At Monday night’s regularly-scheduled meeting, the City Council of Webster City approved a development agreement with Edible Gardens Prairie Hills, LLC, the official name of the Webster City-based division of Edible Gardens AG, Inc., that will make and sell protein drinks.

The agreement contains only covenants required of Edible Gardens. The city’s incentives on behalf of the company have already been committed in separate agreements, working in concert with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and are not mentioned.

By signing the agreement, Edible Gardens, agrees to:

• Maintain its lease of 401 Des Moines St. until it buys the property, which it must do on or before June 30, 2029.

• Make improvements at 401 Des Moines St. under a site plan submitted by the company.

It must complete construction, and obtain a certificate of occupancy by June 30, 2028.

• Within 12 months of signing the agreement, Edible Gardens must “restore the property to an orderly condition.” Specifically, it must remove the fence and concrete foundations, and level fill dirt on the site. This area was once paved parking for Electrolux employees, and was being redeveloped by Vero Blue, when lawsuits and bankruptcy intervened. The unfinished work left the conditions seen today.

• Sign a separate agreement with Iowa Economic Development Authority under its Business Incentives for Growth (BIG) program, which awards grants to assist companies locating or expanding in Iowa. These projects require capital investment, such as building construction or remodeling.

Edible Gardens also must “meet wage threshholds” of the region where the project is located.

Wages of employees in the facility must be at least 100% of those paid in the Webster City Laborshed. The “Webster City Laborshed Analysis” conducted by the State in May, 2025, lists median wages of at least $22.50 per hour and median annual wages of $65,000.

Guidelines for benefits are also set forth in this document.

To support Edible Garden’s rebuilding of 401 Des Moines St., the city has agreed to make two semi-annual payments on Dec. 1 and June 1 each year, beginning Dec. 1, 2029, and continuing through June 1, 2044, or until total payments reach $6,300,000. All payments will be funded with tax-increment financing (TIF) funds, and paid only if re-authorized by City Council.

Iowa’s largest industry is food and beverage processing and includes firms in meat processing, dairy food processing, oilseed milling, and ethanol and biodiesel production. As such, Edible Gardens is a nearly perfect fit for economic development in Iowa.

A look around the region shows in addition to two meat-processing plants in Webster City, the soybean plant in Eagle Grove, Daisy Brand’s new cottage cheese plant in Boone, and ethanol plants in Jewell, Fort. Dodge, Steamboat Rock, Goldfield and Nevada, all fit the food and beverage processing classification.