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Mayor Bill Baarsma Hosts CitiesFirst®
Roundtable Discussion In Tacoma By Dana Bykowski Mayor Bill Baarsma and members of the Tacoma City Council hosted CitiesFirst® on Tuesday, March 12th for a roundtable discussion with local community development and housing agencies, lenders, builders, and city housing staff to discuss the importance of providing affordable workforce housing opportunities to the residents of Tacoma. The hour-long discussion focused on increasing housing opportunities for residents who are of low-to-moderate income levels as well as providing for those who are homeless. Founder and Chairman of Nehemiah Corporation, Don Harris represented CitiesFirst® at the roundtable. CitiesFirst® also had the opportunity to meet separately with the Tacoma City Council and Mayor Baarsma following the roundtable to talk at greater "We are excited that Mayor Baarsma has welcomed this partnership between the United States Conference of Mayors and Nehemiah Corporation to Tacoma. We are looking forward to working with the city of Tacoma and other cities across the country to find innovative ways to combat the problems of affordable housing," said J. Thomas Cochran, Conference of Mayors Executive Director. "We are excited that Mayor Baarsma has welcomed this partnership between the United States Conference of Mayors and Nehemiah Corporation to Tacoma. We are looking forward to working with the city of Tacoma and other cities across the country to find innovative ways to combat the problems of affordable housing," said J. Thomas Cochran, Conference of Mayors Executive Director. Harris stressed the importance of providing for the "neediest among us" and that is exactly what a program like the Nehemiah Urban Land Trust is designed to do. The mission of the Nehemiah Urban Land Trust™ (NULT) is to acquire, manage and preserve affordable and special needs housing for low'income families and individuals. Tacoma has implemented several successful housing and community development programs offering homebuyer assistance, rehabilitation loans and home repair. All of these services are provided to low'income homeowners, many of who are elderly and/or persons with disabilities, and homebuyers. CitiesFirst® will work with the city of Tacoma on their current efforts with neighborhood development organizations to improve rental and owner occupied housing, eliminate blight, improve household and neighborhood safety and stimulate economic development. Mayor Baarsma expressing his support of CitiesFirst®, "At a time when cities across the nation are trying to plug budget holes and our residents are also feeling the squeeze of an economic downturn, we have to look for ever-more creative methods to increase homeownership. CitiesFirst® is a creative partnership that is already working in our community and providing valuable resources to cities across the country." Participants in the roundtable included: Tacoma Urban Policy Commission, Primary Residential Mortgage, Bank of America, Habitat for Humanity, West End Neighborhood Council, Tacoma Housing Authority, Dome District Business Group, Martin Luther King Housing Development Association, Tacoma Community Reinvestment Association, Metropolitan Development Council, Tacoma Rescue Mission, Washington Mutual, New Tacoma Neighborhood Council, Catholic Community Services, Alder Realty, Centex Homes, City of Tacoma Department of Economic Development, and Intercommunity Housing of Tacoma. For more information about CitiesFirst® or hosting a roundtable in your city, please contact Managing Director, Dana Bykowski, at the United States Conference of Mayors at (202) 861-6701or www.cities1st.org. |
