The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) held a special meeting Tuesday morning to propose changes to their 2022 budget.
2022 CHEDA BUDGET PROPOSAL
The budget presented before the board was a preliminary budget and the final will be before the board in September. Interim Executive Director Amy Finch explained the main changes in the budget. “One of the things I worked on was figuring out what in the CHEDA budget, should be moved over to the new Community Development Department,” said Finch. “Some of the changes are salary, and then certainly we looked at some things such as what part of the legal budget should be shifted over as well as the training budget.”
Some of the things that will stay within the CHEDA budget include internet, phone, and copiers at Valley Technology Park for the staff and the support of the tenants.
Finch also recommended to the board electing Theresa Tahran to a supervisor position with the absence of a full-time Executive Director now, after the changeover with the previous board back in July. “It really doesn’t affect the budget much,” explained Finch. “This was just some shifting of dollars, it didn’t add anything to the budget but allowed us to elevate someone to the position of supervisor.”
Finch made the recommendation, and the board was in full consensus with the decision.
Finch also put on her City Administrator hat and updated when they hope to have a Community Development Director in place for City Hall. “The job description is posted and it’s a unique position,” said Finch. “We’ve posted it in all the areas and surrounding states. We’ve reached out to UMC, and their extensions and they’ve sent it out to a couple of places. We have the first review of applications set for September 7.”
MONTHLY REPORTS
The board was then given monthly reports dating back to April. Finch explained the reports more in-depth and what stood out. “Something that was lacking in the previous monthly reports was a Year-To-Date budget snapshot,” said Finch. “The board was also able to see a review of funds, what they started with on these different projects, what has been spent, and what is left.”
The B3 Grant, along with the community improvement plan were among the projects reviewed by the board.
LEAD THE WAY TRAINING
Lead The Way Training is required for any CHEDA board member, and the training as a whole takes about 10 hours. There is a variety of information, and each board member gets a certificate of completion upon finishing the training. The goal for the board is to have every member complete the training by the September meeting.
2020 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The final version of the 2020 Audited Financial Statements was presented before the board for reviewal. The board reviewed the statements shortly and decided to table them for the time being, and review them at the next meeting.
The meeting only lasted 30 minutes, but with the changeover of the board, new CHEDA President Wayne Melbye thinks it’s important for the board to continue to meet at least once a month even if the meetings are short. “If you miss a month, all of a sudden 60 days is a long time and lots of things can happen,” said Melbye. “It doesn’t take much out of your schedule to meet real quick and cover all your bases. It’s just better to have a set date where we can meet and anyone can discuss anything that they need to.”
The next meeting will take place on September 21. It will be a much fuller agenda, and CEO of Epitome Energy Dennis Egan will be before the board then, to discuss progress and Loans on the Epitome Energy project.
There have been continued talks about moving the time of the meetings to later in the day, but as of now, it will remain at 7:00 a.m. until further discussion can talk place.
