OTTUMWA —
Ottumwa is no stranger to statewide housing issues that have affected everyone, from families to renters to first-time homebuyers.
RDG Planning and Design has partnered with Iowa Finance Authority to conduct 40 meetings in 16 communities across Iowa to get a feel for housing issues facing those communities. The qualitative results of this study will update a 2009 study that focused on data and analysis.
Marty Shukert, principal planner for RDG, led the discussion in Ottumwa Monday night.
The Ottumwa Housing Authority has 359 apartments between all of its programs and is the second-largest public housing authority in the state. OHA is also in the process of building a four-plex on Tindell Street, said executive director Dan Stroda.
Three-bedroom units are the hardest to fill, to Shukert’s surprise, with two-bedroom units being the highest in demand, Stroda said.
One challenge OHA has been facing is bedbugs, and due to OHA’s size, a lot of the work falls on the employees’ shoulders.
“We haul our own garbage, we treat for bedbugs ourselves,” Stroda said. “You can go six to nine months without having a bedbug and then at one time you’re treating 11 apartments at once. It’s calmed down, but it’s still out there.”
The biggest challenge Stroda sees is “we don’t have enough normal processes of people moving on to the next level of housing.”
With seniors staying at home longer, the average age of a senior coming to OHA is 70, compared to 65 years old 20 years ago.
“That makes a lot of difference with turnover and how long we keep people,” Stroda said.
Brad Little, president and CEO of the Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation, said ORLF works with the hospital and Job Corps to bring people into town.
“With Job Corps, there are 120 FTE positions, and I can count on one hand how many of those have found housing here,” Little said. “We have multiple opportunities on the horizon for good-paying jobs, and they will want nice housing, but we won’t have it.”
One thing Shukert has noticed is a shortage of market-rate rental housing across Iowa.
“One reason is the whole industry died off prior to 2008, and now all of a sudden it’s needed again,” Shukert said. “People are viewing a home as more of an anchor ... as something that keeps them from being mobile. There’s renewed demand in rental housing and not much of an industry to build it.”
Dave Shafer, director of planning and development, said the city offers several housing programs, including the Housing Enterprise Zone Incentives and the Tax Abatement Program, but he’s still looking for ways to improve public-private partnerships.
“We lost the development of new subdivisions in Ottumwa,” Shafer said. “We need single-family homes, multiple-family homes, condos, townhouses, help with transitional housing. We have housing shortages in all aspects.”
Shukert said a statewide problem is that there are many programs to help those looking for housing, but those people don’t have access to that information.
United Way of Wapello County community impact associate Marie Zoromski said one of the recurring things she’s heard is that Ottumwans don’t watch the local news, read the newspaper or listen to the radio.
“But they do use Facebook, they touch it multiple times a day, in their spare time,” Zoromski said. “And they’re asking for people to come to their neighborhoods. They’re saying door-to-door would be a really nice way to get information out.”
Joan Sutterlin said as new faculty members have come to Indian Hills, they have struggled to find places to live.
“One physicist three years ago spent three weeks in a dorm before he found a place,” Sutterlin said.
She has also noticed that while seniors are selling their homes, and those homes are sitting empty, others are having trouble finding housing. She said one problem could be that seniors “don’t realize there is a global financial meltdown” and “they’re not all realists when it comes to originally pricing their homes.”
She wondered if there was a way to pre-screen renters, list them in a statewide registry, “so you’re not afraid they’re going to trash the place.”
Zoromski said the United Way is in the process of conducting “community conversations” to hear citizens’ concerns.
The UWWC participates in the 2-1-1 Program, where people can call for help anonymously in 16 categories, one of which is housing and shelter, which she said is 35 percent of the calls.
In Oskaloosa, two elementary schools have been converted to 30 apartments for low-income seniors. As well, each year the high school builds a home, which is also a benefit since it trains students in construction.
Rob Taylor, chairman of Oskaloosa’s Housing Trust Fund Committee and the AHEAD Regional Housing Trust Fund, said the challenge of a regional housing trust fund is asking someone in Oskaloosa to contribute to a fund that could ultimately go to Bloomfield.
Shukert said these community studies will be discussed at the Iowa Housing Conference on Sept. 5 and the project will be completed by December.
CNHI/Southeast Iowa
Myriad of issues plague housing
Community leaders discuss issues affecting housing in Ottumwa, entire state
- CNHI/Southeast Iowa
-
-
Kia Optima is a hit with the buying public
When it comes to midsized family sedans, the Kia Optima ranks high on my list for its good looks, economy and value.
-
The story behind the viral deer on a bus video
The way bus driver John Porter tells it, some of his co-workers now call him “John Deer.”
-
Identity-theft victim jailed on culprit’s warrant
Kurt Millard spent most of last weekend in jail, locked up on another man’s arrest warrant. The 26-year-old resident of Joplin, Mo. could not convince his jailers they had the wrong guy.
-
SLIDESHOW: Texas storms damage homes, uproot trees
After a series of tornadoes touched down outside Dallas, residents of many Texas communities are cleaning up.
-
VIDEO: Man hands out Abercrombie clothes on Skid Row in bid to shame brand
Anger has mounted online against clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch due to comments made by its chief executive and its strategy of not making women's clothing in any size above large.
-
Feces contaminates 58 percent of public swimming pools
Human feces taints more than half of public swimming pools, a finding U.S. health officials are using to urge better personal hygiene as the summer months approach.
-
VIDEO: Bombing suspect allegedly wrote confession in boat
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly penned a note inside the boat where he was found hiding from authorities, explaining his rationale for his part in the deadly explosion.
-
MAP: Tornadoes carve across North Texas communities
As many as 10 tornadoes touched down soouthwest of Dallas, Texas on Wednesday.
-
Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
-
VIDEO: Texas tornadoes damage homes, businesses
The Dallas Morning News has the latest on the tornadoes that tore through the region Wednesday night.
-
VIDEO: Sun blasts massive flares into space
Solar activity can have a major impact on Earth. While these flares weren't aimed this way, eruptions like this can do a lot more than just cause the Northern Lights.
-
Tornadoes tear through East Texas; 6 people killed
A pack of tornadoes killed at least six people and injured dozens more in East Texas Wednesday night.
-
Severe weather could make weekend return
Forecasters say there is a significant risk of severe weather in Iowa beginning Sunday. The risk carries over into Monday as well.
-
How to get the most out of your air conditioner this summer
Experts say preventative maintenance on your air conditioner can save you hundreds of dollars.
-
Millersville players help couple resuscitate ailing child
The Millersville University baseball team came up with a great save this week, but it had nothing to do with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament being played at Point Stadium.
- More CNHI/Southeast Iowa Headlines
-
