County gets input on housing report

A Marshall County report on housing development released May 7 was presented to a group of stakeholders at the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority June 28.

Thirty-three people from the business community, elected officials and the general public attended the review of the report, presented by Gary Anderson, housing task force chair.

The board of supervisors called the meeting to gather more input from the community on how to stimulate standard home construction in order to broaden the county’s tax base and also increase quality of life for present and future citizens.

Supervisor Charles Terry noted the county now has met its goals to attract industry and grow good paying jobs through its industrial park developments. Now the county needs to increase its availabliity of conventional homes so people who get these jobs can live as well as work in the county, he said.

It appears people are choosing to work in the large manufacturing and warehousing facilities in Marshall County but live across county lines, he said.

The report covered a range of issues related to a housing shortage including:

• increasing incentives for developers to build more houses. Some developers said their lots sat unsold for so long that the commercial tax rates ate up any profit they would have made upon sale of the property.

• creating a greater demand for stick-and-brick-built homes to accommodate a growing population.

•.examining why people will choose to work in Marshall County but live in another county. For most families, the purchase of a home is the largest single investment that they will make.

• construction of new homes in Marshall County has not picked back up since the recession of 2008. In 2012, only 25 new home constructions took place in the county. In 2002, 252 conventional homes were built. In 2017, 79 conventional homes were built. Mobile homes have outpaced new home construction but depreciate quickly like a new car, while conventional homes retain their value or may appreciate in value.

The housing task force recommended the county curtail the proliferation of mobile homes.

The report also noted there is housing stagnation in the municipalities and in some areas of the county.

• asserting that the underperforming schools in the county are keeping newcomers from moving to the county and buying new homes. Both city and county school districts have an overall rating of a “C” while adjacent county school districts are earning “A” and “B” ratings.

However, school district leaders point out a “C” rating is a passing grade.

• lessening of population growth. The State of Missis­sippi is also losing population and the millennials are the ones leaving the state for another life experience – that is live in larger populated areas where there are amenities that meet their wishes.

In recent years, Marshall County has also lost population.

“In a growth area, we should not be losing population,” Anderson said.

Further discussion

Some other discussions from attendees centered on specific topics.

Zoning commissioner Kent Faulkner said children are having to go too far to high school. He said Galena should be a high school by now, but instead students are bussed to Byhalia and Potts Camp.

“We are down here in southwest Marshall County and forgotten about,” Faulkner said.

Albert Jones complained that his neighbors are not keeping up their property and are leaving houses vacant. Other people on his block are keeping junk cars parked on their lots, one lot having up to nine cars.

“We have to set a standard or our standards become the lowest common denominator,” Anderson said.

The housing task force recommended the county seek to become one of Missis­sippi’s best counties in which to work, live and play. A second recommendation was for the county to become a desirable place to do business – that is to create a better business climate for housing development.

“We are in the ball game to attract a large employer to create 2,000 jobs,” Anderson said. “If we are successful, where are we going to house them (workers)? We need housing in our community.”

Businessman Pat Woods said broadband is the next big push for rural areas, like electricity was in the 1930s. But, he said bringing in broadband (high speed Internet) to rural areas will likely be harder than it was to get electricity to rural areas.

High speed Internet access would help children get their homework done and more individuals could work out of their homes, if service were available, Woods said.

The report also suggested the county stop permitting single-wide mobile homes or only permit them in designated areas such as mobile-home parks. And the county could eliminate permits on older mobile homes moving into the county. Double-wides could be required to be placed on a conventional foundation or slab.

“You can zone so you don’t have as many mobile homes coming in, that is make it harder for them to bring them in,” said Steve Gresham.

Woods suggested having a housing fair so the public could learn how to finance a home.

“We need to reach people between 25 and 40 who want to build,” he said.

Anderson said some homebuyer assistance programs now have the downpayment built into the loan.

Another recommendation of the housing committee was to review the educational systems in order to develop strategies to make them more competitive with surrounding areas.

The last recommendation was for the supervisors to conduct SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threats) analysis every two years on each area mentioned in the report.

Al Beck asked how the committee would measure success of its goals – that is in the number of houses to be built and where they should be built.

He said the airport, for example, operates with a 20- to 25-year plan.

“What or how do we know when we get there?” Beck said. “What are the numbers? How do we determine if we are making progress? It’s not in the task force report.

“China and Japan have 100-year plans. What do we want to look like in 20 years?”

Anderson said the committee focused on gathering information but has not yet set goals on any of its recommendations. The supervisors have to decide what goals they want, he said, and how to measure progress.

Paul Lampley noted that a half-dozen years ago a SWOT analysis was done for the area. He wondered how that connects with what the county is doing now.

“This full community was involved in developing goals,” he said.

County administrator Larry Hall recalled the study was called Leadership Plenty.

“The goal then was jobs,” Hall said.

Hall noted that industrial growth has taken place and continues to climb.

“I think we are approaching a time when spec houses will start to be built and will sell,” he said.

Woods suggested the former developers may have burned out and there is a need to attract new developers.

Justin Hall said TVA has worked with the county to get industrial sites ready for the last 20 to 30 years.

“Now it’s about getting the people,” he said. “People used to commute to work, but now we have great opportunities here. It all goes hand in hand.”

Albert Jones wondered if the banks stayed open on Saturday, would business be better?

Banker Sam McClatchy answered that banks have ATMs available around the clock but banks have found they do not make any money by staying open on Saturday.

“It’s a money loser,” he said.

Tracy Davidson said the Barton Branch of Citizens Bank is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

Jones suggested AAU Sports could bring lots of visitors to the area.

It would give children something to do and parents would be involved, he said.

Gresham said the housing committee assumed that supervisors would act on something in the committee report.

Terry said the housing study was just a first step. Goal-setting and implementation of goals will be the next step, he said.

“It depends on you to move it forward,” Terry said.

Those present at this meeting to discuss the housing committee’s findings included: Leslie King, Teddy Bryant, Joe Houck, Jim Robinson, Tracy Davidson, John Faulkner, Gary Anderson, Betty Byrd, Charles Terry, Kent Faulkner, Steve Gresham, Phil Malone, Helen Rayford, Larry Hall, Celes Tucker, Terry Moore, Ken Jones, Pat Woods, Paul Lampley, Bill Dawson, Neil Whaley, Sam McClatchy, Hubert McKenzie, Justin Hall, Larry Hall, Kent Smith, George Zinn III, Al Beck, Albert Jones, Lemon Phelps, Henry and Janice Busby, Leslie King Jr., Bill Stone, and Gary Anderson.