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Council adopts façade and business‑incentive programs and supports community‑led pickleball courts behind pool
Summary
The council approved a business‑incentive policy, adopted a façade improvement resolution tied to a county match, and signaled support for community fundraising to place pickleball courts on city land near the Aquatic Center, with parking and feasibility still to be determined.
Pelican Rapids councilmembers on Sept. 24 approved a package of economic‑development measures recommended by the Economic Development Authority and signaled support for community‑led recreation improvements.
Jordan described a proposed business incentives program that mirrors homeowner incentives: eligible new businesses could choose up to two benefits such as utility waivers or a tax rebate up to $5,000. “This is a recommendation from the EDA board,” Jordan said; the council moved and approved the incentive package by voice vote.
The council also adopted a façade‑improvement program and passed a resolution to apply for county matching funds through the County CDA’s Community Growth Partnership program. Jordan said the program offers a one‑to‑one match of up to $25,000 per project locally and that the city planned to request county funding to expand availability.
On recreation, Jordan said community members want to place four pickleball courts on city property behind the Aquatic Center and asked for council acknowledgement so fundraising can proceed through a West Central Initiative component fund. The estimate provided to council was up to about $200,000 for a four‑court compound, possibly including sound mitigation and fencing; council voted to support proceeding with fundraising and site planning while noting the need for parking and final site feasibility.
Council action: business incentives and the façade resolution were approved by voice vote, and council voted to support the community‑led pickleball project in concept; the city did not commit funding at this meeting.
