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East Grand Forks council reviews rent increase proposal for senior center kitchen operator
Summary
At a Feb. 24 work session, staff recommended a new site-use agreement with Nutritional Services Incorporated (NSI) that would raise rent by $50 per month annually through 2029 to help cover rising facility and utility costs; staff said the program currently produces about 1,200 meals per month for seniors.
Jeremy King told the East Grand Forks City Council at a Feb. 24 work session that staff recommends a revised site-use agreement with Nutritional Services Incorporated (NSI) for the senior center commercial kitchen.
King said NSI took over the kitchen from Lutheran Social Services about a year ago under a $750-per-month rent arrangement intended to cover kitchen costs while the program proved itself. "We are one year into just over one year into our agreement with Nutritional Services Incorporated or NSI," King said, and the program has been "a success." "They're currently providing 1,200 meals out of that space per month," he added.
King told the council the meals are delivered by volunteers and that program participants have an average age of roughly 85. To better align rental revenue with operating costs, staff proposed increasing rent by $50 per month each year through 2029. King said that change would offset just over 60% of the commercial kitchen's facility and utility costs today, and that percentage could rise if utility rates increase.
The presentation framed the change as a gradual escalation intended to keep the program viable while sharing more of the facility burden with the operator if the program continues to grow. King recommended the council approve the new agreement with NSI; the work session record shows discussion and no formal council vote on the agreement was recorded in the transcript.
If adopted formally at a future meeting, the agreement would phase in the $50-per-month increases through 2029 and is intended to preserve meal service to older residents while covering city utility and facility costs.
The council did not take a formal vote on the site-use agreement during the Feb. 24 work session; next procedural steps were not specified in the transcript.
