The Ranier City Council Tuesday agreed to seek a Small Cities Development Program grant through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
City Clerk Kim Nuthak told The Journal five people attended a public hearing held as part of the application process prior to the start of the council meeting. Dana Herschback, KOOTASCA director of asset/housing development, presented an overview of the program and eligibility.
Herschback explained SCDP helps cities and counties with funding for housing, infrastructure and commercial rehabilitation projects that benefit people of low and moderate incomes. Cities with fewer than 50,000 residents and counties with fewer than 200,000 residents are eligible.
Earlier this month, Dick Grabko, owner of Community Resource Development, who is spearheading the city’s application effort, said funding would serve two purposes. The first would be for the Three Points North water project. Some assessments to property owners during last year’s project exceeded a price tag of more than $13,000. The grant, if awarded, would alleviate costs to those identified as income eligible, according to Grabko.
In addition to the Three Points North component, the grant would focus on rehabilitating housing. Income eligible households could receive up to $25,000 for improvements. Funding can help homeowners afford to hookup up to city services as well as rehabilitate areas of their home that could be seen as a threat to public health and safety, Grabko said.
Nuthak told The Journal she mailed the application Thursday and anticipates finding out if the city received the grant later this spring.
“The money wouldn’t be disbursed until this summer,” she added.
The Ranier Liquor Store’s operating statement showed it is off to a better start than 2012. The current year-to-date net profit of $3,941 exceeds last year’s of $1,606.
