New locations in NY Mills and Pelican Rapids

Photo by Tucker Henderson
The City of New York Mills (right) and The Bridge in Pelican Rapids have received a combined $882,860 in Multi-Purpose Community Facility Projects Grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Educaiton.

By Robert Williams

Editor

The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners authorized the acceptance of $882,860 in Multi-Purpose Community Facility Projects Grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). 

This investment will support the renovation of spaces at locations in New York Mills City Center ($382,860) and The Bridge ($500,000) in Pelican Rapids to allow for the establishment of Family Resource Centers. Pelican Rapids received the maximum grant from the program.

“We are thankful to receive this funding,” said County Commissioner Bob Lahman. “This makes a major difference in seeing that these Family Resource Centers are up and running in our county.”

The Bridge, much like CornerStone in Frazee, is a former church that is being renovated into a Family Resource Center.

These investments in community development resulted from partnerships with community organizations. While Otter Tail County applied for grant funds on behalf of the communities, the funding goes directly to remodeling the New York Mills and Pelican Rapids facilities. The county will not own or operate these Family Resource Centers, ensuring they remain community-driven initiatives that respond to local needs.

The Family Resource Center initiative represents extensive community planning and assessment that began in 2023 with funding from the Sauer Family Foundation. Informed by a comprehensive Community Needs Assessment in 2024 and strategic planning completed in March 2025, the county is now able to begin the work of Family Resource in the communities of Pelican Rapids and New York Mills. The grant requires that facility renovations be finalized by December 31, 2026.

According to Community Development Director Amy Baldwin, the county does not own either facility and will not operate either center. It is a community partnership to utilize or renovate the buildings and led by a community vision for wanting to see them as community spaces.

The new Family Resource Centers will serve as community-engaged hubs designed to strengthen relationships, enhance parenting skills, and foster the healthy development of children, youth, and families.

Dog Bite ordinance

A public hearing will be held on changes to the Animal Bite and Dog Ordinance Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 9 a.m.

Upon review of the ordinance, the following changes have been recommended:

• Removing references to the Otter Tail County Public Health Department to provide clarity that complaints and reports are investigated by the Sheriff’s Department.

• Removing references specifically to rabies or rabies exposure because the purpose of the ordinance is to regulate potentially dangerous and dangerous domestic animals.

• Modifying language that the ordinance applies to all areas of the county excluding cities and townships that have their own ordinances.

• General language clean-up or language changes.

• The updated ordinance is reformatted from the current adopted ordinance. Most changes are noted in redline but it also includes language clean-up that may not be noted.

Housing 

Redevelopment 

Authority (HRA)

Community Development Director Amy Baldwin announced an HRA Board appointment to replace former Commissioner Betty Murphy, who served out her five-year term. 

Chairman Wayne D. Johnson of District 2 reached out to Lahman to see if he wanted to reappoint Murphy or name someone else. 

Lahman nominated Megan Myers, Superintendent of the Parkers Prairie School District.

“Ms. Myers has been very engaged in housing efforts and really been part of Parkers Prairie’s reinvigoration of its Economic Development Authority (EDA),” Baldwin said.

Myers will serve a five-year term; her appointment was approved unanimously.

Human Resources

The county is transitioning from a semi-monthly payroll of 24 pay periods per year to a bi-weekly schedule of 26 pay periods per year. The change will take effect with the first bi-weekly check issued on September 30, 2025.

The county is making this change to improve consistency in payroll processing and assist in ensuring overtime and compensatory time are accurately calculated. Currently, the hours per pay period fluctuate between 72 and 96 hours for hourly employees. With a bi-weekly payroll, each pay period will be 80 hours and employees will be paid accordingly in addition to compensatory time or overtime.