Is more affordable housing needed in Port Arthur?

That’s the discussion on the table at the Port Arthur Housing Authority. Cele Quesada, PAHA executive director, certainly feels this way. However, on the PAHA board, some agree and some do not.

The plan is to have more than 250 affordable homes built using grant money from the state, grant money that some on the board feel will be around $20 million. The majority of those homes will be built in the Port Acres area. As of this weekend, the PAHA will vote on this item during the Sept. 24^th meeting.

Programs of the Port Arthur Housing Authority have merit. There is a need.

Low-income families benefit much by what is offered: Services of one-on-one case management, job training, transportation assistance, college preparation, GED and literacy training. The list goes on and on.

Some programs even allow for families to potentially become homeowners over time. We understand that at this time few if any people have completed this program. However, the affordable housing in this plan is going to be leased, without a “for sale” option.

Affordable housing has its place in every community. And it should. The rub is in the balance. Knowing when your community has enough, or when more are needed.

Simply looking around a community and making a blank statement that more affordable housing is needed without providing hard proof would be irresponsible. That’s especially when Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman stated that Port Arthur has at least two or three times and perhaps five times the state average for such housing now.

When a community is known as a low-income city — Port Arthur has that reputation — and becomes a haven for those who are simply seeking a good deal, then you have more than enough low-income housing. If the city’s plan is to create a low-income community, simply continue to build … for they will come.

Unfortunately, this also creates a poverty-stricken city if decision-makers go too far. Median home values begin to decrease. Potential new businesses don’t look at our area as a place to expand. Current corporations or businesses might seek out other, more affluent communities to move to.

A visionary is a person with original idea about what the future will or could be like. There are many that brought Port Arthur to its heyday in the early 1900s, like our founding father, Arthur Stillwell. He was the visionary and reason we are all here.

Population began growing in 1920 and continued until 1960, surpassing 66,600 people. Port Arthur had a flourishing economy and was a great place to raise a family.

Unfortunately governmental, economic and demographic changes began. Over the next 60 years the population decreased to just fewer than 54,000 in 2010 and could potentially go under 50,000 in the upcoming 2020 Census.

When we lose our way, we have lose our cohesive vision to grow. We stop working together. After many years of being a struggling community, even with a massive petroleum industry in our own backyard, we continue to see decisions made that lack vision for a better Port Arthur.

If Port Arthur’s population declines to fewer than 50,000 in the 2020 Census, who will be filling these new affordable homes that the PAHA wants to build in Port Acres? A good bet would be they will draw people from other communities looking for an easy deal.

I guess that’s one way to increase your population numbers. But is it the right way? I think not.

If Port Arthur is ever going to have the chance to aspire to what it was, it needs to stop thinking of itself as a low-income, affordable housing city. It must have the vision to see its potential. Community organizations and government entities must work together as one, not independently.

Contact your City Council member if you feel Port Arthur has enough affordable housing already. They need to know your feelings.

Rich Mackie is publisher of The Port Arthur News.