WILLMAR
— The Willmar City Council will be considering the approval of a Transportation and Economic Development grant application at its meeting Monday, Aug. 1 at the Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services building.
The grant is to upgrade Kandiyohi County Road 40 near the industrial park to facilitate the development of the Nexyst 360 project in the industrial park, according to Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Executive Director Aaron Backman.
Total capital investment for the project is anticipated to be more than $40 million and job creation of more than 50 jobs.
The grant would be through the Transportation and Economic Development program, which is a competitive grant program administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The TED grant application is a two-step process; the EDC completed and submitted a pre-application or “expression of interest” at the end of June.
Backman was notified July 7 that Willmar was invited to submit a full TED grant application, which is due Sept. 7. Willmar is one of only five cities in the state invited to submit the full grant application, according to Backman.
The EDC is working with Bolton & Menk to pull together the necessary information for the submission.
If received, the grant requires a 60/40 split, meaning the grant would pay for 60% of the project and the city would pay 40%. City engineers Bolton & Menk estimated that the total cost of constructing a 500-foot turn lane and 1,410-foot acceleration lane would be $948,915, meaning $569,350 would come from the TED grant and $379,565 would be from the city.
Willmar’s contribution for the project would come from land sale proceeds for the project, according to Backman.
Other items on the agenda include:
- Consideration of funding to complete a housing study for Kandiyohi County. Kandiyohi County Housing and Redevelopment Authority is expected to contribute $24,000 for the study, and the city of Willmar and Kandiyohi County are each being asked to contribute $12,000.
- Setting a public hearing for an ordinance for the sale of two acres of city-owned land located on 14th Avenue Southeast to Justin Paffrath for $32,000. The plan is to construct a village of tiny homes on the property.
- Consideration of a timeline for the necessary public meetings, public hearings and notification letters to guide the approval process for a project on Lakeland Avenue to construct a Unique Opportunities apartment complex using tax increment financing.
