ENCORE!

With so much accomplished in 2025, the City of Tracy gave itself a big act to follow

The year 2025 was undoubtedly a milestone one for the City of Tracy, with plenty of reasons to celebrate. Now, the question is, what will the City do for an encore in the new year?

From getting things smoothed out at the Center St. railroad crossing — a much bigger challenge that most residents realize — to adding more housing to the local landscape through an alliance with United Community Action Partnership, 2025 was a banner year for Tracy. Now it’s time to look ahead.

“I think (2025) was a pretty momentous year, but I’m hoping we can do maybe as much in 2026,” Tracy Community Development Director Tom Dobson said on last week’s Headlight Hotseat podcast. “We accomplished some pretty big things last year. When I was totaling everything up, in the back of my mind I thought, ‘How are we going to follow up that act?’ It was a big year.”

Even with the two new homes, Front St. will continue to be a work in progress. What the end result will look like is still unknown, but the City certainly is not about to rest on its laurels as it pertains to that area of town.

“It did give us an idea of how that Cityowned land can be developed in the future,” Dobson said.

The Center St. project might seem like small potatoes compared to new home construction, but if Tracy is really a sum of all its parts, that busy crossing will pay more dividends than meets the eye.

“It needed to be done,” said Dobson. “It really kind of came to an end when (Tracy Area Public Schools Supt.) Chad Anderson reached out to me — just from a safety standpoint with all the busses going across it … we could not go into a new school year with that.”

The City in 2025 also received a $150,000 Local Housing Trust Fund matching grant, which will be received as reimbursement funds.

“That gave us an opportunity to work on some additional housing ideas,” Dobson said. “We also received a Tier II housing grant of $100,000. If we combine that with what we have in the trust fund, we’ve got over $400,000 to work with.”

With much of the behind-the-scenes work for a new community center completed, there will be plenty of activity in the former ADO building on South St. this spring, with the hope that the new center will open to the

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We accomplished some pretty big things last year. When I was totaling everything up, in the back of my mind I thought, ‘How are we going to follow up that act?’ It was a big year.

— TRACY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TOM DOBSON public sometime in 2026. This is a project that has been in the works for at least five years, and the undertaking has included myriad meetings and the formation of the Community Center Workforce Group that put a number of Tracy residents in the same room as city council members to share ideas and opinions. CCWG members worked tirelessly to raise money; the amount of money raised as of the end of 2025 reached more than $250,000. Combined with more than $144,000 in restricted funds the council voted to set aside and monies gained on interest, more than $400,000 is available for the center.

Neither Dobson nor the City is directly involved with the future of Tracy’s parks, but they don’t really have to be thanks to the work and commitment of the Tracy Park Board.

“They’re working on more benches; a warming house at the ice skating rink is on (the Park Board) agenda,” Dobson said. “We’ll be doing some work on the bandshell.”

Funds budgeted in 2025 for a new roof for the bandshell can be transferred to the 2026 budget. There is also some electrical work to be done in the park. Dobson said the overall Central Park project turned out to be a true community investment, as many residents — current and former — have pitched in financially.

A new playground in Sebastian Park is also imminent, as wear and tear has taken its toll over the past 20 years.

“We replaced a few small things … but you’re just as well off starting from scratch,” said Dobson. “It would be easier than just to replace a few parts, then replace a few more.”

Dobson said finishing up — and selling — the 2nd St. East house is a top priority for 2026. This is a project the City and Tracy Area Public School District joined forces for, as high school students did most of the initial labor. Basement issues that arose last year have been addressed.

“Whether we start another (house) before that is sold, it’s not out of the question,” said Dobson. “I think what we’ve kind of discovered with new construction, is the cost is somewhat prohibitive in this day and age to try to build a brand-new spec house.”

Because of that, Dobson said the City might turn its attention more toward remodeling existing homes in town and helping potential new homeowners with major projects like new roofing and new siding.

“We also want to try to encourage individuals to get into (existing) houses,” he said. “That would be (with) some of our housing dollars that we were granted.”

The City’s successful town clean-up project will continue in the new year, Dobson said, and four dilapidated houses were razed in 2025. More than a dozen tax-forfeiture houses — and a couple of structures that once housed a business — were put up for auction online through MNBid in 2025, and some were bid on, but no bidders have followed through with a purchase.

“There was no real teeth involved to force bidders to take responsibility if they bid on something to actually close on it,” Dobson said. “We’re right back to square one.”

Dobson hopes that as many as three more homes, and perhaps some old garages, will be taken down in 2026.

The good news is that four empty lots were sold in the MNBid auction.

On the new hotel front, Dobson still has hope that new lodging will be in Tracy’s future. Dobson said he has visited with a few individuals who have an interest in investing. The Tracy Development Corporation has the reins on the project.

“I have not met anybody out there who has said, ‘Nah, we don’t need that,’” Dobson said. “I think (the TDC), in working with Wyndham, has done a wonderful job of figuring out what will be necessary in this market — what’s the smallest footprint but one that will do a good job of being a profitmaker for the investors.”

Major progress was made on the north end of town, with the addition of a new four-plane hangar at the Tracy Municipal Airport. Dobson said while many in town might not appreciate the importance of airport upgrades, the hangar project was a big one for Tracy, especially as it relates to having the capacity to accommodate Sanford. And from an economic development standpoint, Dobson said there are plenty of similar-sized towns that would love to have what Tracy has.

“The thing that most people don’t realize is that came to us through some really good programs through the FAA and the State,” said Dobson. “Does it give our local pilots a better place to store their planes? Yes, that’s important. There’s a lot of things they do that are helping our community. I think we might have a better opportunity of finding a business to run out of the airport.”

A little farther north at Swift Lake Park, the Tracy Lions Club moved and refurbished the picnic shelter, and the City completed the biking/ walking path. The City also has some expansion plans and infrastructure updates at the campsites on its wish list.

“The demand right now is full service — electric, water and sewer,” Dobson said.

Each campsite location has electricity, and some have water supplies, but none have sewer (there is a dump station for campers).

“In the not-too-distant future, we could see a lot of fifth wheels and RVs coming into our community,” said Dobson, who noted that renewable energy projects will bring in many workers who commonly make campsites a home away from home during the spring and summer months.

“I see (Swift Lake Park) as a real asset,” Dobson said. “I see ways that we can improve it.”