BALATON — Lisa Graphenteen didn’t have to look far to find a place to build upon economic growth and to work toward additional opportunities.

Graphenteen, whose career has centered around economic development and housing, began to serve as the Balaton Economic Development Authority director last month. Her part-time EDA position will coincide with other part-time employment at the Development Services Inc. consulting firm of Ivanhoe.

Her work in Balaton is designed to involve about 20 hours each week. She’s setting aside one full day a week to be based in Balaton, and will round out her schedule with additional hours that will vary based on meetings and appointments.

After graduating from Slayton High School as one of its last senior classes before the early 1990s consolidation with Chandler and Lake Wilson to form Murray County Central, Graphenteen attended St. Cloud State University. At first she leaned toward a business major with a specialty in either marketing or human resources.

She chose a community development focus instead based on what she experienced through a summer internship at the Southwest Regional Development Commission. The agency is based in Slayton and includes the nine counties in the southwest corner of Minnesota.

“I saw the many different ways SRDC works to expand local economic activity,” Graphenteen said. “I decided to contribute in at least one of those areas.”

She and her husband Nate, also a Slayton graduate, were based in the St. Cloud area before moving back to the region in 2004. She then worked for the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership in Slayton. In the past 18 months she has done a variety of independent consulting projects involving housing and economic development.

In that process she’s worked directly with the needs of rural Minnesota. One recent project was to facilitate an economic development planning process in Meeker County near Willmar, which included finding speakers and resources helpful for working toward county-wide rural development.

“It’s helpful to see what other communities are working toward,” she said. “The needs are often similar for communities of about the same size. Examples from one place might be good models for others.

She first became aware of Balaton’s opportunity through former Balaton EDA Director Tara Onken, who had a similar combined role by working in both Balaton and Tracy. Onken recently became the Economic Development Authority Director in Marshall.

Before deciding to apply, Graphenteen looked into initiatives that emerged in Balaton in the past 20 years. Examples include the Ralco/tru Shrimp utilization of the former K-12 public school building, the East Bay area housing development and golf course, and the Balaton area historical museum.

The EDA and city council have also made progress with access to broadband telecommunications and natural gas utilities.

“I liked everything I saw and heard,” she said. “There’s a lot happening in Balaton. The community has many helpful assets and wants to build on that.”

She said her foremost goal in her first few weeks as the new EDA director is to find out what Balaton residents would like to see in the near future.

“I consider myself a connector,” she said. “It involves engaging community members as we look at our strenghts and then decide on short term goals. That’s important for being ready to make the most of opportunities as they become available.”

She said a broad approach is needed, one that treats business activity as a high priority but that also addresses the value of resources such as housing, child care, health services and recreation that help in making a community attractive to residents of all ages.

Several Balaton residents who visited the three block U-shaped downtown area last week said they like what they’ve seen from their EDA in the past few years. They’re also noticing a potential for recent progress to pave the way for other stages of economic growth.

“I’m impressed by how the EDA is consistently active,” said Western Mutual Insurance Manager Cindy Thompson. “They want to improve and promote. The incentives they’ve offered have helped.”

Jennifer Onken of First Independent Bank’s Balaton branch pointed to broadband and natural gas expansion as examples of building a modern overall infrastructure that can support 21st century progress.

“They’re taking a good, well-rounded approach,” Onken said. “People are encouraged by the changes they’re seeing. We’re likely to see more good things by working together in ways that help the entire community.”

John Daniels, who serves as Balaton’s Legion Post commander, said he sees many possibilities based on the variety of ways Balaton has added new features like a new industry, new housing and a golf course.

“When a building becomes available, the EDA works to get it sold,” Daniels said. “We have new houses and a golf course on the east side of town. Everything is on the way up.”