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RTC gets warm reception before House tax committee
Published Saturday, March 29, 2008
Photo by Photo Provided
Fergus Falls Mayor Russ Anderson speaks Friday at a hearing at the state Capitol. Rep Bud Nornes is at right.
Two thumbs up: That’s what Fergus Falls administrators gave Friday’s meeting with lawmakers about the future of the Regional Treatment Center (RTC).
Mayor Russ Anderson and local businessman Rick Anderson spoke to members of a House property tax sub-committee early Friday, stressing the importance of a property tax exemption for the RTC.
A 15-year exemption is included in a bill authored by Rep. Bud Nornes (R-Fergus Falls). Sen. Dan Skogen (D-Hewitt) has been heavily involved in the Senate version.
“It went really well — the members of the property tax committee liked what we had to say,” said Harold Stanislawski, director of the Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission and a part of the delegation.
“I’d say on a scale of one to 10, I’d give it a 10.”
The Fergus Falls group spent about 15 to 20 minutes showing committee members the RTC property and explaining why the tax exemption is important for the site’s future. Rick Anderson, who recently returned from China, described the plan to partner with Hunan Normal University to create a cross-cultural college campus in Fergus Falls.
“I think they were both receptive and understanding,” Russ Anderson said. “I feel very confident about it.”
In a release, Nornes echoed similar statements.
“I walked out feeling really good about this,” he said. “Getting the tax abatement is a really key thing for this project to go forward.
“When you consider all the new jobs and positive impact it will have on our area — and the state — it’s easy to see why everyone seemed to be on board.”
The next step, Nornes said, is to wait for the exemption to be included in an omnibus bill.
In July 2007 Minneapolis-based Institute Acquisition Partners, LLC, (IAP) began negotiating with the city to establish the Minnesota Institute for Cross Cultural Studies at the RTC.
The institute would focus on language immersion and business studies for Chinese and American students interested in international business and trade.
Last fall a large delegation from the Fergus Falls area traveled to China to meet with university officials interested in establishing the program at the RTC. In December a Chinese delegation met with local representatives in a fact-finding meeting in St. Paul.
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