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Board approves $200,000 annual levy for Stearns County housing trust fund; board approved nine of 11 applications
Summary
The county approved a proposed $200,000 annual levy to replenish the Stearns County Housing Trust Fund. The trust board approved nine of 11 applications; staff said funds are already being distributed to residential projects and commercial approvals are conditional on local participation.
Stearns County commissioners approved a $200,000 annual special levy for the county’s Housing Trust Fund, continuing a program meant to seed small residential repairs and to support larger commercial projects with local matching commitments.
Neil Fortier and members of the Housing Trust Fund Board told the board the fund received 11 applications and approved nine; in recent weeks the fund issued checks for four residential projects involving roof, foundation and window/door repairs in small towns including Melrose and Sauk Centre. Fortier said the board approved commercial projects conditionally; the trust fund ordinance requires local participation (for example, tax-increment financing or local employer commitments) before commercial grants are finalized.
The board heard that the trust fund currently had roughly $451,000 approved for project allocations and about $404,000 remaining, and that the 2026 levy would add $200,000 to the fund. Fortier said he expected two additional applications in the coming weeks, one commercial and one single-family.
Commissioner Clark moved approval of the levy resolution; the board approved the measure. The trust fund board also set per-project caps on county grants: commercial projects are capped at $100,000 and single-family grants at $20,000.
Commissioners asked staff to provide regular reports on Trust Fund outcomes and projects funded, and board members who serve on the Trust Fund said they will continue outreach to municipalities to meet local participation requirements for larger projects.
