Thanks to the new pARTicipate Hutchinson group and a $40,000 grant, local buildings will soon showcase local talent in the form of colorful murals. If you wonder if a mural makes a difference, check out the artwork on the Clay Coyote Gallery & Pottery Studio, 22 First Ave. N.E., the Kouba mural on the Ace Hardware Building and the Gateway Mural along Main Street North.
Murals are a growing feature of Hutchinson. Depicted above, young onlookers eagerly point out small and hidden details in David Wegscheid’s 2017 mural recreation of Les Kouba’s “By the Country Store.” It can be seen on the Ace Hardware building in downtown Hutchinson.
There may soon be even more to check out in downtown Hutchinson and beyond.
“I have been meeting with every single one of the artists and working on the materials and the paint that they need,” Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Director Mary Hodson told the City Council this past week during an update regarding the pARTicipate Hutchinson mural project.
Several downtown buildings along with two on Hutchinson’s east side are slated to display 14 murals of wildlife, scenery, inspiring messages and more. The project, which is currently gearing up, will include 4,000 square feet of wall, with the project committee ordering more than 100 gallons of paint. Everything will be sourced locally.
“Ridgewater College has been very kind to us,” Hodson said. “They are allowing some of our artists who will be working on the boards to actually paint in their art room if they don’t have a space.”
According to information reviewed by the City Council, each building owner has signed on to the project, and artists submitted their work with one application per proposed design. The committee reviewed more than 50 designs. None of the chosen murals will feature branding or logos. Some will be painted directly onto buildings, while others will call for backboards. A few murals will require extra volunteers from the community. Two are meant as community paint projects.
The committee worked with each building to make sure it would feature the best design for the space.
“I think it’s going to be exciting,” said board member Dave Sebesta.
“I have more people sending me emails, messaging me on social media, sending me pictures from all over the country of murals,” Hodson said. “‘Oh, can we do something like this next time?’ So, although we have not committed to a next time, we know that there is an appetite for it.”
Further evidence of that excitement has been seen when volunteers are measuring or checking paint colors.
“People that maybe are renters, they come up and go ‘are you putting a mural here?’ People are really excited,” Hodson said.
The pARTicipate Hutchinson project came about following a $40,000 Blandin Foundation Leadership Boost Grant. The money has been funneled through the Hutchinson Chamber Foundation to a standalone committee.
It has partnered with Hutchinson Center for the Arts, Public Arts Commission, Hutchinson Public Schools, private businesses, muralists, and the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. Overall, the project aims to create beautiful vistas in the community, build pride and bring the community together through art.
Hutchinson's Housing and Redevelopment Authority completed several projects in 2022.
According to an annual report to the City Council by executive director Judy Flemming this past week, the HHRA completed five first-time homebuyer workforce initiative projects. Another nine projects received a city home repair grant. One project received the city accessibility grant program. A manufactured home rehabilitation project in 2022 received a Minnesota Housing Rehab Loan Program grant.
The HHRA's work began in 1969 when it was formed by the city council to address a shortage of housing for low to moderate income families, and to address substandard areas in Hutchinson.
The HHRA owns and manages Park Towers Apartments where the average age of residents is 57.
“We have a similar mix of elderly and disabled,” Flemming said. “The majority of tenants fit into the very low household income limit.”
The Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted a management and operations review of Park Towers in 2022, and reported no findings. A score of 81c means it will not face another inspection for two years.
According to the annual report, Hutchinson had a 1% market rate general occupancy vacancy rate in 2022. The occupancy rate has fluctuated over the years. In 2002 it was 9%. In 2005 it was 2.12%. In 2009 it was 14.9%. It has hovered around the 1-2% range since 2014, when it was 1.89%.
The average rent in Hutchinson is:
- $699 for a one-bedroom apartment,
- $843 for a two-bedroom apartment, and
- $1,013 for a three-bedroom apartment.
Flemming cited data from the McLeod County Assessor’s Office, which found that in 2022 the median housing sale price was $244,000. There were 299 home sales.
In the beginning of 2022, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 3.22%. At the end of the year it was 6.42%.
“I just looked now, it’s right about 7.36%,” Fleming said.
Foreclosures have overall trended downward in Hutchinson, with 77 in 2011 and three in 2021. There had been a moratorium on foreclosures in 2021, and in 2022 the figure climbed slightly in 10.
