Commissioners hear frank talk on housing

OSSIPEE — Local woman Joy Gagnon took part in a frank conversation about the lack of housing with Carroll County commissioners at their Oct. 13 meeting.

Gagnon — who works at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service and has been active in Ossipee civic affairs over the years, including helping tenants displaced in the the Brick Manor fire in 2020 — came before the commissioners last Thursday morning to speak as a resident bout the lack of housing in the area.

“I’ve just been hearing so many stories of people that are dealing with this housing crisis, including my own,” said Gagnon. “And I just wanted to bring it to you just in case you’re not hearing these stories.”

Later on in the meeting, she questioned why commissioners didn’t help when the Bluebird Project, which is trying to build affordable housing in Conway, asked for the county’s assistance when applying for a grant.

“I just wanted to make sure that I came here and brought it to your attention,” said Gagnon. “I do talk to people, and they don’t realize where this is at.”

She added one woman she knows is living in a camper in a campground and had to be out of the campground by Oct. 14 but has no place to go. Gagnon knows other people who are couch surfing or living in a hotel.

“I myself was in the search for a house but because they raised the interest rates, and the housing market is so high, I couldn’t afford anything,” said Gagnon.

“So, I used my down payment to buy a small mobile home, which is fine; I’ll save money, but I won’t build any equity, which I was hoping to be able to have an investment for my future,” she said.

The issue is becoming more serious for those like the woman in the campground because winter is coming. “People are right now getting cold, and they’re outside,” said Gagnon. “These are hardworking people who are just trying to maintain their lives with children.

“I could have been in this boat,” she said.

She then wondered why the commissioners didn’t help the Bluebird Project, which is trying to create affordable housing on Pine Street in North Conway, secure a grant that could only be applied for through a local government body.

Bluebird went to the Conway selectmen, and were given the help they needed to get grants for Pine Street and another housing project on Seavey Street in North Conway.

“My point in this is that they came here, and nothing happened,” said Gagnon.

Commissioners replied that Bluebird didn’t have the “proper paperwork” and so they simply couldn’t accommodate Bluebird’s request. “We wanted to do it, but they didn’t have anything set in motion,” said chair Terry McCarthy (R-Conway).

Commissioners also said housing wasn’t generally in their purview, but Gagnon said elected officials need to get creative.

Commissioners suggested members of the public who are concerned about this should call and email their state representatives and state senators.

“They care what voters say,” said Commissioner Matthew Plache (R-Wolfeboro). “They don’t care what commissioners say, and we’re going into budget season. Local state representatives set the budget for Carroll County.

Commissioner Kim Tessari (R-Ossipee) said that commissioners wanted to turn some space in the former nursing home building into an emergency shelter.

“If it was up and running the way we wanted, it could have provided this woman and her children who are going to be out as of Friday ... heated space and walls until she could find something else,” said Tessari.

The county just acquired the former county courthouse building from the Ossipee Historical Society but said it would be hard to put families in there because it has issues with lead paint and layout.

In an exchange with a reporter, Plache said the county used to house the indigent and put them to work on the farm.

McCarthy said she remembered the county farm having livestock back when she was a little girl.

“We need to start talking about it,” said Plache of the housing crisis. “It’s one of the biggest issues we have.”

Gagnon told them Carroll County is the only county in New Hampshire without a homeless shelter.

Gagnon also went over some statistics, such as the median household annual income in Ossipee is $47,248. She said a household with that income could afford $1,181 per month for housing but she found only a couple rentals were available and they were for a two-bedroom dwelling renting for $1,550 and a four-bedroom for $1,950.

“If our median income for Ossipee is $47,000, nobody can afford that,” said Gagnon.

Purchasing a home is also out of reach for many, she said citing a write-up from the Mount Washington Valley Housing Coalition from January that is now outdated because interest rates have risen. “With a median sale price of $370,338, interest rate of 3.78 percent, and a $20,000 down payment the monthly principal and interest payments alone would be $1,628,” said the Housing Coalition in a climate housing report about the town of Ossipee filed in January.

“The housing burden mark for a family making $75,000 per year is $1,875 a month. This means that a median family in Carroll County trying to buy a median home would have roughly $250 of wiggle room to cover homeowner’s insurance, property taxes, and utilities each month. As the current purchase market stands a median family in Carroll County simply cannot afford a median home without significant economic burden placed upon them.”

The Housing Coalition says Ossipee is among the “most desirable locations” in the valley. Between 2019 and 2020, Ossipee was the third highest for real estate transactions after Conway and Bartlett.

Plache wondered why there was a housing crisis and guessed the issue seemed to be lack of supply.

Gagnon replied that during the pandemic, wealthy people bought up homes with cash and decimated the supply of housing.

Another issue is lack of water and sewer infrastructure. The county owns a water works that is connected to some residential houses.

Plache said the commissioners get a monthly report about real estate transactions. He said while the number of transactions have gone down, the amount of money involved has not, which indicates to him that high end properties are still exchanging hands.

Tessari added, “Why be a landlord with the headache of being a landlord when you can Airbnb every weekend?”

Former state Rep. Ed Comeau, who videos county meetings, for Govermentoversite.com, had a different take.

“The two major reasons why there’s no affordable housing — one, the Federal Reserve Bank and fractional reserve banking, and two, the local issue is discriminatory zoning ordinances,” said Comeau.