OTTUMWA — It may be hard to think about economic expansion while in the middle of a major flood, but the county supervisors were doing just that Tuesday night.

Roger Jones, director of the Ottumwa Economic Development Corp., told the board the area is in the running for several major business expansions, including a new manufacturer at the Airport Industrial Park. Jones told the board there are also a handful of smaller businesses that offer “extraordinarily strong prospects.”

It may seem a waste of time to make an effort to land small businesses, but much of the economic growth in the U.S. is driven by businesses with fewer than 50 employees. And getting businesses to locate in a community is a necessary step if expansion is to boost the economy later, as was the case in recent years with Al-jon and Winbco.

Some prospects seem much more likely than others. Sears is considering Ottumwa as a location, Jones said, and is discussing the option with several entrepreneurs. The store will be an appliance-sized location rather than a full-sized department store.

Jones told the board he wants to bring recommendations to the board as time goes on. It is necessary to plan ahead, and that frequently requires assistance from elected officials. He held up the coming Job Corps expansion in Ottumwa as an example, saying the impact of such opportunities is limited if the area lands a business but has nowhere to house new employees.

One of those potential businesses is Unity Ethanol, which hopes to hear in the near future from the New York-based bank about the financing for a Wapello County ethanol plant. There’s nothing to announce yet, but the company should know definitively within six months whether a plant will happen.

That matters to the county, because the option for Unity Ethanol’s option to purchase part of the county home property ends this month. Supervisors voted unanimously to extend the option for another six months.

The option now sunsets at the end of 2008.

The flood did seep into the meeting at moments. Chairman Jerry Parker said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is pressing for information the county doesn’t have.

“We’re not even done with the flood, and they want to know what our expenses are with the flood,” he said.

The county does not yet have anything near final figures for the flooding. It is impossible to tell the extent of damage to roadways while they are still underwater.

Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com