Meeting Date: September 27, 2022
To: Members of the Housing & Redevelopment Authority
From: Melissa Hanson, Housing Coordinator
Title
HRA Introduction to the Mobile Home Rehabilitation Coordinator and Receive Update.
Body
Action Requested:
HRA to meet the Mobile Home Rehabilitation Coordinator, Brian Kopack and hear about the needs and challenges in Northfield manufactured home communities.
Summary Report:
The City of Northfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) and Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) are members and supporters of the Northfield Racial and Ethnic Equity Collaborative (NREEC). The NREEC began in February 2021 as a community-led effort around racial equity and inclusion. It strives to help build our shared cultural competence, understand our biases, and carry out the work of systems change to begin shifting policies, practices, resources, and power structures.
Because of NREEC support, Growing Up Healthy, through Healthy Community Initiative (HCI), hired a Mobile Home Rehabilitation Coordinator. This position is designed to support the increased safety, health, and energy efficiency of mobile homes for residents in Northfield and Faribault by connecting them with local and regional rehabilitation programs and licensed/insured contractors to complete rehabilitation work. The person coordinates with contractors, homeowners, residents, and/or mobile home park managers to ensure compliance with safety, regulatory, contractual and code regulations, and assist residents and contractors with forms and verifications needed to access local rehabilitation and energy assistance programs.
The City of Northfield is home to two (2) manufactured home communities: Viking Terrace and Riverside Manufactured Home Park. According to the Rice County Assessor's office, there are 198 (178 in Viking Terrace, 20 in Riverside) manufactured homes in Northfield. The combined average age of these homes is 40 years old.
Staff has been in regular contact wi...
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