The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) met on Tuesday morning at Valley Technology Park and discussed housing updates, the 2024 budget, and other items.
CHEDA recently adjusted the 2024 preliminary budget for the Valley Technology improvement funds. After review, it was confirmed that the city owns the Valley Technology building; therefore, the funds allocated to improve the HVAC system and the roofing issues to the building are now charged to the city. The budgeted money going toward these improvements is in the amount of $30,000.
The board also discussed the current residential reports from Section 8, and there have been many residents leaving the area. “We’ve had a lot of people moving out of section 8, which is good,” said Executive Director of the EDA Karie Kirschbaum. “This means their finances are good enough that they no longer need assistance, so that’s wonderful.” There is a waiting list of individuals who are applying for Section 8 housing because of the available accommodation.
The board also reviewed updates on the Industrial Park projects highlighted by the Ag Innovation campus. The grand opening of the campus took place on September 14, and we are already working on phase two of the campus, which is creating offices. “To support that, we are looking at what we can do, whether it’s roads, infrastructure, etc.,” said Kirschbaum. “Just to have the whole region ready for businesses and to do it so it can serve the whole manufacturing and farming community in our area.”
CHEDA discussed the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) from the USDA. This fund requires a 25% match, with the city receiving $750,000, The city has matched the fund in the amount of $250,000. IRP funds do not require the use of Davis Bacon wages. “This has a little more flexibility at the city level than it used to, and we’re using that to incentivize businesses to either expand to Crookston,” said Kirchbaum. “The interesting thing with IRP funds is that we don’t have to use the Davis Bacon wages, which can be a challenge for building. That can sometimes price some projects out of the making.”
The board approved the EDA to partner with UMC to develop the UMC Marketing Focus Group starting this fall. The EDA will develop job definitions and responsibilities for a marketing person and have a focus group with the community. There will also be an HR class partnering with CHEDA. A presentation will be given to the board in December by the students who participated.
The EDA and UMC will also partner to create a “Making it Home” project for the city. “Making it Home will probably have six or seven different focus groups,” said Kirschbaum. “It could be anything from our Parks and Recreation to Health Care, schools, childcare. We’ll put together some meetings, and at the end, they’ll get together and discuss the best ways to market these categories.” The community can express what they feel should be marketed within the city in future discussions.
