Overall, he said TOPSS found most renters are evicted because there aren’t enough hours to work over the summer when Miami University isn’t in session, or there are only low-paying jobs available after the academic year. Walter said tenants may also struggle with finding transportation, and once they’re evicted, there aren’t any nearby landlords who would give them a second chance.
Walter said TOPSS aims to prevent evictions and offer eviction recovery. This includes helping tenants to understand their leases and sharing information about tenant rights and obligations.
Assistant city manager Jessica Greene updated the commission on the cold shelter project, of which she said Oxford Vineyard Church would be the fiscal agent. Jenny Bailer, a member of the planning group, said the project is being led by a combination of Oxford Area Solutions for Housing (OASH) members and local faith organizations.
Greene said the money for the shelter is coming from interest on the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, of which it originally received $2.4 million.
Bailer said the planning group was considering using either a rental property on College Corner Pike or rotating the shelter between four local churches that have stepped up.
Greene said the city administration has reviewed the options and prefers the rental model. She said she intends to bring the final proposal before the Oxford City Council on Sept. 16 for budget allocation.
The shelter, if approved, would be open December through February, and the budgeted amount for it would be an estimated $70,000, Greene said. The shelter will only be open to adults, and families with children will be placed in a hotel.
Councilman Jason Bracken said ARPA interest is limited, and using it to fund the shelter is not a long-term budget solution. He asked if, moving forward, there could be a ratio of matching-contributed churches and other charitable institutions who could fund the project.
Greene also updated the commission on 47 acres which are owned by the city across the street from Oxford Lanes with the idea of creating market-rate housing with a set-aside of affordable housing. This means, while the housing will primarily cost the average rent in the area, a certain percentage of the unity will be set aside for people with income restrictions.
When using federal funds, she said renters typically qualifying for that set-aside would be at 60% or below the area’s median income. But, she said Oxford can bump it up to 80%, as it is a high-rent district.
“People between 60([%] and 80[%] still have a hard time finding rent,” Greene said. “That’s their (council’s) choice on what they want to do, there’s been no direction yet.”
She said the city wants to create a request for proposal (RFP) for the property.
A team has already reviewed the land and created a report, she said, which found there’s only 30 developable acres on the property, and the other 17 are wetland areas that could probably be preserved. She also discussed the idea of putting a small business along the nearby trail.
“Market-rate housing, in my opinion, is for young professionals,” Greene told the Oxford Free Press following the meeting.
“Where do young professionals move into this town? And so that is in our economic development strategic plan. The university has asked us for this a lot,” she said.
Greene said the project is in the “very early phases.” In 2019, the city allowed the public to pitch ideas of what the area might look like, and it primarily included housing for young professionals.
Lastly, Greene told the commission she has begun research on a long-term shelter for the city and asked for their opinions on whether it should be permanent supportive housing or a temporary, emergency shelter.
When permanent supportive housing is full, it’s full, according to Greene. With temporary housing, she said other communities outside Oxford may use the shelter.
Commission member Nicola Rodrigues said, “It’s hard for me to pick one … but the big challenge with temporary housing is, yes, you can be in a shelter for 45 days, 90 days, whatever you determine, but then you have to have affordable housing for the person to go to.”
Councilwoman Amber Franklin asked, “What does telling someone they have to leave if they’re not ready to leave look like?”
Greene said one option would be to re-invite a YWCA or other large organization who would bring in a facility with 50 to 60 units, or the city could build 10 to 12 small efficiency units with a manager suite.
Bracken said he’s worried about the city’s ability to sustain a permanent shelter location without having locked funds to sustain the cold shelter for more than three months. Greene said she has considered using opioid settlement funds, which will come in for 10 years, but is still researching funding sources.
This article was first published by the Oxford Free Press. Read it online at oxfreepress.com.
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