Culver

Affordable Housing Conference

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AHF BadgeOn 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.

The dream of “Affordable Housing”

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.

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Culver Action Plan

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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.

  • I pushed this last month because I thought we should develop an interim plan, with the goal of reviewing an action plan in late May or June before budgets are prepared.  I think the Action Plan needs to relate to the budgets, but there are also things that could happen in the next six months that would require time rather than dollars.  The Action Plan should be reviewed and updated annually before budgets.
  • The Action Plan should be part of the jumping off point for the Capital Improvement Plan.  Having a rudimentary Action Plan in place will give Bob and the new Town Manager a jumping off point at the first of the year.
  • The Redevelopment Commission isn’t hamstrung by the annual budget timing, so they could possibly move forward on some spending items that fall in their purview and are suggested by the Action Plan.

Low/No Dollar Action Plan for the next six months: 

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Affordable Housing Task Force

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The Dream of “Affordable Housing”

At a meeting Thursday evening I was asked why MCEDC (Marshall County Economic Development Corporation) is included in the Affordable Housing Task Force for Culver and I didn’t give you the best answer.  Let me see if I can do better here.

One of the things that came from the MCEDC BEAR meetings was the need for more good employees. In the last six months the unemployment rate in Marshall County has dropped another percentage point to 4.5%.  (Doug Anspach, former PEDC Director, used to say that at 4% unemployment everyone that is able and willing to work is working.)  Since no one is stepping up to address this employment issue, we have added “Workforce Development” as one of our four main action items in the MCEDC strategic plan.  Housing is just one of the issues that needs to be addressed under workforce development. 

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