The Wood County Housing Summit attended by Senator Patrick Testin and Representatives Scott Krug and Donna Rozar.
By Melissa Kaye
Wood County (WFHR, WIRI) – The Wood County Housing Summit was well attended on March 7th at Mid-State Technical College. Legislators were invited to speak during the legislative panel on what initiatives they are working on to address the housing crisis in our area. This took place during the Wood County Housing Summit organized by Healthy People Wood County.
Senator Testin said this session they’ve made historic investments of over a half a billion dollars into affordable housing in the state. He shared some of the history that has contributed to the current housing crisis. It includes the fact that Wisconsin has built ten thousand fewer houses since 2011 than were built during the previous decade. Testin said we’ve lost 106-thousand workers during the last decade and that trend is going to continue. Part of the reason for that loss is the lack of housing in the state. To address these issues, they’ve introduced several bills to tackle the issues from several fronts. Senate Bill 293 established a revolving loan fund to support housing developers for eligible housing infrastructure projects supporting workforce and senior housing. Senate Bill 294 is a main street housing rehabilitation revolving loan fund under the jurisdiction and control of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority or WHEDA. This is for the rehabilitation of second and third story apartments over main street businesses. The other two bills, Senator Testin mentioned were Senate Bill 295, conversion of vacant commercial buildings to new residential developments and Senate Bill 296 regarding permit applications related to residential housing developments.
Rep. Krug broke down how these bills affect people living in Wood County. He discussed how the second and third story apartments in downtown Wisconsin Rapids are sitting vacant because they need a lot of renovation. These bills give developers the opportunity to fix up some of the existing inventory that needs work, but is still available and desirable housing. It would not only provide workforce housing, but also housing for those ready to downsize. This will help add more inventory to the housing market. With more housing inventory, the pressure on prices will decrease.
Rep. Rozar spoke to the importance of local control. She said the government at the Madison level cannot make the best decisions for local communities. Rozar said innovation and creativity should be used to the max at the local level to handle some of the issues communities are facing. State level government can’t change local ordinances or fix things that local governments put in place. Rozar said one of the best things municipalities can do is evaluate how these bills are working at the local level. She said it would be very helpful to state lawmakers to hear feedback from those using the programs. Whether the programs are working as intended or if it would be more useful if the money were allocated differently.
One of the points Scott Krug touched on was the importance of hearing from people in his district. He said they are public servants and they are elected to these positions to advocate for those living in the districts they serve in. If they don’t know what people are concerned about, they can’t properly address the issues people are facing. Find your representative here by entering your address. Or you can search directly on the Wisconsin State Legislature website.
