By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Stafford County has been working on a county-wide housing assessment the past year to see what their housing status is and also what they need to do to address any deficiencies.
Getting information from the county appraiser, the study
showed the average “age” of a house in Stafford County is 87 years old. Less than
4% of the current housing stock in Stafford County was built in the
last 20 years, and less than 13% were built in the last 50 years.
Stafford County Economic Development Director Kathleen Norman said housing
development in the county dropped off in the 1960s.
"What would be more desirable right now is if you could get a house that was 20 or 30 years old, still in pretty good shape, but might need more cosmetic changes," said Norman. "We just don't have that. Driving through the community, a lot of our housing is old."
Norman estimated in the past 20 years, Stafford County has lost 13 houses per year
while building just three a year. Based on tax valuation, not fair market
value, 71% of all housing in Stafford County is valued at $100,000 or less.
The county has pledged $350,000 for a new housing program with a goal of
building 10 houses throughout the county in the next two years. Norman said the
idea is to apply for a moderate income housing grant, but will need individual
city governments to commit funding too over the next six years.
"We're not going to be able to carry out this program without at least participation from our larger cities," said Norman. "Houses will only be built in cities that choose to make the annual contribution, which is based off population. The cities will be required to provide the land for development or the land can be supplied privately. The cities that do choose to participate will be guaranteed a minimum amount of houses."
Norman is asking the City of St. John to contribute $34,750 per year for the next six years and St. John would be guaranteed four houses. The City of Stafford is requested to give $23,475 a year with a guarantee of three houses. In Macksville, it would be $12,500 for two houses. In Hudson, the contribution would be $2,500 for one house.
Norman plans on presenting the housing program to each city council. If commitments and funding are in hand, Stafford County Economic Development will find out this fall if they were awarded the grant.
The proposed houses would range between $145,000 and $200,000, but prequalified
buyers could choose their own design. The program would be designed to sell the
houses to new owners, but the county would be open to renting the homes that
don’t sell immediately.
With the sale of the home, the county would reinvest the funding into the development of more housing.
Listen below to the entire interview with Norman and Eagle Radio's Steve Webster from the "Focus on Stafford County" show that aired on 1590 KVGB & 95.5 FM on June 23, 2022.