City and County address housing issues
By John Earp
At the April 22nd meeting of the Jal City Council, during the Public Comment segment, we asked for an update on the development of the old elementary school property, which has sat vacant for many years. When the school district donated the property to the City, the public plan had been to place houses on it. Recently, the school district placed two modular duplexes on two lots on the property, which are to serve as housing for teachers. Other than that, there are still no houses on the property, though the City did install streets, curbs and gutters, and utilities on each lot initially. Residents in the neighborhood surrounding the property have complained that the land is basically just a sand lot now, when the original plan was to either have a developer come in and build houses or have modular homes placed on the lots. For zoning purposes, modular homes placed on a permanent foundation are equivalent to site-built homes.
City Manager Wes Hooper said that since he started with the City, it has been “one of our major projects to try to get something in there, whether it be a developer or contractor. We’re not having any luck brining a developer in, and so what the plan is right now, in order for us to do a procurement, we’re going to go out to RFP [request for proposal], and we have about three or four contractors that are interested in doing something down there, but in order for the City to hire them and get them building something, we’ve got to be within procurement. So, we’ve got an RFP that’s probably going to go out the first of May to get some contractors on board.” Hooper also noted that there are two lots on the old elementary property that the Hospital District has purchased, and they are also looking to build two homes on those lots within the next year. Hooper said two of the contractors that are interested in building homes there for the City would build site-built homes on the lots, and one of the other contractors plans to build what Hooper called, “kind of a modular cross that looks more like a conventional home,” adding that there are covenants that have to be met with regard to the type of homes that would be allowed by the City to be built there.
Mayor Stephen Aldridge, who also serves on the Planning & Zoning Commission, said, “the hardest piece of any of this puzzle we’ve put together has been housing. Those have been difficult pieces to put together. Part of the problem is that as municipalities, school districts, hospital districts, and quasi municipalities, we can’t go put a house on there and then sell it. There’s a process there and now the RFPs that Wes is talking about is kind of a different take and a different look on that. I know the county is interested. Van [Myrick] attended a county housing thing out there today, and in a bit I’d like to give him an opportunity to speak. If you’ve been watching the news, a lack of housing is an issue throughout this community, throughout the county, throughout the state, and really throughout the nation. Something that people can afford to get into. It is tough, and I think the biggest obstacle that I’ve found is the fact that the difficulty in a municipality or state agency like the City or Hospital District or School putting something out there and bulding it and then putting it out on the market, yeah, there’s a way to do that, but the procurement code and anti-donation laws really start to get in the way, and we’ve had conversations more than I wish to share.” Aldridge then asked City Public Works Director Van Myrick to talk about the county meeting he had attended that day.
Myrick said, “So I was able to attend the Lea County Commission Meeting, and they had an agenda item on there with presentations given on cities throughout the county. We went before the County and basically asked to help with incentivizing builders coming into town and helping offset some of that cost with County funding. Part of our ask and our plan was because of the income down here and what the square footage that it’s going to cost to build these homes, a lot of these young people can’t afford these homes and there’s a gap of about $25,000 from what they’re making. This is on average. So, part of the County’s plan, if they approve it, is to close that gap with funds that the County provides.”
On April 25th, according to the Lea County website, the County Commission approved “over $21 million to actively incentivize homebuilding in Lea County to increase the quantity of available housing options and improve the quality of life of residents by investing in housing developments in each community.” According to the public release, the City of Jal will receive $1,250,000 for proposed rehabilitation of existing homes, potential senior affordable housing, and down payment incentives. The City of Eunice will receive $1,107,050 towards development of a subdivision northwest of their municipal golf course for for-sale homes. The project includes master plan work, surveying, engineering, and construction costs. Lovington will receive $4.5 million over the course of five years, while Hobbs will receive $14 million from the funding housing incentive project. These funds will come from the County’s capital project fund, and will eventually produce reoccurring property tax revenue. Commissioner Jonathan Sena has been the one who has been promoting this housing incentive program for the past six months, according to the public release from the County Commission.
