WILLMAR -- Members of the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission joint operations board reaffirmed their stance Thursday that the organization is going in the right direction -- but that it must be careful not to become overextended.
"We can't be all things to all people," said Milan Schmiesing, operations board chairman.
As it winds up its third year in existence, the joint city-county economic development agency is increasingly dealing with growing pains. Not only is it involved in a growing number of initiatives, but it also has some major projects on the horizon.
This demand became clear when the EDC put together its budget for next year, voting to spend down all the agency's reserve funds in order to support activities ranging from renewable energy development to a multicultural business incubator.
Operations board members said Thursday that they don't want to lose the momentum.
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Schmiesing said it's important to support the volunteer committees who drive many of the EDC's activities.
"The enthusiasm they have for what they're doing -- you can get caught up in it real easily," he said.
Board member Ron Erpelding said the volunteers are "the lifeline" of the organization.
"We also need to recognize we can only do so many things," he said. "The challenge, of course, is making sure everyone is pulling in the same direction."
One of the board's biggest concerns remains the workload for the EDC staff. While board members said they didn't want to micromanage, they suggested the staff be mindful of their work burden.
"A tremendous amount of time is spent going to meetings. I guess we're going to have to leave it up to you to monitor that," Schmiesing said.
"Most of the activities we're doing are very important," said Steve Renquist, executive director of the Economic Development Commission.
He said he's reluctant, however, to add any more projects right now to the EDC's agenda.
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"We're getting pretty close to being maxed out in capacity," he said.
