Sponsor: Community & Economic Development
Title
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Environmental Response Fund Grant Awards
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Recommendation
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1. Approve the selection of The Beasley, Metro Deaf School, and Macalester College to receive Environmental Response Funds.
2. Authorize the award of Environmental Response Funds to the following projects:
a. The Beasley, Rondo Community Land Trust - $149,834
b. Metro Deaf School Addition and Parking Improvements, Metro Deaf School - $110,520
c. Macalester College Welcome Center and Residence Hall, Macalester College - $100,000
3. Authorize the County Manager to enter into necessary grant, loan or other agreements and execute amendments to those agreements in a form approved by the County Attorney’s Office.
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Background and Rationale
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In 1997, the Minnesota Legislature enacted Minnesota Statutes Section 383A.80 enabling Ramsey County to impose a mortgage registry and deed taxes equal to .0001 percent of the value of transferred properties in Ramsey County to establish an environmental response fund. In December 2002, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners imposed these taxes for the express purpose of creating a fund to mitigate contamination and foster redevelopment.
Applications for Environmental Response Fund (ERF) program funding are accepted on May 1st and November 1st of each year in conjunction with similar redevelopment and clean-up programs administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County.
Three ERF applications for funding assistance were submitted for consideration in May 2025 totaling $460,354 in funding requests. Submissions were evaluated based on adopted Ramsey County guidelines including the degree of soil contamination clean-up, financing gap, developer capacity, project readiness and short and long-term benefits to the community. Projects are also evaluated on their ability to address the following Ramsey County goals:
• Strengthening individual, family and community health, safety and well-being.
• Cultivating economic prosperity and invest in neighborhoods with concentrated financial poverty.
• Enhancing access to opportunity and mobility for all residents and businesses.
The review committee recommends awards to three projects, including two full funding awards and one partial funding award, for a total ERF funding amount of $360,354. These awards come with the express condition that funding may be withdrawn if not spent within 18 months of approval. Some recommendations are for partial awards due to limited funding availability.
These grant awards will support the creation of 20 new affordable homeownership units, 224 student beds, commercial spaces, and educational facilities. For project details, see attached project descriptions.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
The Environmental Response Fund was established to improve the quality of land through environmental remediation and support increased utilization of land for the creation of housing, jobs and economic development. Racial and ethnic communities are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards and are far more likely to live in areas with heavy pollution. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency incorporates these factors into their definition of Environmental Justice Areas, which they define as areas where at least 40% of the population are people of color, at least 35% of households have income below 200% of the federal poverty level, at least 40% of the population has limited proficiency in English, or sites that are located in Indian County. Priority in ERF funding is given to projects located in Environmental Justice Areas. These recommended project awards will address the historic legacies of pollution on 6.8 acres of land in total, of which 6.4 acres are located in Environmental Justice Areas. In addition to this prioritization, individual projects impact racial equity in a range of ways. For more details on individual project racial equity impacts, see attached project descriptions.
Community Participation Level and Impact
To publicize the availability of ERF funds, Community and Economic Development participates in regular informational webinars with the other brownfield grant programs at DEED and Metropolitan Council, as well as through regular economic development summits with community partners. Applicants demonstrate community support for ERF project applications via either a letter of support or a city council resolution.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
There are $971,918 of uncommitted funds available in the current ERF budget. Total ERF awards recommended in this Recommended Board Action (RBA) are $360,354. The resulting uncommitted fund balance after ERF awards will be $611,564.
Last Previous Action
On January 21, 2025, the Ramsey County Housing and Redevelopment Authority approved $472,000 in Environmental Response Funds for the November 2024 round of funding and amended two previous awards to approve an additional $50,000 in funding (Resolution H2025-005).
Attachments
1. Environmental Response Fund May 2025 Recommendations