Looking ahead to 2023, the HRA plans to:
- invest in staff training,
- update units and update the security camera system,
- institute a tenant text message system,
- follow legislation that may require sprinklers in high rise residential buildings, and
- support tenant council activities.
It also intends to explore housing resources that could address housing needs identified in a recent housing study. The study was reviewed in a recent City Council workshop. Among the many points of data discussed was the apparent need for 1,500 new housing units through 2030.
Hutchinson City Council members will consider what questions they want to ask residents following their meeting this past week.
Those questions will be included on the 2023 National Citizens Survey, which is expected to be before the public in the middle or end of June. The comprehensive and statistically accurate survey for local governments is conducted every four years. The National Research Center and the International City/County Management Association collaborate and review community life, government service quality and resident participation in community activities. Results are benchmarked against other local governments. The cost for Hutchinson to participate is $26,650.
“We are starting to prepare and plan for our 2023 survey,” Hutchinson City Administrator Matt Jaunich said. “It’s really kind of a benchmarking survey to see how we’re doing, mainly when it comes to the services we then provide. We get input from the community.”
He said the roughly 15-20 minute survey has in the past had a high participation rate at about 45%. City Council Member Chad Czmowski wondered if participation would increase if the survey was not as long.
The city is in the development stage of the survey, which asks residents to rate various issues ranging from economic development to drinking water and crime prevention. It touches on government performance, the quality of service and future goals. Each question asks for a rating ranging from 1-5. There is not much difference in the first 12 categories as compared to the prior survey.
“Those are the standard National Citizens Surveys that get spread throughout the entire United States,” Jaunich said. “The one thing I want council members to be thinking about is, we do have half a page available to us to raise custom questions.”
Prior custom questions asked about sales tax and road funding, among other issues. Adding custom questions to the survey does not add any expense.
“Past councils have used this information to help set policy,” Jaunich said.
For instance, past surveys have found mosquito spraying and leaf vacuuming programs to be highly popular.
Molly Rivera meets with students and answers questions about the Hutchinson Center for the Arts.
Marsha Anderson speaks with the class and answers questions about Equul Access.
The Community Projects Class at New Century Academy has been hard at work during the first half of the current trimester. This class is being piloted this year as an elective course that offers a blend of civics, economics, and sociology standards. The 21 students involved in the course started with testing to determine their strengths. The goal was for the students to know themselves better as they become team members to their classmates.
The class then had to research at least one nonprofit organization in Hutchinson and submit the information they gathered about the history of the organization, their mission, how they impact the community, and why it was important for them to know about this organization. Students were surprised to learn about all that is here within our community. Hutchinson has more than 300 nonprofits after all!
After a few weeks of learning more about themselves and learning about community happenings in Hutchinson came the “big” task. Students were required to create groups with classmates that would empower them and help them complete one “big” project. Students also heard from several guest speakers from local nonprofits such as Molly Rivera from the Center for the Arts, Marsha Anderson from Equul Access, and Jamie Broll from the Hutchinson Theater Company. Each group then selected a nonprofit organization that interests them and designed a project that would meet a need of their nonprofit.
Here is an overview of the projects they are working on:
- Three students are working to recreate a sign for Historic Hutch.
- One student is committing time to volunteering at Heart of Minnesota Humane Society.
- One student is doing an art supply drive for the Mural Project with the Chamber of Commerce and volunteering at RiverSong this summer.
- Two students are addressing marketing needs at NCA.
- Five students are creating a fundraiser for Hutchinson Theater Company/Center for the Arts.
- Two are designing a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.
- Four students are coordinating a half-day of volunteering at Equul Access.
- Additionally, two students, junior Alyssa May and sophomore Rylie Tixier, are creating storyboards with information on Little Crow and his involvement with the Dakota Conflict of 1862. When asked about his favorite part of the class, Tixier said, “I like bringing attention to Hutchinson’s History and telling the full story.”
From my perspective, New Century Academy has always been a bit of a mystery to the community. After nine years of teaching here, I encounter individuals who believe our school is private. I encounter people who have never heard of a charter school and how it differs from a traditional district school. These are not negatives by any means, but it is clear we have to make our school more well-known and understood.
My goal is in creating community connections, everyone can see the amazing people NCA students are. They are still learning and growing themselves, but they give me great hope for a brighter and kinder future.
