The Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) met this morning inside Valley Technology Park to hear from the CEO of Epitome Energy, Dennis Egan, for a project update. The 2022 CHEDA budget was also reviewed by board members.
CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda included the following, and all items were passed by the board unanimously without discussion.
- EDA Financials
- Crookston Jobs Loan Status and Financials
- Community Investment Financials
- B3 Grants and Financials
- Prairie Skyline Project
- Epitome Energy Financials
- Crookston Jobs Revolving Loan Fund
- Revolving Loan Status and Financials
- Oak Court Public Housing Financials
- Housing Choice Voucher Financials
- Workforce Housing Financials
- Rehab Housing Loan Status and Financials
- CHEDA Bills Payable in the amount of $417,148,21
- VTP Financials
- VTP Building Occupancy
- VTP Expanded Business Incubation
MAIN AGENDA
The main agenda included an Epitome Energy Update from CEO Dennis Egan and a look at the initial 2022 CHEDA Budget and its alignment with the 2021 CHEDA Budget.
EPITOME ENERGY UPDATE
At a previous City Council meeting, the council approved a revised land option agreement and amended letter of intent with Epitome Energy. Interim CHEDA Executive Director Amy Finch updated the board on the details of the new agreements, which now features a September 2022 deadline for the letter of intent, rather than a December of 2021 deadline.
Egan also provided the board with an update on how the project is moving forward. “One of the big things we’ve been discussing with everyone is our progress with the MPCA and our air permit,” said Egan. “We’ve been meeting with staff every couple of weeks, and our goal is to keep pushing the state of Minnesota to get our air permit accepted at the end of this year or in January of 2022. We’re on pace to do that, and things look good.”
Egan also informed the board of the project’s large scale, and things continue to look very good with the process.
The board was also asked if they would grant a loan extension for Epitome Energy to align with the Completion date of September 2022 on the letter of intent and the revised land option agreement. CHEDA sent a loan to Epitome Energy for $250,000 with an initial deadline for December of 2021.
Finch gave more details on the reason for a Loan Extension. “The loan is $250,000 from CHEDA that was meant to assist Epitome Energy with their reports and permits with the MPCA,” said Finch. “That loan has been fully drawn down, and initially, the loan maturity date was set for 24 months which is up in November. We now know that we won’t have everything completed by that point at this stage of the project and with the conditions in the loan. With the revised land option agreement and letter of intent that City Council approved, we wanted to extend this loan to those dates on September 30, 2022, so everything aligns together.”
The board approved the extension unanimously, and the land option agreement, revised letter of intent, and loan agreement from CHEDA now all have the same expiration date of September 30, 2022.
2022 CHEDA BUDGET
The last item on the agenda was the 2022 budget. Finch explained if the CHEDA budget will affect the city’s budget for 2022. “The only part of the city’s budget that gets affected is the amount they decide to send over to CHEDA,” said Finch. “It’s still unknown how it will affect the budget because much of what would be sent over to CHEDA could be used for the newly developed Community Development Director Department.”
Some money will still be sent over to CHEDA from the city in the 2022 budget for internet and smaller costs for the tenants of the Valley Technology Park, but it will be significantly less than in prior years.
CHEDA President Wayne Melbye talked about the budget and any concerns from the CHEDA board. “We just went through the actuals for the past year and are comparing that to the present,” said Melbye. “Will look next month at the final budget, but things are moving along, and everything is in control and looking good.”
The CHEDA final budget for approval will be brought before the board at the next board meeting.
The last item discussed was how the board wants to proceed forward with the makeup of the CHEDA board. It is currently made up of City Council members, and the board discussed what it may look like in the future.
“There have been some concerns that some of the city’s wards aren’t being represented on the board,” said Melbye. “The way the board is set up is so that everything goes back through City Council, so there are opportunities for representation. Another concern was if the board will be brought back to a citizen board, and right now, it seems like we’re accomplishing our goals as a board, and it’s been a good practice, and we may be at it for a while.”
The next CHEDA Board meeting will take place Tuesday, October 19, at Valley Technology Park.
