HERMANN — Will some of the employees expected to fill the hundreds of jobs created through developments within the Interstate 70 Corridor be commuting to work from homes in Hermann? Members of one local job-development agency hopes so.

Indeed, Gasconade County R-1 School District Superintendent Geoff Neill, a member of the Hermann Regional Economic Development (HRED) Corporation and the newest member of the Montgomery County Economic Council, Monday morning said he thinks those developing the jobs are eying Hermann as the place in which workers’ families will settle.

That would be good news for Neill and others in the R-1 administration, which, like his predecessors, is grappling with the continued slide of enrollment in the 13th-largest geographical public school district in Missouri. Neill offered his comments at HRED’s monthly board meeting, describing the recent first session he attended as a member of the Montgomery County panel.

The agency in the county north of the Missouri River has announced 11 projects in the pipeline, Neill said, with more on the drawing board. Those 11 projects account for an initial 360-plus jobs, he added, with an average paycheck of about $34,000 a year.

“There are a lot of things in the pipeline there,” Neill said.

The R-1 superintendent explained that the economic development projects within the I-70 Corridor — which include the proposed industrial development megasite being crafted by the Greater Montgomery County Port Authority — will be bolstered by the statewide widening of I-70 to six lanes. The widening effort could take place in this region in the next few years, he said.

“A lot of things are moving,” he said, regarding the project.

Adding lanes to I-70 has been a priority for several years of outgoing Gov. Mike Parson.

Economic developers associated with the Montgomery County projects are looking south of the river for a close hometown for the people expected to fill the jobs that will be created by the projects.

“They see us as a place where a lot of these people are going to want to live,” Neill said.

But that vision is blurred by the lack of housing units in Hermann — the primary immediate concern of HRED and others looking to grow the economic base of the county seat community. Efforts are being made to work with developers to convert an old manufacturing site into multi-family units, as well as encouraging the development for an apartment project near the intersection of highways 19 South and Route H.

Neill said he is interested in seeing how the discussion plays out for the economic developers regarding the relationship between the new jobs and new housing units — which will come first, the jobs or the housing units?

He added that while Hermann, which is within boundaries of the Greater Montgomery County Port Authority and which has a member on the Port Authority Board of Directors, isn’t likely to be the site of a substantial industrial project, the community can be the home to other services connected to the projects within the I-70 Corridor.

“I can see us for some tertiary services, such engineering and attorneys.

Meanwhile, Hermann Area District Hospital Chief Operating Officer Susan Duck, sitting in for Administrator Bill Hellebusch, told the board that more applications are being received for hospital jobs.

“I feel like we’re getting quite a few candidates now,” she said, referring to potential hirings for the nursing and housekeeping staffs, as well as other areas of the hospital’s workforce.

Those applications give the HADH administration more options for replacing costly agency workers, such as nurses and lab technicians.

“We still have agency nurses that are contracted,” Duck said, but she added that she’s hopeful the number of agency employees can be further reduced in coming weeks and months.

Duck noted that the hospital has added pulmonary rehabilitation to its list of therapy services — for which the hospital is gaining attention throughout the region. Therapy services appear to be high on the list of services that will be emphasized as administration officials look to redefine the role of the hospital in the community.