Housing proposal could build hope
Gayle Weber, Hays Daily News
January 28, 2007

A proposal to bring low-income housing to Phillipsburg, Plainville and Stockton will be sent to the Kansas Housing Resource Commission at the beginning of next month.  The proposal would bring three to four new homes to each town for income-qualifying residents.

"Our idea is to build a few and get them filled up and then do it again," said Randy Hrabe, executive director of the Northwest Kansas Planning and Development Commission.  Currently, the project's total cost is running between $1.5 million to $1.8 million.  

"We're always looking for more people, but if you don't have a place for them, they're not going to come," said Kim Thomas, mayor of Stockton. All three towns have agreed to put in $25,000 to purchase empty lots or clear lots in order to build the houses.  Each community has expressed a need to have more housing for current and future residents; however, the community and state have different definitions of need, Hrabe said.  "Our population has been declining for 100 years, that's the negative part of it," Hrabe said.  "If you look in the paper and see all of the jobs available, that's the positive part of it."

After the houses are built, occupants pay rent to the development commission for 15 years, before being given the option to buy at a reduced rate.  Occupants are responsible only for rent and utility payments.  The commission takes care of insurance and taxes during the first 15 years.

Most who will receive the houses after the application process will be in the 50 percent to 60 percent median income level for the area, which Hrabe said amounts to about $29,000 for a family of four.  Thomas said that neither Plainville or Stockton has that type of housing that many young families are looking for in terms of newer housing.  The houses built through the project will be about 1,200 square feet with full, unfinished basements to accommodate young families.  The houses are built with energy efficient materials to make utility costs as low as possible.

Hrabe said that many local people will end up filling these houses.  "They're renting a little dump, but this is a big chance for them to get into a nice place and build a little equity,"  Hrabe said.  The development commission has run into problems with rising costs in its plans to build these homes.  "We're to the upper end of what the state considers affordable housing," Hrabe said.  The commission has estimates of about $20,000 more than last year.  It usually hires local construction crews and sub-contractors to finish the work.