EDA consultants gain council support for multiple projects

By Robert Williams

Editor

Co-Owner Karen Pifher and her team at Creating Community Consulting (CCC) have hit the New Year running in exploring financial options to improve Frazee. One roadblock has been working with the county and Pifher and Project Lead Katie Grindall were at the most recent Frazee City Council meeting to discuss that issue and more on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

A proposed Becker County Opioid Advisory Council recommended grant to CornerStone of $66,000 that was approved by the Becker County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Jan. 16, was not all it was cracked up to be.

Commissioners had earlier declined to support CornerStone with any grant monies with commissioner Barry Nelson stating a reason being that CornerStone only serves a small portion of the county.

Neither that is true, nor was the total of $66,000 going to CornerStone.

Becker County was taking grant requests from non-profits in 2023 for disbursement of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) dollars but never agreed to provide any to CornerStone. CornerStone had made an initial request for $50,000.

The commissioners then requested CornerStone representatives return to the board in January where Pifher and Executive Director Mackenzie Hamm gave a presentation of all the success the non-profit has had and where they were sitting in finalizing the capital campaign, again asking the county for the same amount of assistance.

“It would be a one-time investment and we even shared about the tax savings when we invest in kids,” said Pifher. “What it costs to put one person into a treatment facility, into jail, mental health crisis, all of that costs taxpayers in the county. If we are helping prevent those things by working with our kids, the cost savings of helping one youth avoid that would have paid for that $50,000.”

Nelson responded to the presentation with his comments about CornerStone not serving the entirety of the county, ignorant of the fact that CornerStone’s reach far exceeds just the Frazee area serving people from around the county daily.

A separate funding recommendation at the Jan. 16 county meeting was approved for $66,000 of Opioid Settlement dollars. What appeared to be a grant for CornerStone in excess of their $50,000 request was far less than that.

As of Jan. 2, states were in the process of implementing administrative structures to disburse an expected $50 billion awarded to states and localities from opioid-related lawsuits, which includes $26 billion awarded to 46 states as part of the National Opioid Settlement. These structures include strategies for engaging a wide variety of stakeholders on priorities for reducing opioid-related deaths and investing in SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery infrastructure.

The county put out a request for proposals. CornerStone asked to be a fiscal host to work on a project to work with schools across the entire county.

The actual amount of funding that would go to CornerStone would be minimal, less than 10 percent of the $66,000. The commissioners’ approval of that funding was made to appear as if it was exceeding what CornerStone asked for in their capital request of $50,000, when, in reality, it was a big misperception that all of the money was going to CornerStone itself.

Grants

Pifher and Katie Grindall of CCC proposed a Department of Transportation Boost grant for a bicycle fleet. The city would be the fiscal host of the grant with no financial match needed. The grant would pay for a trailer, 20 bicycles and two e-bikes that could be utilized by members of the community. 

A quote from a Detroit Lakes bicycle shop would include a two-year warranty for bicycle repairs.

“We have talked to several school districts who have done this so we know what works and what doesn’t,” said Pifher.

A memorandum of understanding would include management of the bike fleet by CornerStone and/or Wannigan Regional Park. 

CornerStone would likely be a checkout point to use the bikes, with Wannigan being another option once the trails are in operation.

The council also approved fiscal hosting of two other grants totaling nearly $300,000 to combat poverty and homelessness in Frazee. The grants include putting a family resource center in Frazee, something the county board again balked at because they believe a Frazee-based center does not serve the entirety of the county.

“In order for us to allocate the money we have to have a fiscal host,” said Pifher. “It would bring more jobs here; it would support our families and our kids.”

The city council had no issues in supporting the grant applications, especially, given the fact there were no financial matches necessary.

Council member Jim Rader noted if Frazee was to be the fiscal host, he would want the future resource center to be in town.

Pifher noted once the assessment is completed with grant monies, “It would be really hard for it not to be located here knowing the city signed on as supportive and the county was not willing to be the host.”

“I think it would be a huge bonus to have this in Frazee,” City Administrator Stephanie Poegel said. “If it’s 100 percent covered it’s a no-brainer in my opinion.”

Pifher also discussed the benefits of co-locating space for the family resource center, including CornerStone. One drawback of CornerStone is a lack of office space, which does not eliminate the non-profit from being a part of the resource center, but does lean to a different location being needed.

Later in the meeting, Pifher also asked the city council’s help in communicating with the county commissioners on investing in Frazee.

“We have a whole bunch of taxpayers on the east and northern part of the county,” she said. “Their kids come to school here. We’re trying to figure out how we can partner and what does that look like?”

Pifer noted a 19 percent poverty rate in Frazee, which is significantly higher than Detroit Lakes, the county seat, and Lake Park.

“Overall, it’s much higher here,” she said. “In order for all of Becker County to do well, we should focus more resources on where we’re not doing well. Let’s figure out how to improve and I’m glad that we’re here and we can do it locally. Figuring out how we can partner with the county would be beneficial.”

Pifher summed up working with the county as a means of streamlining the process for both her company and the commissioners.

“If we’re creating a new dental clinic, if we’re looking at the family resource center; we have CornerStone, I don’t want to go to them and ask them for money for all these things if they’re not interested. It would be nice to know what does align, what they would be willing to fund and what would qualify. That’s all I really want to know,” she said.

Dental

Pifher is also continuing talks about bringing some semblance of a dental clinic to Frazee. The once Bemidji-based project with Northern Dental Access Center is no longer being pursued,  however a partner of that project, Apple Tree Dental is. Apple Tree currently has nine Minnesota locations, the closest being in Hawley.

Pifher spoke to Apple Tree about how the future Family Resource Center could be beneficial to AppleTree. 

“Whatever they are going to do, they want it to be up and running by this fall,” Pifher said. “I asked them,” ‘What do you need to be in Frazee?’ Just tell me and we will try to figure it out. To me, that is a logical option if they are ready to commit to having space here.”

Pifher revived the conversation about a future dental clinic in Frazee with Jane Neubauer, dental services coordinator for Partnership 4 Health.

Apple Tree is continuing to explore different options.