects being proposed along Interstate 29 in northwest Mills County. One of those projects is the $325 million Cattlemen’s Heritage beef processing facility proposed on a 132-acre site northwest of the I-29 – Highway 370 interchange. The other project is east of I-29 south of the Mills – Pottawattamie County line.

The Cattlemen’s Heritage beef processing facility was announced in 2021, but the proposed project has been slow to get off the ground. Cattlemen’s Heritage did secure a $25 million United States Department Of Agriculture grant but is required to meet environmental requirements and construct its own water treatment system before moving forward.

“As part of that, as you’re probably aware, if Council Bluffs does take them through the waste water system, that will require an annexation process as well,” Norman told the county supervisors. “They did send a letter to Council Bluffs requesting voluntary annexation.

That will probably go hand-in-hand with the other project on the other side of the interstate that that has also gone through the voluntary annexation request to do that.”

Norman said he could not discuss any details of the project being considered on land east of I-29, but said that it has a “higher probability of occurring” than Cattlemen’s.

“The big thing they’re doing there is trying to finalize their costs –utility costs – and determine what flood elevations are,” he said. “They want to elevate that site. They’re working with the state to determine what the elevation must be.”

Lonnie Mayberry, chair of the Mills County Board of Supervisors, announced last spring that Council Bluffs was looking at annexing land in Mills County. In an interview after last week’s board meeting, Mayberry said if either or both proposed projects happen and Council Bluffs carries through with the annexation, the city would only collect taxes for the portion of services it provides.

“Mills County will still receive tax dollars,” Mayberry said.

Norman said both projects would have a positive economic impact on Mills County, even with the annexation by Council Bluffs and the possible use of tax increment financing to subsidize placement of infrastructure.

“Both of them are still going to provide pretty significant dollars to the county with those property tax dollars coming in so it will still be a positive,” he said.

Norman added that MCEDF will continue to market the county for potential industrial, manufacturing and warehouse distribution businesses.

“The more product we can put out there to prospective industry looking at our area, the better chance we’ll have to attract them,” he said.

 

The Opinion-Tribune

116 S Walnut St Glenwood, IA 51534-1665
P.O. Box 377, Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-527-3191
Phone: 712-623-2566
Fax: 712-527-3193

Comment Here