Discussion to possibly merge HRA and EDA in Cook County postponed
Concerns over a potential violation of the Open Meeting Law led to the postponement of a recent discussion involving the possible merger of the Cook County Economic Development Authority and the local Housing Redevelopment Authority.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Feb. 2 at City Hall in Grand Marais, quickly came to an end when it was brought to the attention of those in attendance that notification of the meeting did not take place in accordance with state law. In this instance, according to HRA Director Jason Hale, the meeting notice for the Feb. 2 discussion should have been posted on the front door of the HRA/EDA headquarters in Grand Marais at least three days prior to the meeting. This building, which serves as both the EDA and HRA offices, is located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue West and Highway 61 in Grand Marais.
After the error was realized, the meeting was abruptly adjourned. It was rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. The meeting will once again be at City Hall in Grand Marais.
The intent of the meeting – both on Feb. 2 and the one now set for Feb. 16 – is to discuss a possible merger of the two organizations. Officials from both entities insist any possible merger of the EDA and HRA remain in a preliminary phase. The notion of merging the agencies surfaced after former EDA Director Beth Drost announced her resignation last month. Drost left the EDA to become the executive director of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
If a merger were to occur, current HRA Director Jason Hale would likely lead the merged entities, according to preliminary discussions.
During the Feb. 2 meeting, no discussion took place regarding the possible merger of the local agencies. There were no votes taken on any issue, including that of the possible merger of the HRA and the EDA. The possibility of the Feb. 2 meeting being in violation of the Open Meeting Law came from Cook County Commissioner Dave Mills, who was in attendance at the merger discussion between the HRA and EDA. Mills told WTIP Feb. 3 that last week he “skimmed emails earlier regarding the county board as a whole not being able to attend the meeting because a lack of posting, and then realized the same was probably true for both EDA and HRA boards as well.”
A number of state statutes, including the Open Meeting Law, require public entities like the HRA and EDA to publicize their meeting schedules and document what happens when they gather in an official meeting.
Taya Moxley-Goldsmith is the director for the Minnesota Department of Administration Data Practices Office. She told WTIP on Feb. 6 that it does not appear the EDA and HRA violated the state’s Open Meeting Law on Feb. 2. This is largely because the gathering was quickly adjourned and no votes, or even a formal meeting took place.
“Had the board gone forward and discussed the merger or made decisions about it, then there would have been a violation because the members would have had a ‘meeting’ and that meeting would not have been properly noticed,” she said.
Following the postponement of the meeting, Hale told WTIP the failure to properly notify the meeting in accordance with the Open Meeting Law was “an administrative oversight.”
“We realized, basically at the meeting, or shortly before the meeting, that the requirement to post, which is basically putting a piece of paper up on a bulletin board where the meetings are usually held, or at the meeting location, that paper never got posted,” Hale said. “So it was an administrative oversight.”
Hale spoke with WTIP Feb. 3 about the meeting and other news from the HRA. Other topics discussed in the update include proposed housing projects across the county, the situation at the Birchwood Apartments in Grand Marais, and Hale’s upcoming visit to St. Paul to discuss housing with lobbyists and legislators. Listen to the full interview in the audio below.
Joe Friedrichs February 6, 2023
