Beltrami County Housing Trust Fund reports first‑year allocations, six developer pre‑applications

Beltrami County commissioners received an update on the Beltrami County Housing Trust Fund from Anne Linseff, director of Health and Human Services, and Danae Alemano (listed as Danae/Denae in the record), director at the United Way of the Bemidji Area, which administers the fund under a county ordinance.

“ We established our Beltrami County Housing Trust Fund in August of 20 23 through the passage of ordinance number 50,” Anne Linseff told the board, noting the fund’s administrative structure and funding sources. The fund’s administrator is the United Way of the Bemidji Area, awarded by request for proposals opened in late 2023 and early 2024.

Why it matters: the trust fund pools two legislated funding streams — statewide affordable housing aid and local homelessness prevention aid distributed to the county via the Minnesota Department of Revenue — and is intended to increase housing availability, affordability and access in Beltrami County.

Linseff and United Way staff described the cabinet that advises allocations and emphasized conflict‑of‑interest safeguards: cabinet seats were chosen to avoid members requesting fund dollars directly. Cabinet members include county and United Way staff, bankers, developers and housing partners. The cabinet focused its initial priorities on workforce housing targeted to asset‑limited, income‑constrained (ALICE) households.

Early allocations: the cabinet opened two application tracks — program dollars (for direct client services) and development dollars (for building or rehabbing housing). The administrators reported program awards to Saint Vincent de Paul to help with quick placements (first month’s rent and similar emergent needs) and to Bi‑County CAP to rehabilitate a duplex that has been out of service for more than three years. The administrators said those program awards were completed; specific dollar amounts for each award were not consistently stated in the transcript and are recorded below as provided by staff.

Development pipeline: United Way and the cabinet opened a developer pre‑application stage to prevent ineligible proposals from completing full applications. Linseff said six pre‑applications were submitted and will be reviewed by the cabinet; applicants who pass pre‑application screening will be invited to submit full applications. The cabinet can approve awards under $50,000; requests above that threshold will be brought to the county board for approval.

Funding and growth: Linseff said principal funds in the trust were $1,250,000, invested in certificates of deposit as received; those CDs had earned about $13,500 in interest as of January, bringing the total to roughly $1.27 million. United Way staff are pursuing state matching grants and local donations to grow the fund.

Commissioner Carlson urged consistent naming in media coverage, noting that local press often calls the program the United Way Housing Fund; he said the board wants the public to use the official name, “Beltrami County Housing Fund, in partnership with United Way.” Commissioners asked about the number of pre‑applications that will proceed; Linseff said the cabinet will determine eligibility at its next meeting.

Next steps: cabinet scoring and eligibility checks are scheduled; awarded development requests above $50,000 will come to the county board for release of funds. Administrators said they will continue reporting to the board and post regular updates to the United Way website and newsletters.

No formal board action on allocations or approvals took place during the work session.