Cook County – Grand Marais Economic Development Authority Board President Mark Sandbo (right) welcomes new EDA Board Member Howard Hedstrom at the January 14, 2014 EDA meeting.
The Cook County – Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) began its January 14, 2014 meeting by swearing in new board member Howard Hedstrom. After a quick welcome, the EDA got down to business, ironing out the details of ending the contract with its housing coordinator.
One of the first items of business was making appointments to committees and that discussion turned to who would take over the role EDA housing coordinator Nancy Grabko played on some of those committees since the EDA had elected not to renew its contract with Grabko’s company, Community Fundraising Solutions (CFS) at the December 2013 EDA meeting.
EDA President Mark Sandbo said he and EDA Treasurer Scott Harrison had talked with Grabko about the status of the housing rehab program. “As you know, we are trying to be more fiscally responsible. One thing we’d like to do is see more affordable housing projects instead of rehab. However, there are some rehab things that CFS needs to do. We came to an agreement with CFS for the next few months.”
Harrison nodded, “The proposal is significantly less because it is a ‘winddown’ of the projects under way.”
At the December 2012 meeting, Grabko submitted a proposal for housing program services for 2014 for a lump sum of $72,000, to be paid from EDA levy funds and administrative fees from grants overseen for the EDA by CFS.
Harrison recommended approving an adjusted CFS contract, which will be $3,200 each month for four months, for a total of $12,800, to give CFS time to complete residential and commercial rehab projects under way. Under the agreement, if there is construction supervision work not done after that time, Steve Grabko of CFS will be reimbursed at a rate of $75 per hour to complete them.
Harrison said there is one rehab project that has not started yet. If it is not begun by the beginning of April, Harrison said the EDA would likely not undertake that rehab. “We may give the money back,” he said.
In addition to the contracted amount, Harrison said there is $8,800 in administrative fees earned by CFS on grants the company facilitated for the EDA. Once the projects are completed and the EDA receives those fees, three-fourths of the funding, or $6,600, will go to CFS as part of the fee for wrapping up the existing projects.
George Wilkes of the Cook County Local Energy Project, at the EDA meeting to talk about another matter, expressed concern about the pending termination of the contract with CFS. “We have been working with the EDA housing coordinator and have had a good relationship. This is just my 2 cents, but I feel that was a valuable program. We would like to see it continue in some way.”
President Sandbo said, “No one doesn’t want to see this happening, but it was 60 percent of our budget. If we move forward with rehab housing, we need to find another way to do it. If I had to decide what to do with our housing budget, I’d rather see it used for affordable housing.”
Wilkes said, “CCLEP would like to be involved, to help ensure that any new housing constructed is energy efficient.”
Housing in Cedar Grove Business Park considered
The board discussed an idea introduced by Board Member Abby Tofte for the Cedar Grove Business Park. Tofte suggested allowing people to construct a building for their business with living quarters upstairs. Tofte said this is something that could be a perfect fit for the community. She said she envisioned artist retail or studio space below and living quarters above.
New Board Member Howard Hedstrom said he liked the idea. “There is nothing going on there now, so this could open it up. It seems the future of Cook County is smaller, cottage industries. This could marry up nicely.”
Board Member Hal Greenwood also liked the idea. “We need to do all we can to get the weeds out of the way and get some businesses in there.”
“How do we make this happen?” asked Board Member Heidi Doo-Kirk.
It was agreed that the business park covenants would need to be changed and Harrison and Hedstrom said they would talk to EDA attorney Baiers Heeren about how to proceed. Hedstrom noted that some sort of controls needed to be in place to ensure that the business park did not morph into a low-income residential area. They will come back to the February 18 EDA meeting with his recommendation.
Sandbo noted that approval would be needed from the city of Grand Marais and the county board. “So we need some kind of vision, some kind of concept to present to the city and county,” said Harrison. The board asked Tofte to work on some type of presentation on her idea.
In other business:
. The EDA talked to Bruce Kimmel of Ehlers & Associates via telephone about proceeding with bond issuance for the golf course construction project. Ehlers & Associates will be handling the bond sales for the golf course project. Kimmel said the fact that the EDA is paying off its 1998 bonds early would help Ehlers find a more attractive bond package.
. George Wilkes and Virginia Danfelt of the Cook County Local Energy Project spoke to the board about the residential energy efficiency program (REEP) and an upcoming CCLEP builder’s workshop and presentation for residential homeowners about energy efficiency. To encourage builders to attend to learn about REEP, the workshop meets continuing education requirements for contractors, said Danfelt. Danfelt asked the EDA board to consider making a donation of $350 to sponsor the workshops. A unanimous motion was made to contribute that amount.
Wilkes said homeowners who take part in REEP get an excellent bargain. “Money that would have been wasted on energy goes to local contractors,” he said.
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