Porter to form school task force to look at affordable housing proposal

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Resisting a determined push to quickly build a workforce housing development behind Sugarloaf School, Monroe County School Superintendent Mark Porter is suggesting that a task force be formed to explore the feasibility of the project.

That is exactly what school board member Andy Griffiths was afraid of; that potential solutions to the dire need for affordable housing for school district teachers and staff will get bogged down, as they have throughout Monroe County while county and city officials struggle with the impact of soaring real estate prices on local workers.

But Griffiths, who faced off with Porter at a contentious school board meeting on Oct. 24, met separately afterwards with the superintendent to hear how the task force would be set up. While Porter said the committee will have a specific purpose and timeline to accomplish its mission – “to look more closely at the feasibility of this specific Monroe County School District workforce housing project” – no details were set at the Oct. 31 meeting with Griffiths.

“My fear is the same as it was on Oct. 10, when I first brought it up. Next week will be November 10. I just feel we might lose momentum,” Griffiths said.

But Porter was adamant that building 20 pre-fabricated concrete houses on land next to Sugarloaf School needs to be studied before issuing the Request for Proposals (RFP) from developers that Griffiths has been pushing for. In a letter to the school board and the school district executive leadership team, Porter said that “next steps” are underway. The district’s attorneys are researching land use designations and possible limits on the school district-owned land next to the school. And the school human resources department is going to survey the 106 employees with “significant housing challenges” post-Hurricane Irma to see if they would be interested in renting the proposed Sugarloaf homes, Porter said.

“The one thing I want to clearly communicate to school board members is that there will not be an RFP issued within the next week, as was discussed if not demanded during the meeting. We simply are not ready to do so in a meaningful and effective way. However, a significant amount of time and effort will continue to go into our response to the board’s concerns regarding this issue,” Porter wrote in his letter dated Oct. 27.

Porter also made a not-so-subtle objection to the tenor of the Oct. 24 meeting, where several passionate residents spoke about their support for the Sugarloaf project. Tempers rose during the meeting, including between Griffiths and board Chairman John Dick.

“Tuesday night felt like a little bit of a blast from our past with regard to board room climate and decorum, and hopefully is something we can remedy and correct quickly.   I’m not sure how the fact that there are some questions and issues to be addressed with regard to the Sugarloaf Workforce Housing proposal got interpreted by so many people as being in opposition,” Porter said.

But Griffiths, who acknowledges that he pushed hard to get Porter to respond quickly to the critical need for affordable housing, said he hopes the superintendent will move immediately to appoint the four to six people he is proposing to sit on the task force. If not, Griffiths said he knows “lots of people willing to serve,” including some with land use expertise.

“People who can make things happen,” he said. “No more yak, yak, yak.”

Griffiths is proposing the district build 20, pre-fabricated concrete homes that could be installed in a day and a half. Speaking with modular home builder Leesburg Concrete Co., Griffiths said the initial cost projections are about $170,000 for each of the two-bedroom/one bath, 768-square-foot houses, including air conditioning and finishings. It would cost another approximately $1 million to provide water, sewer and electricity to the Sugarloaf development, something that Griffiths is hoping Keys Energy Services and the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority would install for free. And with potential 100 percent financing available for school capital projects, the school district’s out of pocket costs could be kept to a minimum. Rent charges, which Griffiths hopes would range around $1,800 a month, would cover the cost of the mortgage as well as an outside firm to manage the housing development, he said.

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