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Guest Column

Apartments for low-income workers are a must

By DuWayne Sipper
Published June 19, 2006

It is no surprise to those of us who work in the field that a recent Internet survey by John Marmish and the United Way has reported that affordable housing is perceived as the top need in Citrus County.

This problem has affected many of our lower-income professionals.

Small groups of citizens have been dealing with this issue for some time because Florida, as a whole, has a tremendous affordable housing crisis.

The Path shelter has long known that clients who leave the shelter on good grounds have a hard time finding housing they can afford. Rents in Beverly Hills have averaged $750 for the past two years.

Affordable housing helps our poor avoid a life of crime and drugs or depression caused by not having a stable living environment.

The Economic Development Council of Citrus County has struggled with creating jobs.

The Path shelter has people who need jobs but also often need new training.

The Chamber of Commerce wants a merger to help create new business but most businesses in Citrus County will tell you that they struggle to find workers because of a shortage of qualified workers.

If you revisit some of our previous surveys, you will find that over and over again, homeless and displaced people cannot retain jobs because of housing or transportation.

Neither the citizens of our county nor the sheriff want people committing crimes of desperation. I'm sure that our judges would also agree.

Joe Monroe, director of the county's Housing Services Division, has done an outstanding job with the grants he is able to access. But his agency has struggled to provide the housing needed, as have other organizations such as Florida Low Income Housing, Affordable Housing, CASA and the Path Rescue Mission.

Escalating land prices and building costs have squeezed the market to make it very difficult to find affordable homes.

Most grant writers will tell you that land is the key when writing for housing. The grant makers do not like to fund land purchases and often want the recipients to offer the land as a match for the grant.

The Citrus County Builders Association probably would like to be invited to any meeting aimed at building affordable housing.

John Marmish from Untied Way is seeking to form a committee to address this problem. The Path has a grant writer who is standing by to offer $500,000 in private financing if the right deal comes along to build affordable housing.

None of us can do this alone.

Affordable housing will be a great need in our community for a long time to come. Our county government is now claiming to have a surplus in tax revenue from the increase in property values.

The time is now for all parties to come together to solve a very large problem that affects everyone, from the county to our local churches and businesses.

I am proposing building apartments for low-income tenants. The county commissioners could designate the land, the look of the buildings and anything else that concerns them about supporting affordable housing.

Welfare is long gone from our country. Our poor can no longer live in a "project" for free. The apartment complexes would be strictly managed with severe penalties if rules are broken.

Tenants would be only those people who would remain a productive part of society, and the income that the property generates through rents would pay for the managing costs.

The time has come to help John Marmish, Joe Monroe, the EDC, the chamber, the builders association, the homeless coalition, the shelters and others complete what some have been asking for in this county for years.

DuWayne Sipper is the executive director of the Path of Citrus County, Beverly Hills. Guest columnists write their own views on subjects they choose, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.

[Last modified June 19, 2006, 08:28:48]