Community leaders have seen the ever increasing need for adequate housing in Rutland be a deterrent for community growth. Because this need has been identified as an issue that does not seem to be met nor will it be in the near future, the Horizons committee decided to host a roundtable to discuss this issue as a regional one.
Diane Smith engaged the North Dakota Housing and Finance Agency to come to their community along with other STAT members to speak to community leaders about solutions to the housing shortage. The STAT team is made up of representatives from a number of state agencies. They are: ND Housing and Finance Agency, Affordable Housing Developers, Inc.; Community Works ND; Eastern Dakota Housing Alliance; Fannie Mae; ND Dept. of Commerce; ND Rural Dev. Council and Center for Technology and Business; US Dept. of HUD; and USDA Rural Development.
This event was publicized to neighboring communities who are struggling with the same issue. The event led to a great discussion and exchange of ideas about what is working in rural communities around the issue of housing.
This small community of 300 isn’t afraid to tackle tough issues. Citizens fully intend to meet them head on.
rutlandramblings 
Great article. Steele faces similar challenges with housing and we also are planning on hosting a round table. I was wondering what kind of feedback you have gotten from the community?
Alva Schoepp
steelecc@bektel.com
Hi Alva,
I think that overall, the feedback on our housing round table was good. The conversation that was generated with the STAT team and among communities was a good one. Different communities have come up with some innovative, out of the box, solutions to their housing problems and this kind of forum is a good way to hear what has worked and not worked elsewhere. It also gives you some great contacts and resources to help with projects that you just don’t really know where to start. Good luck and please let me know if I can help.