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Consultant: Oskaloosa Brownfields grants generated $115.2 million in modeled economic output
Summary
A consultant told the council that modeling of the city's 2014 and 2019 EPA Brownfields grants produced a $115.2 million total output, supported roughly 164 full-time-equivalent jobs, and generated measurable tax and wage impacts; consultant emphasized results vary by project mix.
Ben Schmayer, the consultant hired to analyze the economic impacts of Oskaloosa's EPA Brownfields grants, presented the city council with methodology, assumptions and results for the 2014 and 2019 grants during the Oct. 6 meeting.
Schmayer described using an input-output model to translate redevelopment activity into economic output, payroll and tax effects. He said the analysis modeled public versus private development, distinguished renovations from new construction and used county- and industry-level salary and employment data to estimate job impacts.
The report's headline numbers: the modeled total output across the analyzed projects was about $115.2 million. The county-level model showed a roughly $51 million increase in regional gross domestic product, and the analysis estimated about 164 full-time-equivalent jobs supported (direct, indirect and induced). On tax impacts, the consultant said direct tax revenue from the projects was "just under a million dollars," with additional induced and indirect tax effects beyond that.
Schmayer flagged the Coal Mine Loop Trio and the associated hotel as high-leverage projects: "Eighty-five percent of all the leveraged funds went to this area," he said, and those sites accounted for most of the modeled payroll and property value gains. He also noted the model produces a snapshot in time and that results depend heavily on project mix; in his words, "it depends" whether comparable returns will continue, citing the mix of hotel, restaurant and recreational uses as major drivers.
Council members and the consultant discussed whether brownfields remediation aimed at full residential reuse, open-space or recreational conversion and the relative costs of site cleanup. Schmayer said converting heavily contaminated sites to residential use is possible but can be expensive; converting to open space or recreation is often less costly and can still generate economic ripple effects.
The presentation did not ask for council action; council members thanked the presenter and asked follow-up questions about future projections and comparisons to other projects.
