By Rae Yost
Mason City Globe Gazette

FOREST CITY, Iowa — Lake Mills and Winnebago Industries agreed last week to a five-year lease of a former Cummins plant in the city, a Winnebago spokeswoman said.

Winnebago Industries will expand to the facility but details were not available.

The lease was approved after a public hearing Tuesday during a special Lake Mills City Council meeting.

Sheila Davis of Winnebago’s public and investor relations said details of the expansion will be announced in a future news release.

“One thing I can tell you is that in the first year (Winnebago) has agreed to provide 50 jobs in the plant,” said Lake Mills Mayor David Steffen.

Lake Mills bought the 100,000-square-foot Cummins north plant in 2012 after Cummins — which manufactured cartridge-style filters for the mining industry — laid off about 400 people over 2009 and 2010.

Cummins still occupies about 30,000 square feet of the plant, but, Steffen said, Cummins will stop operations in January 2014 and vacate the plant by the end of 2014.

Steffen said some council members were concerned about buying the plant in 2012 because the city would be responsible for the facility. Steffen said he advocated for the purchase because he believed it could one day be filled by another manufacturer.

Winnebago Industries will lease the plant for $1 a month, according to the lease. The $1 per month rent requires Winnebago to have 25 jobs in the plant within the first six months of the lease and 50 jobs within a year. The lease also includes requirements for Winnebago to pay taxes, provide maintenance and liability insurance.

Steffen said the city and Winnebago have been working on a lease for at least three months.