The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) Board met on Thursday to discuss requests for proposals, a letter of support for a federal grant, and updates on the Eickhof Boulevard lots.
FEE ACCOUNTANT RFP REVIEW
The first topic up for discussion was a review of proposals received for a fee accountant. Housing Director Theresa Tahran informed the board that CHEDA received three proposals for fee accounting services. After reviewing the three proposals, the board unanimously agreed to go with Urlaub and Company. Tahran had told the board that CHEDA had worked with Urlaub before on a training session, so there was some familiarity between them, but the factors in the final decision came down to cost, software upgrade options, and the RFP presentation. “I think ultimately, Urlaub had put together a really good package,” said Tahran. “They had examples of different financials. They also stated that they’re willing to work with the board to kind of help them review financials and everything, but I think actually it was more of the presentation of their RFP.”
Urlaub’s services are expected to cost around $15,000 per year with no long-term contract needed.
REVOLVING LOAN AND CHILDCARE GRANT REQUESTS
CHEDA Director Taylor Wyum brought a revolving loan request to the board from a local business seeking repairs to its parking lot and new furniture for its guest rooms. They were seeking a $75,000 loan from CHEDA’s revolving loan fund, which would cover about 25 percent of the project’s total cost. “This is exactly how this revolving loan fund is designed to work,” Wyum told KROX. “It’s to help local businesses who are creating or retaining jobs in Crookston’s local or regional economy, and so we’re happy to see this business being awarded a loan and being able to move forward and boost our local economy.”
Based on previous positive experiences with this business and the availability of funds from the revolving loan general fund, the board unanimously approved the loan at a 4% interest rate for up to 10 years. Prior to the loan approval, the revolving loan fund balance was $337,000 with a separate loan payoff in July that added an additional $67,000.
Wyum also presented a childcare grant request from a local daycare center for $775. The funds would go toward the daycare’s annual inspection of its smoke alarm system, plus associated fees. The daycare center has an outstanding loan with CHEDA, has made regular payments toward the balance, and has a good relationship with CHEDA. “This is a grant program that the board set up a few years ago, and it’s specifically designed for childcare providers so that we can help them with unexpected costs or costs that come up that are just a little bit out of reach,” said Wyum. “Our childcare providers are really important to our local economy, and so we want to make sure that if we’re able to, we can help them out and keep their business strong.”
The board unanimously approved the grant, which will come out of the childcare fund balance of $16,245.
LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR B&E MEATS USDA GRANT APPLICATION
The board reviewed and approved a letter of support for a meat and poultry processing expansion grant program application filed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture by B&E Meats. Wyum wrote the letter, which explains the economic significance B&E Meats provides to Crookston and how expanding its meat and poultry processing capacity will create more jobs and reduce costs associated with transporting livestock. “Letters of support are really common practice when you’re applying for both federal and state grants, and so they can have a real impact on the review committee when your application is being reviewed,” said Wyum. “So, we’re happy to be able to support this local business and their application to the USDA program, and we wish them the best and hope that their application is successful.”
EICKHOF BOULEVARD LOT DISCUSSION
Wyum informed the board about an update on the CHEDA-owned lots on Eickhof Boulevard. The original plan was to give the lots away to families through a lottery system to encourage homeownership and housing development, but they were informed that a recent change in state statute limits eligibility for land, including those with a moderate income. While there have been some setbacks in the process thus far, Wyum assured the board that they still intend to give these lots to those who will build houses on them, but the process is ongoing and requires further discussion. “We’ve ran into a little bit of a snag that we didn’t expect with state statute limiting who those lots can be essentially given away to in regards to household income, and so this was really a discussion item just to let the board know where we’re at in the process and why it’s been taking a little bit longer than anticipated to get those lots into people’s hands,” said Wyum.
SITE CIVIL ENGINEERING RFP UPDATE
The final item on the main agenda was an update on the request for proposals for civil site engineering on the CHEDA-owned lot behind Casey’s on North Broadway. Wyum told the board that four proposals were submitted by the July 29 deadline, which she believes will provide an opportunity to find a strong candidate to fill the role and lay the groundwork for the site’s future development. Wyum said, “It was really great. I think sometimes, it can be difficult to get proposals on projects when you’re in a rural community. But with four proposals coming in, I think that’s a really good pool for us to look at the differences between working with different firms or companies, and I feel like we’ll have some good options to make the selection that’s best for Crookston.
To give board members adequate time to review the proposals before making a final decision, a special meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, August 19, at 5:00 p.m. for a full review and discussion of the proposals before any additional action is taken.
The next regular CHEDA board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 27, at 7:00 a.m. at Valley Technology Park.
