By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The downtown Henning area will receive a small makeover thanks to a partnership between the City of Henning and Otter Tail County.

During its regularly scheduled meeting last week, which was held in the Henning Community Center, the city council heard from Farmstand co-owner Brittany Springer and Amy Baldwin from Otter Tail County about a Community Growth Partnership grant. As part of the grant, which will also reportedly be utilized by the current NAPA owners to eventually create a new parking lot, business owners can request up to $25,000 in matching funds to create affordable housing, redevelop an area, commercial rehabilitation, public infrastructure or pre-development planning in each community in the county.

Each grant requires a one-to-one match and is funded on a reimbursement basis. Meaning the county side of the grant will be funded on a sliding basis over the course of several years. If a property owner sells the parcel it will need to reimburse the county the remaining balance of the grant. After a predertmined amount of time the grant will be forgiven.

While a number of communities in the county have utilized this program in the past, Baldwin said Henning has not frequently utilized the program in the past. The program began in Otter Tail County in 2019. 

The program allows each community to receive up to $50,000 in grant funding from the county each year. The Farmstand requested funding through the redevelopment grant. The grant will assist with the redevelopment of blighted and under-utilized areas to maximize their potential economic value and minimize their negative impact on the livability of a community. Expenses can be used for acquisition and demolition. Businesses can also seek a commercial rehabilitation grant to support business creation/retention and main street revitalization through exterior improvements and reinvestment. 

Springer said the Farmstand purchased the former garage sale building on the corner of 2nd St. and Douglas Ave. Their plan is to tear the building down and create an outdoor patio area with fire pits, outdoor seating and a place for the community to gather next to their locally owned restaurant. 

Baldwin said the city council will need to request the grant on behalf of the Farmstand, which will then be reviewed and ultimately voted on by the county. 

The city council approved requesting a Community Growth Partnership grant on behalf of the Farmstand. 

In addition to the Farmstand, the city council also heard from Beth Rose who said the grant could be utilized for provide affordable housing for the city as well. She said the grant can provde gap funding by bridging the difference between the higher cost of building a house and what a home could be sold for on the open market. She is exploring the idea of constructing a new house as a way to bring new families to town in the future. 

In other news

• Heard a concern from several employees at Willow Creek about only being paid out 75 percent of their available vacation time when the sale of the city-owned facility is completed later this summer. The staff members requested to have 100 percent of their vacation paid out. The city council said it will look at the city’s policy and reexamine the issue.

• Heard a pair of updates from Bob Schliemann, of Apex Engineering, concerning the city’s water treatment plant rehabilitation project and the 2025 Highway 108 street and utility project. Schliemann said the design of the water treatment plant rehab project is about 95 percent completed and is estimated to cost approximately $4.7 million. Schliemann said the city is also hoping to meet with representatives from MnDOT to walk the Highway 108 project to go over potential concerns the city has regarding moving underground utilities. 

• Heard a concern from Rose about the potential closure of a city-owned alley way near the Heritage Apartments. If the city were to vacate the alleyway and distribute the property to the adjacent property owners, Rose said she would not be able to access the back yard of the Heritage Apartments property. After hearing her concerns, the city council said it would keep the road as an alleyway. 

• Approved moving forward with repairs to the Lions shelter at Amundson Park. The cost of repairing the shelter was approximately $13,500, of which $700 was donated by the Henning Lions Club.

• Approved the purchase of a new skid steer for the public works department. The city purchased the current skid steer in 2022, but it already has 500 hours on it, which coincides with past practice of trading the skid steer’s in when it reaches 500 hours. 

• Approved seeking a FEMA grant to purchase new air packs for the Henning Fire Department. The grant will pay for 95 percent of the cost with the remaining 5 percent, or approximately $7,800, coming from the city and fire department funds. 

• Approved a DBA for Willow Creek Assisted Living and acknowledged an updated purchase for St. William’s Living Center in Parkers Prairie regarding the city-owned Willow Creek facility in Henning. The plan is to have St. William’s officially close on the purchase of the building and facility this summer.

• Approved having Otter Tail County Dispatch page the Henning Fire Department as a backup when the Henning Ambulance Service is paged for a call. The goal was to have the fire department on hand in the event the ambulance service is either short handed or already responding to a call. 

• Heard the Henning Ambulance Service has already responded to 87 calls for service this year, including 37 calls during the month of February. Two new EMR’s will be joining the crew in the near future and will begin riding along with crew members to gain some additional experience before heading out on their own.