SOUDAN- Breitung Township is losing a source of grant funding it has counted on in recent years to help with the costs of infrastructure improvement projects in Soudan.
Community Development Block Grants, which are administered by St. Louis County, are directed to communities, or specific areas in communities, that have a majority of households that are low- or moderate-income. While Soudan has qualified for those grants in the past, a recent survey concludes that’s no longer the case.
This finding came as a surprise to the town board, and it means that a 2024 $75,000 grant awarded for infrastructure work on Center St. (a project not yet started) will not be received, and that another $75,000 that was expected for 2025 projects will not be awarded.
While the township, as a whole, has never qualified for CDBG, due to its higher-value lakeshore properties, the residential area in Soudan proper has qualified after the township conducted household income surveys.
But the most recent survey, conducted this fall, showed just 42-percent of households met the low-to-moderate income threshold, which is calculated on a sliding scale based on household size, with the moderate-income cap starting at $53,350 and moving upwards to $100,000.
“It is very unfortunate to lose funding we already had in place,” said chairman Tim Tomsich. “So, we won’t be advancing the Center St. project for next year.”
Clerk Amber Zak said reluctance from some residents to disclose their household income was a problem.
“It was hard to get the surveys back,” she told the board. “Quite a few people didn’t want to tell their income.”
Zak noted that the survey information is not attached to a household name or address.
“Not enough people understood,” she said. “We need to think of a better way to do it. People didn’t think it was any of our business.”
Supervisor Erin Peitso said she received calls from residents with questions on the survey, and that once she explained it, they were willing to fill it out.
“We are not being nosy,” she said.
A change in demographics in Soudan may also be changing household income levels.
“Ten years ago, our population was more elderly,” said Zak. “Now a lot of homes are being purchased by people who vacation here.”
“This is another difficult hurdle to overcome to continue to maintain our infrastructure,” said Tomsich. “In order to apply for 2026 funding, we will need to do the survey again next fall.”
The loss of CDBG funding means that the current plans for 2025 projects will need to be changed. The continued need for improvements on Center St., to address water drainage and flooding, will be put on hold, Tomsich said. Work done in the area this summer uncovered larger problems that still need to be addressed.
The board did not address how they will fund the $75,000 shortfall in this summer’s projects. The township did raise its 2025 levy to dedicate $40,000 more for funding road projects.
The plans to upgrade and pave Echo Point Rd. will also need to be adjusted. The township had asked IRRR for $750,000 for this project, but this project was not approved for funding at this month’s IRRR meeting.
“They asked us if we could split the project into two phases,” said Tomsich. The fact the township will not be getting CDBG money for the Center St. project also impacts that funding, because the IRRR was using that funding as part of the township’s matching funds.
“We will need to send the IRRR updated figures,” said Tomsich, “and see what other funding we can leverage for the Echo Point Rd. project.”
Loop trail
The township did receive some good news on the joint application with the city of Tower to complete the paved loop trail between Tower, Soudan, and the two public campgrounds. The pre-application to the MnDOT program that would fund 100-percent of construction costs was accepted, with the full grant application due in early January. Engineer John Jamnick said the engineering details needed for the full application are almost complete, with a total cost of $853,000. That would leave a shortfall of about $60,000 for engineering costs. The project has received $40,000 in grants already for some of the engineering work on the project.
The city and township will apply to the IRRR for a grant to cover half of the $60,000 needed to complete the project, and then split the costs of the remaining $30,000.
Jamnick said he feels the cost estimates for the project are accurate, since they have done similar trail projects this past year, including the paved trail improvements by McKinley Park.