Blue Earth County OKs advisory panel, backs Community Land Trust contract for 10 homes

Blue Earth County’s Economic Development Authority on May 6 appointed members to an Affordable Housing Trust Fund advisory committee and authorized the executive director to enter a service contract to support Phase 4 of the Partnership Community Land Trust, a program that would add 10 homes in Mankato.

The advisory committee members the EDA recommended include Amy Leonards (Mankato Foundation), Christine Wilke (Mayo Clinic Foundation), Barb Kaus (United Way) and Cecile (YWCA). The EDA also asked the county to authorize a Phase 4 service contract for the Partnership Community Land Trust that would back construction of 10 homes with $250,000 in county funds.

“We did establish an ordinance providing the affordable trust fund and we started the trust fund using the statewide affordable housing aid,” EDA staff member Nancy Vokelman said during the meeting. She told commissioners the EDA contributed $150,000 in local matching funds and submitted a request to the state for a matching $150,000; the county expects to hear whether the state grant is awarded in June.

Nut graf: The actions are intended to scale a local housing trust fund and to leverage outside money to expand homeownership options for lower-income households. County staff and the Partnership Community Land Trust said the work will prioritize households at or below 80% of area median income and will layer multiple funding sources — including new markets tax credits — to reduce per-home costs.

Details: Jen Theeneman, director of real estate and community development for Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, briefed commissioners on the Community Land Trust’s local work and funding pipeline. The land trust is pursuing layered financing for new-construction and acquisition-rehab units; staff said two new-construction homes for households at about 60% of area median income were under construction and that agreements in place currently support roughly 26 homes in Mankato with additional requests to the state pending.

The EDA requested authorization for a Phase 4 grant agreement that would support 10 additional homes and run through a roughly 18-month construction window. Vokelman said the county’s $150,000 contribution plus a potential $150,000 state award would yield $300,000 available for the project; staff recommended using up to $250,000 of county funds for the Phase 4 contract.

Commissioners approved the advisory committee appointments and the service-contract authorization. The record shows the board intended the advisory panel to help develop spending priorities and to assist in local fundraising and partnership-building to grow the trust fund.

Context and next steps: The EDA created the local housing trust fund by ordinance last August and is now building governance and funding mechanisms. If the state grant is awarded in June, staff said they will update the board on how the award affects the county’s proposed match and contract funding for Phase 4. The Community Land Trust also plans a Phase 5 application to the state in July.

Ending: County staff said they will return with contract documents and any state-grant confirmation once available, and that the land trust expects an 18-month window to complete the Phase 4 homes.