county commission

Karen Newman 

“We are looking at housing issues in cities other than Moorhead,” praised Clay County Commissioner Jenny Mongeau, as she listened to a presentation about proposed an affordable housing development in Dilworth which was approved at the weekly county commission meeting.

Representatives from several agencies met with the commission to request county government’s support for the project: 

·       Rhonda Porter, Clay County Social Services Director

·       Emma Schmidt, Lakes and Prairies Community Action Partnership

·       Jamie Stewart, Clay County Social Services, Financial Services Supervisor in Income Maintenance

·       Ted Goltzman, Commonwealth Development Corporation, Development Associate, virtual attendee

·        

The Dilworth development is modeled after a similar, previously-approved, Commonwealth Development structure in north Moorhead, which began construction on April 1, following a 2020 Covid-19 postponement, The Moorhead project applied for and received funding from Minnesota Housing and Finance. 

Porter reminded the commission about the reason the county becomes involved in developments of this kind, “It is an affordable housing development and they [Commonwealth Development] are applying to Minnesota Housing and Finance. Applicants score better if they partner with the county and local service providers to address the housing needs of people that are considered high-priority homeless or individuals with disabilities that are low income and struggling with housing.”

She continued, “We have been approached by various developers over the years to partner with their developments for setting aside some of the units to serve folks in these populations.” The north Moorhead development has ten units set aside for qualifying applicants.  The Dilworth project will set aside nine units. Social Services Director Porter said, “The nine Dilworth units become involved with the Housing Support Program which we administer on behalf of the state.”

For funding purposes, the county enters into a housing support agreement with Lakes and Prairies. The individuals themselves apply to the Housing Support Program. The state funding goes to Lakes and Prairies for rent and services, like mental or chemical health needs, which they provide.

“As part of the application to Minnesota Housing and Finance, there are documents for the county to sign off on,” said Porter.  A letter of confirmation signifies the existence of specific partnerships and plans to work together with the qualified community members occupying the nine set-aside units in Dilworth. There is a letter committing nine units of the Dilworth project to this purpose.

Commonwealth Development Associate Ted Goltzman reported that after meeting with the Dilworth City Council, “We are all zoned and ready to go on the zoning side of the project.” He added that when applications are made for Minnesota Housing and Finance funding, the inclusion of set-aside units is required for approval.

The county currently deals with about 400 applicants for this program per month.  Administrative costs come from the county but agreements exist to say that if state and federal funding is withdrawn, the county is not responsible for rent on the designated units involved in the Housing Support Program.

County Commission Chair Kevin Campbell said, “It is another good opportunity for us in Clay County. It is nice to see the support from Dilworth.”