Housing authority in the works

SANDPOINT — With a need for affordable housing in the region and observations of housing authority success in areas like Nampa and Blaine County, the city council has taken steps toward implementing Sandpoint’s own housing authority.

The council discussed what next steps will look like for a Sandpoint Housing Authority at the Wednesday council meeting.

Meghan Conrad, an attorney with Elam & Burke Attorneys at Law in Boise, presented to the council about the purpose of housing authorities, steps to establish one, and examples of successful housing authorities.

A housing authority is an entity of statutory creation, with the goal of buying, building and managing housing projects that are funded by a variety of sources, such as grants or rental income, Conrad said. Several public entities interact with the organization, including the city and urban renewal agencies.

“A housing authority is an independent public body, corporate in politic,” Conrad said. “It does not have the authority to levy, so it is not a taxing entity. It does have the ability to enter into long-term debt to serve its corporate purposes without voter approval.”

Councilor Jason Welker asked how the housing authority would service this debt, as it can’t use tax revenue like an urban renewal agency could.

Conrad clarified and said that the city would not be responsible for repaying debt.

“These types of bonds are typically secured with income and revenue from projects financed by the proceeds of bonds, so it's going to be rental income, federal grants and contributions — the city is not obligated for the repayment of any of these obligations,” Conrad said.

While the focus of housing authorities varies depending on the community, Sandpoint’s housing authority would be emphasizing workforce housing Conrad and city officials said.

“The goals that have been identified by Sandpoint include support for affordable housing opportunities for low to moderate income households,” Conrad said. “That is emphasis on providing support for needed workforce housing which has been defined by current income levels, which would be about 60-120% of area median income.”

Multiple studies confirming the need for housing prompted the council to consider adoption of such an organization. Mayor Shelby Rognstad said that on top of two studies, a survey was conducted that also emphasized a need for affordable, workforce housing, noting that a housing authority would likely further that goal.

“A task force was put together by myself in 2019-20 where there was a survey put out by the Bonner County Economic Development Corporation amongst employers in the region,” Rognstad said. “The number one response when asked what the biggest challenge faced when hiring and obtaining a workforce was, was housing — housing was number one on the list. That was a well-represented survey.”

The first step to establishing a local housing authority would be adoption of a resolution. Secondly, a board would be appointed and approved by the council. Conrad said these boards typically consist of five to seven commissioners that serve five-year terms and cannot be an officer or employee of the city. Expertise in financial matters or land use should be considered when in the process of selecting commissioners, Conrad said.

Defining the organization would follow at an initial meeting where commissioners would adopt bylaws and select a chair. Lastly, the board works toward implementation of the housing authority. This means developing funding, which Evans said can be a challenging stage since there will be no existing revenue stream upon establishment. Until a revenue stream is developed, it can be difficult to initiate projects that might eventually become part of that revenue stream. Grants, city and federal funds may be needed in initial stages, she said.

Jennifer Stapleton, Sandpoint city administrator, further explained one potential way funding could work would be where other foundations in the region invest in housing authorities.

“In the fiscal year 2024 budget, which council approved, the mayor had included $25,000 in strategic initiatives as some seed money, initially for the housing authority, recognizing that there may be costs with legal, getting meetings going, with staffing — so some of those initial costs also relative to funding,” Stapleton said. “What you tend to see happening more and more on a regional basis is some of the regional foundations, employer groups, and others starting to come in and support development of these organizations in order to kind of kick start the planning and development of housing in the local community.”

After initial obstacles are tackled, and a board is up and running, housing authorities can consider joint powers with other surrounding communities, Conrad said.

“The goal ultimately, long-term, would be a joint powers board that governs a regional housing authority that services all of Bonner County, let's say. We thought that it was most strategic at this point to move forward as a city, establish an independent body as a city and then with our own success, hopefully over time bring other partners along like Ponderay, Kootenai, Dover, etc., and grow from there. That way we wouldn’t be reliant on others to move forward.”

Housing authorities that have found success in other communities include Nampa Housing Authority, which owns 142 units leased to low income, senior and disabled citizens. The program is funded by rental income and has expanded to a regional authority. Boise City/Ada County’s authority was established in 1967 and is funded by grants, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and rental income. Caldwell, Pocatello, McCall and Blaine County also have their own housing authorities.