New Eagle Center Director, housing trust fund, and infrastructure talks shape Wabasha Council Meeting
By: Judy Arney
Section 1: Caroline Gregerson celebrates five years as Wabasha’s City Administrator
Section 2: New Eagle Center Director and updates
Section 3: Local housing and trust fund
Section 4: Barge terminal
Section 5: Highway 60 reroute
Section 6: Ambulance building
Section 7: Other updates
Wabasha City Council met on Tuesday, April 7, for a regular meeting at 6pm, located at City Hall. They welcomed a new face to town leadership, addressed housing needs, honored the City Administrators' five years of work, and discussed how best to tackle the city’s aging infrastructure.
Section 1: Caroline Gregerson celebrates five years as Wabasha’s City Administrator
Mayor Durand spoke about City Administrator Caroline Gregerson's five-year anniversary with the city. Council members praised Gregerson for her success in securing millions of dollars in grants, her clear communication with residents, and her strong representation of Wabasha at the state capitol. During a recent visit to the capital, she was described by the Mayor as “hustling like a full-time professional lobbyist.” Gregerson’s tenure has seen her involved in a wide variety of projects, from securing HVAC grants and supporting housing initiatives to working on the highway reroute, barge terminal, fire department expansion, and more.
Section 2: New Eagle Center Director and updates
Michael Smith, the newly appointed director of the National Eagle Center, introduced himself to the council just a week into his job. Smith comes to Wabasha from the Byron area and brings nearly thirty years of experience in hotel and restaurant management. He spent almost three decades in hospitality and oversaw a major renovation at the Kaylor Corporation, which involved more than 600 rooms. Smith mentioned his top priorities for the Eagle Center are revamping the donation program with a sharper focus on corporate gifts, private contributions, and pursuing more foundation grants. He’s also already hard at work on the Center’s long-term budget, with his sights set on 2027.
The council also gave the city the go-ahead to serve as the fiscal agent for a state grant to the Eagle Center. This funding, which is similar to a previous state grant that helped pay for dock construction and amphitheater upgrades, will support the next phase of improvements. Plans include establishing new connections among four historic buildings, upgrading the indoor amphitheater space, repairing facades, and improving elevator access. Since the Eagle Center isn’t authorized to receive state money directly, the city acts as the legal pass-through for these funds.
Section 3: Local housing and trust fund
The council voted 4 to 2 to create a local housing trust fund. This move was recommended by the city’s 2023 housing study and is intended to help Wabasha compete for state and federal housing grants and secure donations for housing projects. The fund will begin with a zero balance and won’t require any new tax dollars unless the council chooses to use it for programs that demand that. The ordinance specifies that the fund will support projects for households earning up to 120 percent of the area’s median income, which is about $140,000 a year for a family of four. A couple of council members were concerned about the city stepping into the lending arena and the lack of a guaranteed funding source.
The Item summary of the Trust fund ordinance resolution read:
“The following ordinance will establish a fund specific to the development of housing, Particularly to aid the development of housing units for income levels at 120% of area median income and below (household of four of $140,000 State of Minnesota or $125,640 Wabasha County) 80% AMI for the County is $83,750 for family of 4 and $94,500 for a family of 4). The ordinance is a part of the capacity building strategy adopted by the city (reference page 40, or the 2023 Wabasha Housing Study). Specifically, the Trust Fund shall provide financial assistance in the form of loans, grants, and loan guarantees to residential property owners, including individuals, non-profit and for-profit developers, and local units of government, for the development or rehabilitation of housing.The Trust Fund shall in the future have the ability to have one or more dedicated sources of funding, including but not limited to certain revenues, to be designated by the City Council.
If the State legislature once again funds matching grants to boost funding of LHTFs the city will be better prepared to apply for the grant. With a State recognized housing fund in place, Port Staff will be able to work with the community to identify creative ways to fund the housing trust fund. These income limits would allow the City to qualify for other state programs.
At this time, this sets the foundation but does not fund it.”
In other housing updates, City Administrator Gregerson announced that a residential grant application has been approved for a city-owned property for sale. The project will be a duplex built across from the Milligan Street lot and will be partly funded by state-awarded Tier 2 housing funds.
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