Last week Webster City had an industrial park of 37 acres where slow, steady development has occurred over the last 25 years.

This week, we learned that same industrial park will expand to 600 acres.

What a difference a week makes.

Also, this week, the City Council of Webster City voted to spend $220,000 to certify the new, enlarged industrial park.

Is it really necessary?

Why does it cost so much?

Welcome to the major leagues of industrial development, where the pace is fast and competition unrelenting. A town needs every advantage it can get to play this game, and site certification is high on the list of requirements of companies looking to expand or relocate.

Since joining the Ames Regional Economic Alliance nine months ago, we’re no longer just Webster City or Hamilton County. We’re part of a three-county region of Story, Boone and Hamilton counties.

We have 18 experienced economic development staff in an office in downtown Ames working for us every day. They’re backed up by city and county leadership, staff and business people, newly organized into committees, laser-focused on economic development by the Alliance.

What a difference nine months makes.

North Carolina was the first state to certify industrial sites in 2001. It was done for two reasons of critical importance to any business looking to expand or relocate: reduce risk and reduce time required to get up and running in a new location.

Iowa got on board with certified sites in 2012 and today some rank us among the top 10 states, which are best-positioned to attract new and expanding companies.

Wondering how all this will work in Webster City, we turned to John Haldeman, of Ankeny-based Snyder & Associates, the firm hired by city council to certify our industrial park.

Snyder has a 12-page plan for certification. It was in the council meeting packet for the Monday, February 17, 2025 meeting. Find it at https://webstercity.com.

“Every task in the certification process is mandated by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA),” Haldeman points out. “We’ll meet with them regularly to ensure our work meets specifications.”

And the greater confidence IEDA has in the certification the more confidence it will have in marketing Webster City to companies looking for expansion sites.

Snyder will act as a general contractor in the project. Haldeman’s in-house staff will do some of the work; other tasks will be done by subcontractors. This requires writing progress reports and monthly billing statements. Snyder’s estimate for the job is $8,200.

Next, Snyder must confirm all land in the industrial park, much of which remains in private hands, will be available for development a minimum 48 months from the time certification is complete. This gives a company considering a relocation here assurance the price won’t increase while it’s making up its mind.

What if there are leases or easements on the land? Those must all be considered before the land is certified for industrial development. Snyder must research these, and ensure they can be cleared.

Next, the land will be surveyed to lay out boundaries and calculate total acres available for development. Snyder’s fees for this are $29,800.

A prospective buyer must know land in the industrial park meets requirements of the U.S. EPA. This takes a “Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment.” In practice, this is a historical review of the uses of the land up to the present. Cost? $8,500.

A “wetland and stream delineation” report is next. This takes a review of the site, guided by the 1987 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual. It will identify wetlands and streams in the industrial park. This summer, soil samples will be taken to assess soil types and quality. Estimated cost is $12,500.

There’s more.

Snyder will make a “jurisdictional determination” of the property, again following Army Corps procedures, to determine whether land in the industrial park might, under any scenario, fall under jurisdiction of the federal government. Cost is $500.

Next, a Threatened and Endangered Species evaluation will be completed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to “determine which state and federally listed species might be present, are known to be present, or have potential habitat at, or near, the project sites.” It will cost the city $9,000.

A Cultural Resources Identification Study, to “identify, delineate and describe” archaeological resources that might qualify for National Register of Historic Places designation, is next. This will be done in two phases: one east of Highway 17, the other west of Highway 17. At $79,000, it’s one of the most expensive items in Snyder’s package.

Once cultural resources are inventoried, Snyder must officially advise the Iowa State Preservation Office. Expected cost: $500.

A topographical map of the industrial park will be completed using light detection and ranging technology. Again, the fee is quoted for two phases: east and west of Highway 17. Total cost is $4,800.

What about zoning? Would a company relocating here be concerned with that?

The answer is yes, so Snyder will “create exhibits utilizing current and future (if applicable) zoning for the property and surrounding area.” Snyder will ask the city to provide a letter indicating its willingness to change the zoning, if required by the developer. $880 should cover it.

To be viable, the industrial park must have highway and railroad access, so Snyder will do “transportation mapping” and “rail mapping.” Budget is $2,600.

As essential as transportation are utilities: electrical, natural gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications. Snyder’s assessment will confirm all are available in sufficient quantity.

Cost should be about $11,200.

Finally, Snyder will write a “master development plan,” pulling together all the work into a summary document. The estimate for this is $13,160.

Snyder quoted $219,9020 to certify the expanded industrial park, but before recommending the Council accept the bid, City Manager John Harrenstein got two other quotations. At Monday’s council meeting he said: “We shopped this one, and confirmed Snyder’s quote is competitive.”

It’s a lot of money, but Ames Alliance Senior Vice President Brenda Dryer, a veteran of economic development, referring to certification, said, “I’m amazed how much work we do before we hear from prospects. By the time your site is certified, it will be the largest in our three-county region, and give us a preferential marketing position with the state. We’ll be in a strong position.”

In other words, certification is an “admission ticket” to the economic development game, and a bigger, certified site has potential to attract a bigger company or project.

Certification will take about a year.

That’s plenty of time to work on landing the big one.