NJPA to host expansion open house Aug. 16

The public is invited to learn more about the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) expansion as they host an open house on Tuesday, Aug. 16, from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

There will be a short program at 3:45 before tours of the building begin. NJPA is located at 202 12th St. NE in Staples.

NJPA Executive Director Chad Coauette said they have gotten “extremely positive feedback” as they are settling in to the new building, 

“Both the staff and visitors have really enjoyed the spaces,” said Coauette, “especially the meeting rooms.”

The meeting rooms are both large and small and all have technology capabilities.

“It’s going as well if not better than planned,” said Coauette.

Employees at NJPA work on national cooperative purchasing contracts, regional school and local government needs, and increase on-site training and meetings for both large and small groups. 

A big part of the design of the new building was to get all the functions to coincide at the same time without getting in the way of each other. That design seems to be working. Coauette said even when large group trainings are going in both upstairs and downstairs rooms, “it is having little impact on the day to day work.”

As training and traffic increases, outdoor parking is still being improved.. They have an agreement with Faith Lutheran Church to use a portion of their parking lot on weekdays. NJPA is also planning to build a new parking lot nearby.

The NJPA expansion was made possible by their continued growth. Coauette said NJPA has tripled their staff since 2010, with 90 people working in the building, plus several more who work off-site.

The department experienced 28 percent growth in the last year, with similar growth in previous years. “All our facets are driven by cooperative purchasing,” said Coauette. Because the contract purchasing department is bringing in money, regional programming for schools, cities and other governmental units in the counties of Todd, Wadena, Cass, Morrison and Crow Wing. “Everything we do is in the name of service,” said Coauette.

The cooperative projects that “we will continue to have growth and fill other positions,” said Coauette.

The growth is not just a factor of more people hearing about the services at NJPA, they are actively looking for areas where their members need help. Coauette said that is where the relationship component is essential. “We are always asking ‘how do we find ways to serve different members?’” he said.

“We have great leaders and innovators and we have great support; we pull off some really cool things,” said Coauette.