The RRRC Board of Directors met virtually on Wednesday, April 22.
- Board Members in attendance included: Amy Suda, Barry Wilfahrt, Mary Houdek, Amie Vasichek, Lizzie Crowston, Scot Becker, JoLynn Dickson, Kimberly Hagen.
- Staff and contracted personnel in attendance included: Dawn Mandt, Lori Estad, Heather Hanson, Lisa Rotvold, LisaAnn Watkins, Anna Halvorson, and Brenda Baumann.
The Board of Directors:
- Approved the minutes from February 11, 2026.
- Completed introductions of new staff/contractors: Heather Hanson, Communications Coordinator (part time); and LisaAnn Watkins, Consulting by LW, SPARK Build Project Manager. Watkin’s time has been funding for 12-18 months by a workforce grant from the ND Department of Commerce and matched by the Red River Community Housing Development Organization.
- Discussed the recruitment of a new accountant which has been proven difficult. Discussed possible alternatives.
- Received written reports from all staff.
- Reviewed a summary report of the recently defederalized loan program proceeds, pending commitments and additional needs for funds to float large grant reimbursement requirements. Discussed March Executive Committee approval of allocating up to $100,000 to the Region 4 Housing Rehabilitation Project and approved removing the specific allocations to materials vs. labor.
- Received a report on the $1.1 million Region 4 Housing Rehabilitation Project from project manager, Anna Halvorson.
- 47 applications were received, 32 were eligible households, and 20 homes were selected and ranked. Selected households include five veterans, six disabled, and nine senior citizens – which meets the requires of the grant award from the Federal Home Loan Bank via United Valley Bank of Cavalier.
- Homes are located within eleven Region 4 communities including: Lakota, Crystal, Reynolds, Thompson, Mekinock, Grafton, Ardoch, Inkster, Hoople, Larimore, St. Thomas.
- Dawn Mandt reviewed the possible need for additional funding to support the grant reimbursement process. The goal is to complete 10-12 homes in 2026 and the remaining homes in 2027.
- Received a report on The Reyleck from project manager, Brenda Baumann, and Dawn Mandt, Executive Director.
- Project construction is on schedule and budget. On target to complete construction by the end of 2026 and open in Q1 2027.
- We continue to aggressively pursue grants and seek other sources to cover the furniture, fixtures, and equipment budgets. Discussed details on pending grant applications.
- The Board of Directors reviewed and approved the staff recommendation as follows:
- Temporarily commit to current construction gap in funding of $94,000 to secure release of federal funds. This amount is also included in pending grant requests elsewhere.
- Extend the contract for Brenda Baumann, Envision Consulting, for 10 months beginning June 2026 and continuing through start up in Q1 2027 in an amount not to exceed $50,000.
- Pay ICON’s kitchen consultant fee of $7,957 required through the redesign of the space.
- Provide interim construction funding with a range of $100,000 to $250,000 on monthly expenses to bridge the state and federal grant reimbursement process of 30 to 60 days.
- Discussed potential options for the bridge funding for reimbursement requests.
- Approved entering a technical assistance contract with the ND Department of Health and Human Services in the amount of $64,000 upon its release that would cover the period of April 15 to October 31, 2026. The purpose of this contract is to provide regional assistance and encourage applications for the Rural Health Transformation Program which is expected to award more than 600 grants statewide by the end of October 2026. Kristi Kasprick will be the project manager for these services.
- Reviewed a 2027 preliminary operations budget draft and discussed a more in-depth review to take place at the June 17 Board meeting.
- Forecasted revenues are $1.4 million with 45% of the funds secured at this time. Forecasted expenditure is $1.344 million. The operations budget does not include current long-term grant/loan pursuit; The Reyleck; or other projects.
- Approved proceeding with the county budget meetings with the budget in draft form. A final budget is adopted at the final Board of Directors meeting of the year – November.
- Mandt and Wilfahrt will be meeting with the Walsh County Commission on May 5 and Mandt, Suda, and Wilfahrt will be attending a briefing session with the Grand Forks County Commission on June 2.