Waldorf housing examined

Monday, October 17 the Waldorf City Council hosted Jen Theneman and Jasmine Frias, representatives from Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership (SWMHP). SWMHP is a non-profit community development corporation which partners with communities and individuals to improve access to housing, and has offices in Mankato and Slayton, MN. SWMHP provides, among other services, community planning and technical assistance, homebuyer education and home ownership assistance, housing assessments and inspections, and construction and preservation of single- and multi-family residences. “We try to partner with communities to figure out what their housing needs are,” said Frias in summary.

Mayor Wilkening reached out to SWMHP in September as he considered what is necessary for Waldorf to grow and prosper as a community. Now that the city is completing its comprehensive infrastructure project, Mayor Wilkening hopes to attract businesses to the community. However, the population of Waldorf has been gradually decreasing, and prospects for attracting new residents are reduced because there is little to no housing available for sale or rent. Wilkening believes the answer may be a city-owned apartment building, and so has been investigating construction and operating costs for a 24- or 36-unit building. Wilkening believes many of Waldorf’s older residents, or those whose children have left home, may be interested in moving to a one-, two- or three-bedroom apartment where they no longer have the burdens of maintenance and lawn care, thus bringing their existing single-family homes onto the market.

Based on recommendations from some residents, Wilkening says a likely location for the project is the community football field. However, others have expressed concern about preserving that area as a green space as the community of Waldorf grows. One possible solution is developing a park alongside the new apartment building in that area. Another option is to develop the former school building. Doing so would leave the football field intact, but is also likely to incur more costs for the city in terms of updating and extending infrastructure.

Decisions like these need to be made before the city and SWMHP can move forward with funding opportunities and other services. The next step will be a public hearing which SWMHP offered to moderate, since it is a less-invested third party. The organization’s architects will also supply mockups of the various options. Although it is not yet decided whether SWMHP will moderate it, the public hearing is tentatively planned for January, after Wilkening returns from a trip abroad.

Following the conversation with Frias and Theneman, the city council continued its meeting following the agenda which was originally set for October 10, when the council was unable to vote due to the government holiday. “I’m going to do this a little differently,” Wilkening said as the council transitioned, referring to the fact that the agenda items had already been discussed the previous Monday. The Water/Sewer Report, Pay Application #8 for the Water Treatment Plant, Fire Department Report and City Report were all approved without discussion. Mayor Wilkening did casually congratulate the fire department on the good work it’s done recently as the number of medical and fire calls has increased, in part due to the ongoing harvest, before moving along with the agenda. It was noted that the agenda items which did not require a vote had been completed, including minor repairs to the community center and a request for improved speed warning signs on highways approaching town.

Jay Longnecker’s conditional use permit (CUP) to operate a shop on his property was approved, following the public hearing on the matter which took place October 10. Standard practice is to review a CUP after one year, to determine whether there is any undue impact on neighbors, and then every five years thereafter. However, Wilkening noted that rezoning is expected in the relatively near future, and that the affected portion of the property could most likely be rezoned as commercial to eliminate the need for continuing a CUP.

At the end of the meeting, Wilkening announced that he’s leaving next Wednesday to go overseas until December 26. In his absence, council member Kevin Lines will lead city council meetings. The mayor closed the meeting with the words, “Merry Christmas and Happy Halloween.”