County board votes to establish a Housing and Redevelopment Authority

With the county in desperate need of affordable housing, and after several months looking at the plusses and minuses of establishing a Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Cook County Commissioners voted to create an HRA.

A recent public meeting with the public in early August was held, and a dozen people spoke, with comments generally supportive of the idea of an HRA.

Cook County is short on affordable rental housing for low-income households as well as middle-income earners. Adminstrator James Joerke said the HRA will allow for a variety of housing to be built in the county.

The goal of the HRA will be to ensure that all Cook County residents have access to safe, sanitary, and affordable housing; revitalize and maintain neighborhoods; form an effective partnership to maximize social and economic opportunities and provide business and economic development opportunities.

*A request by the Revolving Loan Fund Committee for the county board to write off two unpaid loans for many years was approved.

The Devil Track Resort Company LLC last made a loan payment in 2013, and the $47,147.56 remaining was forgiven. In addition, a loan of $536.15 to Shawn Maravigli was also forgiven.

Seven portions of loans totaling $170,000 have been forgiven so far, or about three percent of the loans issued.

The revolving loan fund was created in the mid- 1980s from three state loans issued to county businesses where the county could retain the first 100,000 of principal paid back on those loans and use that money to give new loans. Over 30 years, the original $300,000 principal payback and earnings on subsequent loans have resulted in roughly $5.4 million in loans to private businesses. In addition, revolving loans help local banks make loans they might not otherwise provide to companies or individuals starting a new business.

The Cook County/ Grand Marais Economic Development Authority will re-direct $100,000 it received for housing to the HRA, and it is estimated that $25,000 in new funding will be required for the

June’s local option sales tax numbers are up 46 percent from June 2020, and the county Transportation Tax (5 percent) is also up 46.7 percent this June over last June.

*County Highway Engineer Robbie Haas presented an updated Transportation Improvement Plat (TIP), a planning document developed and updated on Cook County Highway Department policies and identified needs. The revised TIP provides a broad spectrum of what future projects to expect, said Haas, but by no means is the TIP an exhaustive document as projects are added if the proper funding becomes available.

Also submitted by the Highway Department was an equipment replacement policy first started by Highway Engineer Krysten Foster. Foster left early 2020 to take a job with the state of Minnesota.

The Capital Equipment Replacement Policy aims to provide a strategy for an orderly, efficient, and cost-effective method of replacing high department vehicles and equipment. The policy will be used when developing the Highway Department budget. It will be reviewed annually, and if the need arises, changes to the plan will be brought back to the county board for approval.