TOWER— Could Lamppa Manufacturing be the first business to build in the city’s new industrial park? That’s the hope of members of the Tower Economic Development Authority, who recommended last Thursday that the city pursue the sale or lease of property in the industrial park to the longstanding wood stove manufacturer.

While the wood stove industry is facing an uncertain future as the Environmental Protection Agency is steadily tightening emissions standards, Tower-based Lamppa Manufacturing is the first wood furnace manufacturer in the world to demonstrate compliance with a new standard that takes effect in 2020. Other major manufacturers have already ceased operation rather than attempt to meet the new standard, which means Lamppa Manufacturing has the potential to become a major player in the international wood furnace market. The company is still waiting for final word from the EPA, at which point the company is hoping to begin construction of a new and much larger manufacturing facility that would allow for significantly greater production, and new jobs in Tower.

The Timberjay will have more on Lamppa Manufacturing’s plans once the EPA issues the company its certificate of compliance with the 2020 standard.

In other business, the TEDA board heard a presentation from Gary and Charity Ross about their plans to build a 40-unit campground on 58 acres they own located just west of the Standing Bear Marina. The couple has been working on the project for nearly a decade, but has run into roadblocks at the city’s planning and zoning commission. Perhaps the biggest hurdle comes from an ambiguous sentence in the city’s zoning ordinance, which seems to require completion of an environmental assessment worksheet, or EAW, for any new planned unit development, which includes campgrounds or campground additions. The cost of an EAW could be thousands of dollars, and is money that the couple hadn’t planned to spend.

Their presentation prompted considerable discussion and a recommendation from TEDA that the couple work with the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, in Virginia, to help them fine-tune their business plan and possibly provide loan financing. TEDA member Steve Peterson, who also works for the Entrepreneur Fund, said he would be willing to work with them on their proposal. TEDA also discussed the Rosses’ suggestion that the city’s planning and zoning commission consider revising their ordinance to clarify when an EAW should be required and promised to look into the matter.

In later business, TEDA president Marshall Helmberger updated the TEDA board on the status of the acquisition of the Standing Bear Marina, and the potential of establishing a Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, district to provide a source of funding for some of the needed renovations at the facility. TEDA discussed the possibility of retaining Dick Grabko of Community Resource Development on a short-term contract to assist in the establishment of a TIF or other funding mechanisms for the project. The city included the marina in its redevelopment district to ensure that it would qualify for funding streams made possible by the designation.

Grabko is set to attend TEDA’s September meeting to discuss the next steps for the marina project.