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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Tower hopes survey will re-qualify city for CDBG

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 10/25/19

TOWER— An undercount of low- and moderate-income families from the 2010 census could mean higher rates for utility customers here, and city officials are hopeful that a new survey will better …

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Tower hopes survey will re-qualify city for CDBG

Posted

TOWER— An undercount of low- and moderate-income families from the 2010 census could mean higher rates for utility customers here, and city officials are hopeful that a new survey will better document the extent of the community’s need.

City officials are hoping to apply for $350,000 from St. Louis County’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to help pay a portion of the estimated $3.1 million cost of installing a secondary drinking water treatment plant and a new water main to serve the city.

As it stands today, however, neither the city of Tower nor the Tower-Breitung Wastewater Board qualify for the funding, which is earmarked for communities with at least 48.78 percent of their households considered low- or moderate-income.

Tower has historically met that target, but poor participation during the 2010 census, particularly among lower-income households, eliminated Tower from CDBG eligibility. While Soudan does qualify for the CDBG program based on income, the joint wastewater district, which includes households from both Tower and Soudan, falls short. The 2010 census showed Tower with a low- or moderate-income population of just 34.68 percent, well below the roughly 52-percent mark for the city from the 2000 census. The 2010 figures appear wildly out of step with school census data as well. The current free and reduced lunch count at the Tower Elementary is 88.5 percent, while the grades 7-12 Vermilion Country charter school is at 77 percent.

While the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development does not accept school census data for CDBG eligibility, the numbers do highlight the disconnect between the 2010 census data and the actual percentage of low- and moderate-income families in the community.

City officials are hoping that a new survey will provide a more accurate count, but it depends on the willingness of city residents to participate in a new survey, which includes questions about household size and household income. The answers are anonymous and the surveys will not be connected to actual names or addresses, but only numbered public utility accounts. Only federal officials from HUD will review the surveys and compile data based on the results.

The survey is expected to be on the city council’s agenda on Monday, when the council will likely decide how to proceed. The survey could be distributed by mail or taken door-to-door by volunteers.

Tower’s grant writer, Nancy Larson, said local participation will be critical to restoring Tower’s eligibility for this valuable source of community funding. “In the end, participating should help save utility users some money,” Larson said.

While the city is likely to obtain funds for the water project from the state’s Public Facilities Authority, those funds generally come in the form of a loan, which users have to repay over time. The CDBG funds come in the form of grants, which can help to reduce the amount of loan funds required for the project.

Assuming the city council approves conducting a new survey, it could go out quite soon. The CDBG application is due Dec. 1, and city officials are hoping to have the survey completed by then.

Tower isn’t the first area community to lose CDBG qualification as a result of poor response to the 2010 census. Larson said other Iron Range communities experienced a similar lack of response but used supplemental surveys to better document their actual household incomes and requalified for CDBG in the process.

tower, cdbg