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Port Authority highlights loan programs and conduit bond work as revenue sources
Summary
Port Authority finance staff described MN PACE, the Trillion BTU loan fund, business loans and conduit bond issuance as major revenue streams; staff said PACE has completed hundreds of loans and the authority plans an initial affordable‑housing conduit issuance.
Holly Houston, vice president of finance at the Saint Paul Port Authority, presented the authority's lending and conduit finance programs as material revenue sources used to leverage private investment and support local development.
"Our portfolio here includes MN PACE and the Trillion BTU loan program," Houston said, describing MN PACE as the state property‑assessed clean energy program the Port administers. She reported the program has completed roughly 443 loans comprising about $312 million in energy investments across Minnesota and referenced a historical Trillion BTU loan fund seed using federal Recovery Act funds.
Houston also described the Port's role as a conduit issuer for tax‑exempt bonds that help private companies, non‑profits and public entities finance projects. She said conduit issuance generates fees and that the Port is preparing its first affordable‑housing conduit revenue issuance to keep financing activity in Saint Paul.
Councilmembers asked follow‑ups about county participation in MN PACE and the geographic reach of the Port's joint powers agreements. Houston said the Port has agreement relationships with roughly 68 of Minnesota's 87 counties and partners with regional collaboratives when appropriate.
The presentation emphasized leveraging loan programs, issuance fees and development fees to keep a larger share of financing activity—and fees—within Saint Paul rather than moving it to nearby jurisdictions.
