photo by: Hernly Associates

A concept plan shows the layout for an affordable housing project at 105 Michigan St. proposed by Tenants to Homeowners.

City leaders have approved allocating $850,000 from a city trust fund for five affordable housing efforts, and the discussion will continue about what the city’s strategy should be for the fund going forward.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to approve the funding recommendation from the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board. Commissioners previously deferred the decision so they could further discuss the city’s funding strategy when it came to the trust fund, particularly in the context of the city’s new housing division, and while commissioners didn’t make any changes to the board’s recommended allocation, they expected the conversation to continue.

Commissioner Brad Finkeldei said as the city looks ahead to discussions regarding the city’s 2023 budget this spring, he hoped it would be able to give AHAB and the community better answers about how the city’s different pots of housing money are spent and the city’s strategy for addressing housing issues.

“As part of a bigger picture as the city, we want to say we’re going to determine what we should fund and then we can say this is how we’re going to fund it, and then leave AHAB a little more direction on what’s left for them to fund,” Finkeldei said.

Lawrence voters approved a 0.05% sales tax in 2017, which will provide funding for the housing trust for a period of 10 years. The housing trust fund generated more than $1 million for the board’s annual allocation, and the city also created a new housing initiatives division as part of its 2022 budget process that is in charge of allocating $1.14 million that the city previously spent more broadly on social services.

The board struggled with its recommendation for the approximately $1.23 million it made available to applicants as part of the annual allocation for 2021, including the question of whether the trust fund dollars should go to support voucher and other assistance programs or whether they should be focused more on constructing affordable homes and rentals. One of the reasons the commission deferred the funding decision was to get more information from city staff about how the new division’s funding would be allocated.

Though the allocations from the housing initiatives fund are not all finalized, city staff provided the commission a memo that details some of the current proposals for the funding. That includes about $527,000 to support and expand Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center’s Homeless Outreach Team; $290,000 for general program support for the Lawrence Community Shelter; and $70,000 for operational support for the city-run emergency winter shelter. The memo states those agreements will come to the commission in February. About $215,000 remains unallocated and could be spent as directed by city staff.

The memo also states that the city has been working closely with Douglas County on its Homelessness Needs Assessment, which will identify service gaps in the community and drive future funding initiatives. The assessment will be complete in the spring of 2022, and Finkeldei said it would be an important guide for the upcoming discussion.

The allocation the commission approved Tuesday did not provide funding to support a for-profit development that applied for trust fund dollars to help build a subdivision that would include affordable units. The board expressed interest in providing support for the project, but board members present at the meeting told the commission the application was not complete. Commissioners expressed interest in such partnerships, including collaborations between private developers and nonprofits, and encouraged those discussions to continue.

“Those are the discussions I would really like to continue to see, as to how we can continue to think outside the box so we can get the housing trust fund dollars to work even harder for us,” Vice Mayor Lisa Larsen said.

The funding allocation approved Tuesday is as follows:

• $400,000 for Tenants to Homeowners’ Michigan Six Project, which will build six units, including two rental units and four units for purchase, at 105 Michigan St.

• $300,000 for the Housing Stabilization Collaborative, a joint program provided by Tenants to Homeowners and Family Promise of Lawrence that provides rental and utility assistance.

• $50,000 for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority’s New Horizon Program, which provides rental vouchers for families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

• $50,000 for Independence Inc.’s Accessible Housing Program, which helps pay for accessibility modifications for the homes of people with disabilities.

• $50,000 for Lawrence Habitat for Humanity’s Critical System Repair program, which provides funding for home repairs for eight to 10 households.

In other business, the final design plans for a $7.6 million project to reconstruct a portion of Wakarusa Drive were deferred until the commission’s meeting next Tuesday.