Editor’s Note: Albion voters will decide in May whether to continue a 10-year economic development plan and LB 840 sales tax. A series of articles began March 12 to review economic activities of the past several years
For at least the past 40 years, Albion has had some kind of economic development organization in place. At times in the past, this organization, called the Albion Development Company, Inc., was very active.
It was formed through the sale of stock to local businesses and individuals.
Earliest records available from Connie Ketteler, current secretary-treasurer of the Albion Economic Development Corp (AEDC), date back to 1986 when the organization had a net worth of $16,148. At the annual meeting that year, John Ward, late publisher of the Albion News, was elected to the board of directors, and the stockholders approved a motion to give two lots to Boone County Hospital to be used as the location for a helicopter pad.
The company, which later became the Albion Economic Development Corp., had very limited working capital, and its bank balance was typically below $20,000 each year until 1998-99, when several new projects were launched and the city began collecting sales tax revenue earmarked under LB 840 for economic development. . .
See complete story in the Albion News Print Edition.
