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City staff and HRA report: childcare tours, website interest, vouchers and housing projects under way
Summary
City staff and the Crow Wing County HRA updated the EDA on childcare tours, increased interest in Brainerd property listings, a possible 35–45 state voucher allocation, infrastructure grant work for Brainerd Oaks and continuing efforts on 805 Laurel; staff also flagged an imminent staffing change.
City staff and Crow Wing County HRA officials reported program updates and grant opportunities at the March 6 Brainerd City Economic Development Authority meeting.
City staff said two rounds of childcare facility tours have taken place and staff will work with consultant BlaDeck to obtain data on childcare slots and waiting lists for a year-over-year tracking metric. Staff also reported that BlockMetrics has submitted building plans for a site on TC Industrial Drive.
Jennifer (city staff) reported web analytics for city property listings: "we saw a pretty significant spike...we are seeing quite a bit of activity that wasn't there before," she said, referring to recent media publicity that drew traffic to Brainerd listings and the EDA-hosted property pages.
Eric Sharpentier, representing the HRA, described several housing-related grant opportunities: Minnesota’s "Bring It Home" RFP could bring "potentially anywhere from 35 to 45 vouchers to the community" to be administered locally by the HRA if the agency chooses to apply; the state’s local housing trust fund grant could provide up to $225,000 to the county HRA for local rehab and development efforts; and an infrastructure grant under consideration would support Out Lot E and Out Lot F in Brainerd Oaks, enabling construction of up to 18 additional housing units (twin homes).
Sharpentier also said 805 Laurel remains active with developer interest and that staff are exploring state housing tax-credit avenues to advance that project. On staffing, city staff noted that Haley Majeris, an administrative and marketing staff person, has accepted a new job and that today is her last day.
Discussion vs. decision: the meeting recorded updates and direction to continue pursuing grant opportunities; no final grant awards or contractual approvals were made at the March 6 meeting. HRA staff indicated they would bring formal RFP responses and board items to the appropriate governing bodies in coming weeks.
