Hyde Park considers proposal for low-income housing project

By Lexie Kite

March 24, 2005 | HYDE PARK -- The City Council is looking to multiply and diversify housing opportunities for local or prospective residents, and the Neighborhood Non-Profit Housing Corporation submitted a proposal to meet that goal Wednesday night.

"Our intent is to develop property for quality affordable housing for very low income individuals," Kim Datweiler, a representative for the housing organization, said. "This project proposal is an 18-unit housing development, subsidized to make it affordable for people in need.

She said the main goal of her corporation is to create a housing project for families of agricultural workers. Over 30 percent of Utah's agricultural workers are in Cache Valley, she said, and affordable housing is not currently available for many of these employees.

With such a large portion of the state's agricultural employers, like Pepperidge Farm and Gossner's cheese factory, she said "18 units of housing for these employees is just a drop in the bucket.

The plans for this development would be similar to an affordable housing project already in place in Providence, called Providence Place.

"If any of you have seen Providence Place, you know it is mostly occupied by handicapped people and those with disabilities," she said. "It has been running smoothly for almost two years, and it still looks like new."

She said the project is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and it is FDIC insured. Therefore, annual audits and property inspections take place regularly, and grounds and buildings are maintained according to USDA standards.

"I have 18 letters of support from different business willing to help take care of these people," she said. "We want to teach these residents about the different resources available to them. We have peer tutors, computer literacy classes and job training available for anyone and everyone."

Datweiler said this is a great opportunity for the city of Hyde Park to give young families the opportunity to learn more while living in the housing, and then move on to a better economic status and more long-term employment.

Dwayne Smith, a spokesman for LeGrand Johnson Construction, said, "The reality of life is that there are people right here in Hyde Park that need this housing -- that's all there is to it."

Mayor David Kooyman said, "I encourage the council to look at this proposition carefully and determine whether or not Hyde Park wants to be a home for this type of facility."

Discussion on this proposal will continue at the first city council meeting in April.

In other business, Charles Wheeler, head of the parks department, said the Friends of the Park meeting held Tuesday night was a success. "We didn't have a huge turnout, but our purpose was definitely accomplished," he said.

Six new officers were appointed to the Friends of the Park group Tuesday, and they will be meeting in upcoming days to focus their efforts on specific areas that need to be accomplished, Wheeler said.

"If you hear about the new developments with our parks and you aren't excited, you don't have a pulse," Kooyman said. "This will be the talk of the city."

Jay Downs, representing the Smithfield Fire Department, presented a brief overview of new updates concerning Hyde Park's role in the community's fire and emergency services Wednesday. Due to county and city negotiations this year, several changes have been made to the fire department, he said.

"What happened with the negotiations benefited Hyde Park tremendously," he said, "and we are in a better position to provide emergency services than ever before."

Hyde Park received two new full-time employees this year to facilitate fire prevention activities within the community, perform inspections, administer fire codes and work on the ambulances, he said. Twenty part-time employees were also hired to help with the department, making it possible for two people to be on duty at the station every day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.

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