On behalf of the Town of Culver, I attended the Affordable Housing Finance Summit in Chicago last month. It was a three day event, running from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon. It consisted of a lot of interactive presentations as well as networking opportunities. I have some experience dealing with HUD due to our Garden Court projects, but this was like taking a 200 level course when I really needed 101. I do feel like I learned a lot, while it was painfully obvious that I have a lot more to learn.
Affordable Housing has long been a topic in Culver. The issue has been further focused due to the completion of the Comprehensive Plan where affordable housing was addressed. The recent tax abatement granted to Elkay where they pledged to add 100 new employees also makes housing a local priority. This has also been a topic at several of the MCEDC Development for the Future meetings as other communities in Marshall County are recognizing the same need. Overall, MCEDC is aware of current expansions that are projected to add 500-600 new jobs in the next 12-18 months. Ginny Munroe, Culver Town Council President, asked me to be on a Task Force to address this issue for Culver. When the advertisement for the Summit came up, I volunteered to attend on the Town’s behalf.
In October I pressed the Town Council to move forward with an Action Plan to start implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. Unfortunately the first meeting scheduled was a bust and at the next Council meeting discussion of another meeting got tabled until after the first of the year. I understood why the Action Plan meeting was put off until after the first of the year, but I think there are discussions that can be had now. The Town Board, Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commissions are the ultimate arbitrators of how this moves forward. I put the following thoughts down in an email to chairs of those entities in hopes of getting this moving forward.