CEDA

Article by: Mary Kennedy

CEDA representatives Annie Leibel and Mary Kennedy, who serve Faribault County and the City of Blue Earth respectively, worked together to write a grant request to Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA). The duo recently heard the exciting news that their request for $400,000 had been secured to assist in funding a 14-unit scattered-site, multi-family housing development project in the City of Blue Earth. The project, which has been in the planning phases for nearly a year, is scheduled to break ground sometime this spring. “The project has some really unique elements, which was at times is difficult to convey in the grant narrative. MHFA was great to work with and communicated with us to fully understand the complexities and details of our project,” said Kennedy. The developer of the project, APX Construction Group of Mankato, MN will be financing, and owning six of the 14 units, while the Blue Earth Housing and Redevelopment Authority will be financing and owning eight of the 14 units. This project has been a collaboration from the beginning; starting by taking findings from a 2019 housing study to attract a developer, to working with the developer to financially make the project feasible for both parties. New housing has been a top priority for the City Council and Blue Earth residents, and it can be difficult to finance a housing project that doesn’t negatively impact taxpayers. Leibel explained “the Workforce Housing Grant will supplement the capital needed to build out this project without any impact to tax payers, and will provide new, market rate housing for residents.” The project features a mix of rental and owner-occupied units, with a variety of amenities, and a range of price points to help accommodate any budget. The City expects the new housing options to be available for rent or purchase this fall.

Article by: Donna Mack

A new entrepreneur, Jason Hoffman is open for business in rural Millville providing quality and affordable meat and poultry processing services for farmers in the area.  Millville Valley Meats, 61301 North Country Road 11, a farm that has been in the Hoffman family for generations, is located a few miles outside of Millville, MN and 35 miles north of Rochester. It is surrounded by other small family farms and hunting properties.

Hoffman, an experienced meat processor, opened his business the day after the state inspection passed on February 21, 2020.  Hoffman commented, “It has been a long process and none of it would have been possible without Donna Mack’s help. Thank you very much to Donna for all she has done!! My door is always open to you.”  Mack is a CEDA Community and Business Development Specialist.

As a child, Hoffman helped his grandparent’s process poultry every day throughout the summer. Hoffman also helped process meat at his family farm where his father designed and founded the meat processing business, Hoffman Processing, in 1990 and operated it for 15 years. Hoffman continued to gain experience working at local meat processors in Goodview and Lake City before opening his own facility.

As a personal investment in purchasing the family farm, Hoffman has always wanted to modernize his father’s meat processing operation and help out the neighboring farmers and hunters. With this desire, Hoffman came to CEDA for assistance.  Mack was able to provide a great deal of assistance for Hoffman and his wife, Missy Hoffman,  in preparation of their financial projections for the lender application process.

Hoffman  has a strong belief in agricultural entities and felt there was a high need for more meat processing facilities in the area. Therefore, Hoffman and Mack visited with some lenders, and Hoffman decided Compeer Financial was most helpful in working with an agriculture business with their lending program. Compeer assisted him in purchasing new, upgraded and modernized equipment which is necessary to meet health inspections for food safety. The Hoffman’s facility is operating safely, effectively and efficiently. Hoffman is processing beef, pork, lamb, chicken and deer.

Mack, Community and Business Development Specialist with CEDA stated, “In my time with Jason assisting him in the planning and the start-up of a new business in agriculture, he has shown me that he is goal-oriented, personable and skilled in his trade. He aims to be a successful businessman, and has a goal to help farmers receive quality finished products with their investments.”

The pandemic impact on our economy is happening now in our communities, at large meat processing companies, and on farms across the country needing somewhere to take their animals. The resilience of our farm and food system is an essential factor in determining our success in responding to this pandemic. Now is the time for critical investments in agricultural food systems by taking proactive measures toward making our food and agriculture more resilient and sustainable. Investing in farm to table will bring a positive effect to the local area by connecting farmers to Millville Valley Meats.

article by: Abby Wright

For a year and a half, CEDA’s Community Grants Bulletin (CGB) has been shared each month with CEDA staff and many of their EDA Boards and city officials to help devise a fundraising strategy for their community and economic development needs.

“Now that we have well over a year of research-based, annual grant deadlines for CEDA communities in a collective list, the Grants Department can start making it even easier for the team to match grant opportunities with their community projects,” says Abby Wright, CEDA Community Grant Specialist. Wright plans to do this by adapting the CGB into a live, easy-to-use digital spreadsheet, which will enable each CEDA contract in the Community Support Program to have its own annual list of grant deadlines tailored to its geographic location; Wright will work with colleagues to keep the records as comprehensive, relevant, and updated as possible.

The new CEDA Community Grants Database (CGD), expected to be up and running in early summer, will also include a section where CEDA staff can enter grant questions and research assistance requests so that team members can be aware of other team members’ similar projects for potential collaboration and information-sharing. This section will also organically create records that include a real “tally” of the most common fundraising needs among CEDA communities.

 

Article by: Donna Mack

The Goodview, MN Economic Development Authority (EDA) created a Community Leadership Committee as one of the first steps toward a Comprehensive Plan. In collaboration of these two entities, project objectives were identified for the City’s Comprehensive Plan. CEDA team member, Donna Mack, who serves the City, and City Administrator Dan Matejka led the Leadership members with topics for discussion to seek input for the community’s past, present and future.

“The engagement of the Leadership Committee and the Comprehensive Steering Committee laid the groundwork, and worked closely with the City and the EDA in preparation for Bolton & Menk to now take the reins. We are thankful for the committee insight, and their loyalty of time,” said Donna Mack of CEDA.

The EDA recently received an award of $1,500 from Minnesota Business Finance Corporation (MBFC). The grant funds will be used to extend Bolton & Menk’s proposal to develop a web page to be hosted on the City’s website. The web page can be used for project information, upcoming events, opportunities to get involved and places to provide comments.

Additionally, the MBFC grant fund will help the City develop a community survey. A successful engagement will inform the public of the City’s goal, which is to have broad buy-in and support, to pave the way for a successful comprehensive plan. Dan Matejka stated, “We are so pleased to work with Bolton & Menk to create a vision for our City and a long-range plan to implement a vision for Goodview. Creating a tailored Comprehensive Plan to meet the needs and character of Goodview has been a priority for the EDA”.

Article by: Courtney Bergey Swanson

CEDA team member Cathy Enerson recently completed a comprehensive housing study for the City of Spring Grove, which revealed exciting data about the growth potential for the community as well as tangible recommendations for implementation. The process included three community engagement sessions, an employer survey, and research in partnership with stakeholders.

The final study outlines the needs for different housing types and provides case studies, resources, a potential development map, and practical next steps for community initiatives to spur housing growth. As a result of the study, the Council and EDA voted to create a new Housing Subcommittee to provide leadership on implementing the recommendations. The Spring Grove EDA, led by CEDA team members Courtney Bergey Swanson and Rebecca Charles, commissioned the study in partnership with the City. Rebecca Charles authored a $5,000 Compeer Financial grant to cover a majority of the costs.