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August 11, 1999
NU Habitat chaptergets funding for newhome constructionFourth Habitat home plannedfor New UlmBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- A recently settled lawsuit between U.S. Bancorp and the State of Minnesota will provide $35,000 toward Habitat for Humanity's goals of providing housing for needy families. The contribution stems from a $3 million settlement on a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch against Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank over consumer privacy issues. "I think it's great," Minnesota Valley Habitat Chairman Frederic Falentin said. "I was blown away by the news (on Monday). Raising funds is always a challenge, and this will help us move on." The funding will be used to begin construction of the fourth house, which will be located at 9th North near Garden Street, on a lot adjacent to the third Habitat house, which is nearing completion, he said. "We will be awarded that amount after all the basic qualifications have been met," he said. The basic qualifications, which must be met before a house can be constructed by Habitat, include having a building lot, having a family and having a proposed floorplan, Falentin said. "We have the building lot, because we were able to purchase two lots at an affordable price when we began construction of house three," he said. "We are still looking for a family, but we should have one soon. Then we will have the funding in place to begin." House three was built in an off-site location because of the lack of room. It will be placed on the foundation and basement in the next few weeks. House four will be built on site, he said. "We don't have the money in our pocket yet, but we are very excited about the news," he said. "It is great to know that Minnesota Valley Habitat will be a likely recipient of funding from the state." There are fund-raising efforts in place for the completion of house three, and a small portion of the $35,000 will be given to the chapter when it is ready to begin construction, with the rest being provided later. "Out of every (Habitat) house that is built is the United States, 10 percent of the funding goes to Habitat International for construction of homes overseas," he said. Volunteers have been lined up. Local Habitat officials will receive help from students enrolled in the building trades class at New Ulm High School when construction of house four begins. "It is a great experience for high school students and it is for a good cause," Falentin said. "What could be a better experience for a high school student than building a home for someone?" Habitat for Humanity attempts to make people more financially secure by building affordable housing. "The more money we have, the more houses we can build," he said. "There is a need in New Ulm and greater Brown County for affordable housing." The 32 affiliates state-wide will receive a share of $1.5 million of the $3 million lawsuit that will help in the construction of 40 new homes throughout the state, bringing the total of new Habitat homes built since 1985 to 545, Habitat spokesperson Jan Plimpton said. The settlement stems from allegations filed by Hatch against U.S. Bank that claims bank officials have violated the privacy rights of their customers since January 1996. According to the lawsuit, the bank provided a telemarketing firm with information, including names, birth dates, homeownership status, transactions, account balances and credit limits, on approximately 1 million customers. The telemarketing firm then used that information to sell services such as health program memberships, computer services and travel discounts, the lawsuit stated. As part of the settlement, bank officials stated they had committed no wrongs and had violated no privacy issues, but they agreed to compensate customers who bought services from the telemarketing firm and were unsatisfied. They also agreed to donate all the revenue received in the marketing of non-financial products over the past six years back to the state.
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