Cook County News Herald

EDA housing program receives housing, commercial rehab funding




After months of gathering documentation on Cook County’s housing situation, Cook County – Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) Housing Coordinator Nancy Grabko was happy to share some good news this week. At the May EDA meeting, Grabko said she didn’t expect notification about a potential grant until late June, however on June 4, 2012, she sent out an e-mail to various “housing partners” announcing that the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) had fully funded the EDA’s Small Cities Development Program (SCDP) grant request of $291,000.

The funding will be used for five residential owner-occupied and four commercial rehabilitation projects in the City of Grand Marais.

Grabko initiated the grant application process at the beginning of the year to meet the April 15, 2012 deadline. Because it has been several years since a community housing survey had been completed, the EDA was required to complete another survey, something that took longer than expected. The initial survey had a poor response, so it was redistributed and enough responses were eventually received to offer valid results. However, because of the unexpectedly long time spent collecting and compiling housing survey results, there was no time to get the application to the DEED office, even by overnight mail. The application was hand-delivered.

The application received some help with a letter of support from Iron Range Resources Commissioner Tony Sertich touting the collaboration of the EDA, Cook County, the City of Grand Marais, the Northeastern Minnesota HOME Consortium, Cook County’s Local Energy Project and AEOA.

Announcing the grant notification, Grabko wrote to those partners, “We recognize and thank you for supporting the Cook County /Grand Marais EDA in this application cycle. All of us can take pride in knowing that through our combined efforts, we are making a difference in the lives of Cook County residents and businesses.”



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