County Council: No housing shortage; just wrong housing

Ed Cole, Executive Director of Dubois Strong, informed the county council that the housing study has revealed that there is no lack of available housing in Dubois County.

But, according to the study so far, what housing we do have available is the wrong type. “They told us we don’t have a housing shortage, we have a shortage of housing that people want to rent or purchase,” Cole said.

The local area development organization hired Development Concepts Inc. of Indianapolis to conduct the study. An early study identified that housing, or as originally thought, a lack of housing, was partially to blame for the county’s inability to attract people to fill the jobs currently available and expected to come open in the next two years; about 1,000 in that time frame.

Cole told the council the data on the housing study is still being extrapolated to determine exactly what mix of housing is needed in the county to attract the workforce.

“What are the implementation steps, what do we do to make it better,” Cole said. “That is really where it becomes more difficult and is slowing things down. We had hoped to have this done by the April but now we hope to have it done by the first week of May.”

He explained that the goal is to create an implementation plan that is feasible. “What good is a plan that is too expensive to implement,” he said.

Dubois Strong began the study through the newly created nonprofit, Grow Dubois County. Grow Dubois County was created to provide greater transparency for how public funds are being used by the economic development organization. This came after the Dubois County Council approved injecting an additional $140,000 in public funding into the group last fall.

Cole also reported on the group’s efforts to potentially create a truck driving school through a partnership with Vincennes University Jasper Campus. Vincennes University operates a successful truck driving school in Plainfield, Ind.

According to Cole, businesses in Dubois County are stepping up to assist in creating the school by providing equipment at a reduced cost or as a donation.

The Logistics Training Council being formed will need to find space to conduct training. “We feel that the Dubois County Fairgrounds is ideal,” Cole said.

A meeting with the Dubois County Parks Board and the 4-H Council is planned in the next month to work out details of the fairgrounds use. Cole stated they would like to have classes start this fall.

Additionally, the Logistics Council would like to hire an individual to conduct the commercial driver’s license testing locally. The closest location is Mitchell at this time.

Cole touched on the organization’s revolving loan fund. He explained the approval committee is excellent and dedicated to making good investments in local companies looking to expand. He pointed out to the council that if a traditional lender is unable to help a local business, that company can come to Dubois Strong to participate in the revolving loan fund.

He also announced Dubois Strong had hired Amanda Smith as a part-time graphic designer and marketing manager.

He clarified a recent statement about Grow Dubois County’s support of the Purdue Technical Assistance Program. It was announced that Grow Dubois Strong had committed $250,000 over the next five years but the agreement is an annual agreement for $50,000 from the nonprofit to the program. Either party can back from the annual agreement with a 30 day notice.

Finally, Cole announced Dubois Strong would hold the annual meeting at KlubHaus 61 on April 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The keynote speaker is James Madison, the Thomas and Kathryn Miller Professor Emeritus of History at IU who authored the book “Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana.

The council also took the following actions.

–Approved $9,500 to replace a compressor on an air conditioner unit ($3,535) and repair the concrete steps ($5,965) to the Dubois County Community Corrections center. According to Jerry Gramelspacher, who handles maintenance at the facility, the concrete steps cracked due to the freezing and thawing of moisture that seeped in around the handrail posts where they were mounted into the concrete.

–Commissioner Larry Vollmer requested an additional $45,000 for a performance bond on the work for the county communications upgrade. According to Vollmer, County Attorney Art Nordhoff Jr. recommended the county purchase the performance bond for protection until the $772,000 in work on the upgrade is completed by Advanced Communications. The request was approved.

–Approved an appropriation of $12,000 for radio upgrades to the Dubois County Emergency Medical Services. Ambulance Services Director Susan Henke asked for an additional $2,500 for new mattresses in the Ferdinand and Dubois Ambulance Stations, three additional handheld radios and a utilities deposit for the new station in Huntingburg. The council approved advertising for the additional expense.

–Approved the appropriation of  $10,000 for paint, $150,000 for stone, $200,000 for bituminous materials, $500,000 for county highway projects, and $20,000 for equipment for the county highway department.

–Approved a request to replace three mowing tractors at the highway department that have about 10,000 hours of use each.Berg stated the highway department replaces the tractors at about 10,000 hours and these have been in use for about ten years. The three tractors will be traded in but the estimated replacement cost will be around $200,000.

–Approved $4,000 to upgrade radios to the 800 mhz system for the Dubois County 911 Communications Center and $7,000 for the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department. The state departments and Jasper Police Department have already began using the 800 mhz system and the county cannot communicate with them with their existing equipment.