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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- The Adair County Commissioners are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on the application to become an Enhanced Enterprise Zone.

Wednesday the commissioners approved an ordinance establishing the county as an EEZ.  That’s the final step before submitting the official application to the state. 

An Enhanced Enterprise Zone allows certain businesses to receive tax abatements within the zone. 

“It’s an economic development tool, some are real supportive of tax abatements, others of course, when you speak of abatements it means you’re reducing,” said Northeast Missouri Planning Commission Executive Director Dave Davison.
 
Adair County’s ordinance is narrow compared to other zones in the state.  It only allows some manufacturing businesses and those generating electrical power, such as Trade Wind Energy, to receive at least a 50 percent abatement.

Trade Wind Energy has plans to build wind turbines in Adair County that could generate more than a million dollars in tax revenue each year.  Because Trade Wind is just waiting on approval from the state, the application is eligible for a rush.  That means it should take about a month to receive official approval from the state.