Senior housing project takes a step forward
News | Published on February 17, 2026 at 3:48pm GMT+0000 | Author: Tucker Henderson
0By Chad Koenen
Publisher
Affordable senior housing could soon come to the South Point housing project.
During its regularly scheduled meeting last week, the NY Mills City Council heard from Amy Baldwin of Otter Tail County CDA and HRA about a $600,000 appropriations funding approved by the federal government to help construct a pair of tri-plexes for affordable senior housing. Baldwin said the tri-plexes will be operated by Otter Tail County HRA, but cautioned the federal funding could take up to six months to receive before construction could begin.
“We hope we will get started this year, but we will just need to wait to see when those contracts come through,” she said.
The tri-plexes will be one and two bedroom units with 1 1/4 bathrooms, all located on a single level floor plan. The housing units will be for adults ages 55 and older.
In addition to the senior housing units in NY Mills, Baldwin said more surveys are needed as the county seeks to complete a small cities funding grant request for single family homes. She said additional surveys are needed from single family home owners, as well as single family rental property owners to help complete the grant request.
“Those are the two areas where we are really looking for more surveys over the next month,” said Baldwin.
City clerk Julie Roberts said the city will begin promoting the surveys over the city’s social media platform and website to help generate more survey responses from local residents.
Baldwin also updated the city council on the work that Otter Tail County CDA and HRA has completed over the course of the past year across Otter Tail County.
In other news
• Heard the monthly liquor store report that showed combined gross sales were flat from the prior year and net revenues were up 10.31 percent as a percentage of sales from the prior year. The year to date net revenues are up 10.42 percent as a percentage of sales from the prior year.
• Heard the monthly fire department report that showed 31 calls for service during the month of January with 25 medical calls, two fire, two MVA, one mutual aid in Deer Creek and one hazmat call. In 2025 the fire department responded to 229 calls from the fire station with 48 of those calls being fire, 169 calls being rescue and medical assists and 12 being motor vehicle accidents. There were 125 calls in the City of NY Mills, 100 being rural and four being mutual aid.
• Heard the monthly police department report that showed 102 calls for service, three citations, 11 parking tickets, 12 warnings and one arrest. The department is continuing enforcement of calendar parking and will need to purchase three mobiles as the county is requiring encryption by January 2027.
• Heard the monthly public works department report that stated the city continues to work with Apex Engineering on the service line replacement project. There are approximately 17 service lines that were found to be galvanized during inventory visits that will need to be replaced. A meeting was set for February 18 with the identified property owners for the upcoming project. The public works department is also monitoring frost depths that range from 40-51 inches, while the water and sewer mains are buried at a dept of 96 inches deep.
• Acknowledged a donation from the NY Mils Lions Club for $500 for the pool.
• Approved a resolution acknowledging council support for the Otter Tail County Community Development Agency grant for a local housing study.
• Approved a labor agreement between the City of NY Mills and law enforcement labor services, Inc. Local No. 519. The labor agreement will go from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028.