Jobs, homes: we need both
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
It may have been a short-lived debate, but what transpired Tuesday in a meeting of St. Joseph City Council members was instructive for the entire community.
Council member Barbara LaBass offered the opinion that she would rather see St. Joseph focus on attracting good-quality jobs than adding to its stock of subsidized housing. Colleague Mike Hirter countered: “Entry-level positions don’t allow you to go out and buy a $160,000 home, so you need to live somewhere while you’re working your way up.”
We won’t pick sides on this one: Both council members are right.
St. Joseph must not waver in its communitywide push — city, county, Chamber of Commerce — to attract and develop more and better jobs. Council members should not be afraid to ruffle feathers in pursuit of that goal.
And yet, progress on that important goal is closely entwined with other community objectives. These include improvements in the education system, public transportation, social services and, yes, housing for workers and their families.
Five of the six council members present Tuesday indicated they support two developers seeking state tax credits for low- to moderate-income housing projects. The fact that Ms. LaBass dissented only speaks to the need for constantly rebalancing top community priorities.
One proposal calls for 48 apartments near Lifeline Foods at 14th Street and Garfield Avenue. This strikes us as an excellent location for development of an apartment complex. A second proposal calls for 20 new single-family homes to be built in cooperation with Community Housing Ministries at the site of the former McKinley Elementary School in the South Side. Tenants could purchase the homes 15 years after the project is completed.
These projects — particularly the one that could lead to home ownership — deserve to be considered for state funding. Both have the potential for improving and stabilizing neighborhoods, while providing affordable housing for dozens of families.
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Why won't the state step in and buy "GOOD" existing homes that WON'T sell in this market in rough times and provide instant homes for these people instead of waiting 15 yrs?
Posted by apmastrangelo on August 28, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)My house has been completely gutted, remodeled and is in move-in condition,,, but can I sell it??? No..
Alot of good it does... work with the existingand help out everyone instead of focusing on purchasing NEW - Building NEW - start providing good enough!
sickn - Your point is valid and among the issues civic leadership either fails to recognize or simply refuses to address. The city can continue to expand and build all it wants but until it addresses the areas of urban decay the call for new industry in the area will remain stagnant.
Posted by TFurguson on August 28, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)We to try and recruit jobs here that are not "entry level". We need to attract higher paying skilled jobs.
I know it will be tough, but it should be a higher goal.
Posted by sickntiredofitall on August 28, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)apm - I agree whole heartedly. They could have "affordable" housing for lower level paying jobs (everyone knows Kansas City pays better, but it is more expensive to live and/or drive there to work) IF they would consider cleaning up and buying up other various properties to house people and make it affordable. Look on every street in this city and see how many houses are for sale.... affordable houses. Why not address both issues and make it right for everyone? For example: The houses they built for HUD - priced too high for most folks to qualify for... hey SEND THEM MY WAY - my house is only 85 and as nice and nearly as new!
Posted by lithoguy on August 28, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)Really, can't someone offer a better plan? Think about it...
While I agree that this city really needs high paying skilled jobs, my experience has been that there is not a lot of skilled talent around here that is available. By skilled, I do not necessarily mean a craftsman with many years of experience and knowledge in their particular trade. Instead, if someone like an Intel wanted to build a chip making facility here or Disney wanted to build a computer animation studio here, where would the talent needed for those type of businesses come from? I am afraid it would not come from around here. The talent pool just does not seem to exist in this area.
Posted by gr8fan on August 28, 2008 at 11:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)Sorry sick, but I gotta disagree on the point of bringing the state in to spend my tax money to buy your home. You took the chance in purchasing that home to fix it up. When the housing market was at a boom and people were making money hand over fist from flipping houses, I didn't hear anyone complaining. How bout taking some of the profits you made off the public when things were booming and eating some of the price you've got on your present house you are trying to sell. Pure economics. When the demand is down and the supply is up, you have to charge less.
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