Baker County

Workforce Housing Action Team #1

Project Purpose

Improve existing housing stock by utilizing existing but underutilized programs or

programs that have not been available in Baker County to address housing deficiencies


Our primary activities are to compile information, identify property maintenance issues and solutions, and connect to resources. See below for more information.

Infographic graphic

Data

Compile existing program information together to share with others and make it available for sharing

Understand renter/buyer desires - compile existing data and determine if more is needed

Construction hat, masonry shovel, and bricks

Property Maintenance

Identify top 10 rental owners and ask them about challenges they face doing necessary repairs

Identify contractors/others that can do renovations

Network graphic, connecting people

Networking & Resources

Explore funding opportunities and needs to do the work we’ve identified

Reach out to Oregon Housing & Community Services & USDA for resources & to talk to our group

Activity

Timeline

  • Oct 5, 2021 - We had our first meeting and identified a priority project and tasks for each teammate before our next meeting on Nov 5, 2021.

  • Nov 9, 2021 - Survey developed and distributed to top 10 rental owners. We also investigated programs that could be used in Baker County.

  • January 2022 - Team members reached out to USDA Rural Development to see what programs could help solve workforce housing projects. The team made the decision to have USDA speak to a larger group rather than our small group. Landlords did not respond to the survey that we distributed. By reaching out to real estate offices, we found that housing is not available in a price range that most workers can afford to pay. We decided to consolidate with the other Baker County group.

  • Feb 2022 - Team is working on a presentation from USDA Rural development with goal to see if anyone wants to take advantage of any of their programs.

Resources


Meet the team

Our 8-member team was created under the Strategic Doing framework. We have one table guide leader to keep the conversation on track, and one knowledge keeper records the session and make sure everyone is on the same page. The team will meet every 30 days until the project is completed. Each team member leaves every meeting with a task to complete by the next meeting.

Kitt Kindle

Tucker Billman

Tony Swart

Courtney Crowell

Lisa Dawson

Table Guide Leader

Questions?

Want to learn more or want to support this project?

Contact Lisa Dawson, lisadawson@neoedd.org