Mayor picks 18 for affordable housing panel

Eighteen people have been selected by Mayor Darwin Hindman to serve on a committee that will develop an affordable housing policy for the city and identify ways to encourage it in Columbia.

The group will be known as the Affordable Housing Policy Committee. Chairman Jeff MacLellan of First National Bank said he hopes it will hold its first meeting within a month and have a report to the City Council by January.

MacLellan gave a description of the committee’s charge.

“Let’s say the average home price is $120,000,” he said. “If we need to find a way to drive it down to $100,000, we want to look at what those options are and hopefully come up with a package to do that.”

MacLellan said the package might include options such as forgivable loans or grants. He said the committee would look at what similar cities do.

Other committee members include Rhonda Carlson of C&C Construction; Mike Crist, who has experience in affordable housing investments; Mike Gilbert of Boone County National Bank; Wayne Huebert, a builder; Milton McHenry of the Missouri secretary of state’s office; Homer Page of the Disability Commission; Annie Pope of the Columbia Home Builders Association; Darin Preis, who has experience in affordable housing investments; Jim Schepers of the Community Development Commission; Anthony Stanton of the Minority Contractors Alliance; Phil Steinhaus of the Columbia Housing Authority; Steve Strawn, a Realtor; Al Tacker of the Family Counseling Center; Carol Van Gorp of the Columbia Board of Realtors; Kurt Wallace, an architect; Doug Wheeler of the Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission; and Traci Wilson-Kleekamp, representing neighborhood associations.