Menno Area Development Corporation

April 21, 2009

The Menno Area Development Corporation held its regular monthly meeting April 21, 2009 at the Open Door Café with the following present: Peg Thranum, David Bender, Bill Headley, Morna Anderson, Darlene Mehlhaf, Larry Tolzin, Teresa Anderson, Ken Bertsch, Brent Haberman, Shannon Herrboldt, Donna Zeeb and Nancy Larsen.

Board member Brent Haberman called the meeting to order at 12:20 p.m.

David Bender moved to approve the agenda with the addition of clinic handicap parking. Ken Bertsch seconded; motion carried.

Larry Tolzin moved to approve the minutes. Darlene Mehlhaf seconded; motion carried.

Shannon Herrboldt moved to approve the finance report. Donna Zeeb seconded; motion carried.

SEFP REPORT: Nancy Larsen passed out the 2009 SEFP Annual Report and statistics from the past eleven years. Arden and Sheila Wek received their 1^st Dollar of Profit at the SEFP Investors Reception held in Freeman on April 15. The rural Freeman couple began an insulation business using a “green” soy based insulation product.

There were no committee reports given.

Old Business: Having a community garden in the empty lots on Fifth Street was discussed. The lots are low and don’t drain well. The fill already there is pretty “rocky” and it would be too expensive to have that much black dirt hauled in. Donna Zeeb reported the Community Club decided against pursuing this matter.

Business: Bill Headley attended the Rural Housing Conference in Centerville on April 6. They discussed the Rural Housing Playbook, a tool designed to respond to rural South Dakota communities’ requests for a guide through the housing development process. It includes a process for community engagement, a step-by-step guide for housing development, a strategy for accessing technical assistance, resource providers and products, and stories about the successes and failures of other communities’ efforts. Bill discussed some of the projects Centerville has done: purchasing property and cleaning it up to build homes on; purchasing Governor’s Houses and reselling them and building 2-bedroom apartments, four to a complex. He obtained a list of grant opportunities and stated further information would be made available to the public through articles in the newspaper. Housing development is an on-going process that takes years of cooperation by everyone.

Our next meeting will be May 19 at 12 noon at the Open Door Café.

Larry Tolzin moved to adjourn at 12:45 p.m. Ken Bertsch seconded; motion carried.

Haberman reconvened the meeting to discuss pouring more concrete at the clinic for parking. Several were not in favor of this as they felt there was enough parking at the clinic.

Haberman adjourned the meeting at 12:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Peggy Thranum, Secretary