Home Sweet Bakehouse celebrates with ribbon cutting

By Robert Williams

Editor

The Frazee Economic Development Authority (EDA) celebrated its second new business opening downtown in a week with last Friday’s ribbon cutting at Home Sweet Bakehouse. The group approved what they hope are final change orders and construction updates at the latest EDA meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 19.

The fourth and final retail space that will soon house Solberg Insurance has a few more updates before it can open, mainly sheetrock and insulation to the roof on all walls for soundproofing and new baseboards be installed to match the carpet in the office space. Vinyl flooring was initially planned for the office, but carpet was requested. There was no additional cost to install the carpet and the city still has the vinyl flooring, which may be donated to the Fuller House being constructed in Red Willow Heights.

The change order to complete the insulating work of the walls is $1,314.45.

The baseboards will be replaced for $585. The new Solberg Insurance office could be open as soon as this week, according to City Administrator Stephanie Poegel.

Consultants

The EDA will be making a big change over the coming year with consultation after receiving a service map and impact analysis from Creating Community Consulting (CCC), the current EDA consultants.

Currently, CCC staff are spending an estimated 40+ hours per week, which included things such as Turkey Days planning. The contract allocation for CCC services was 10 hours per week with a volunteer match of the same. Given the current workload is double the volunteer matching the required action is to reduce the services provided by CCC by 75 percent.

CCC’s work was broken down into categories: Core Financial Services, Housing Development, Business Development, Community Capacity Building, Communications and Networking.

“It’s figuring out what is the goal from now to the end of the year, or the end of our contract with CCC,” said Poegel.

A strategic recommendation for the 10-hour weekly allocation was submitted with three options: a high impact focus; a balanced approach, or community-focused.

The EDA has a number of factors to consider in deciding if there is a service level agreement that will maintain development activities while being able to cut more than half of the contracted time.

Compounding those decisions is the potential for a new position to be created between the EDA and Frazee Community Development Corporation (FCDC). The two entities have discussed a 32-hour Community Development Coordinator position. The opening is for a shared position between the two entities that would replace the CCC contract and provide both consulting services for the EDA and Wannigan Regional Park through FCDC.

The city allocates $40,000 per year to the EDA and FCDC would also be providing a match to create an $80,000 budget. Some of the work will be blended and likely not always shared on equal time on a week-by-week basis.

“It’s that balance to figure out how to make it work for all of it,” said Poegel.

Ending the contract with CCC was prompted by co-owner Karen Pifher as the focus of their business is changing, according to Poegel.

CCC employee and Becker County EDA District 3 Director Rachael Johnson is on board as the city’s EDA Consultant until the end of the year.

EDA Chairman Heath Peterson contended that the position should be full-time to which Poegel answered that the 32-hour position is currently, “what is palatable.” Poegel did agree there is an option for the position to go full-time in the future or that the position splits into two.

“We’re anticipating Wannigan is going to become full-time faster than EDA would become full-time,” she said. “We’ll deal with that growing change when it happens.”