'Housing crisis': St. Johns County commissioners look at housing authority as possible help
A proposal to start a housing authority in St. Johns County has gained support, and county commissioners plan to explore the idea after hearing a presentation this week.
County Commission Chair Henry Dean asked staff to bring back information, including examples of housing authorities in Florida and what creating a housing authority could look like in St. Johns County.
Some said a housing authority would help address the county's shortage of affordable housing. County staff will bring back a presentation to address commissioners' questions.
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The lack of housing is affecting not only people searching for housing, but also employers as they search for workers who live here, or who can afford to move or commute here, officials said.
How would a housing authority help?
A housing authority could help by bringing in additional federal resources to provide rental assistance and could help with the creation of affordable housing, said Frank Williams, a former state lawmaker representing St. Johns County.
Williams has been leading the charge to bring a housing authority to the county. He spoke to commissioners this week along with Daniel Nackerman, executive director of the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City.
Williams and Nackerman spoke to the county's Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and Housing Finance Authority this year. Tuesday's presentation to the county commission was a continuation of their efforts.
Williams and Nackerman said people have misconceptions about public housing.
"A lot of people have that image in their mind ― the old projects up in Chicago and New York, the crime-ridden housing projects and things like that. Well, we're in the 2000s. Things have changed over the years, to the credit of housing authorities throughout the United States," Williams said.
Aid for a variety of incomes
Nackerman shared statistics about people who receive rental assistance.
"Almost half of the people that have help with rent nationwide these days are actually seniors who just happened to be on Social Security or only Social Security with a small pension," Nackerman said. "And then, of course, there are many families with children. And then there are persons with disabilities that need rental help. That rent is not free. It's not handouts. … Most people pay 30-40% of their income toward the rent, and housing authorities often subsidize the rest through federal sources."
Williams said a housing authority could focus on helping people with a range of incomes.
The U.S. has about 3,400 housing authorities, and there are close to 100 housing authorities in Florida, Nackerman said.
The housing authority idea received support on Tuesday from elected officials and residents.
"I see it as a business owner every day. Workforce housing is a problem," St. Augustine Beach Mayor Don Samora said.
He said while he wasn't sold on the idea of a housing authority, he said it's worth exploring.
St. Augustine Commissioner Barbara Blonder, an associate professor at Flagler College, said a housing authority would help the county "address what is frankly a housing crisis."
"I'm an educator and my husband is a longtime educator in the public school system. … I know what his salary is, which means I know what the other teachers' salaries are," she said. "And I know what the median price is for a single family home in this county, and the two do not match up. And as we have a teaching shortage, as we have a worker shortage ― servers, hospitality workers and all of the other workers that I mentioned earlier … we need to help them stay here in this county."
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Johns, Florida considers housing authority to solve 'crisis'
