Perryville to host meeting about lack of housing

The city of Perryville, Missouri, will hold a meeting Friday to gather opinions on housing needs for senior citizens as part of a larger study on housing and economic development being conducted by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission.

The study, said commission deputy director David Grimes, is designed to help the city get an idea of the housing market, including availability, whether there are barriers to development for more housing and what the city could do to promote development.

Friday's meeting will focus on seniors, according to a news release from the city, and all residents who are concerned about senior housing needs are invited.

Brent Buerck, the city administrator in Perryville, said in the release the city needs to get as many points of view as it can. The meeting will be at 10 a.m. Friday in the city council's meeting room at city hall.

Scott Sattler, executive director of the Perry County Economic Development Authority, which contributed to the funding needed for the housing study, said the study is examining the area's needs for growth.

"When I look at it, as far as economic development, as our industry needs to grow, we need to know is there a workforce here, and housing is a part of that," Sattler said.

Perryville has seen great growth in industry and a corresponding dip in the county's unemployment rate during the past several years, but community leaders want a better look at how people from the region and smaller parts of it are fueling growth, and whether population and infrastructure is sufficient to support more economic development.

Residential housing availability is a key issue for the city, as signaled by previous statements of city leaders, who have said it is the biggest economic challenge facing Perryville.

A related survey on the commission's website also asks residents and nonresidents about demographics, such as family size, living situation and housing; whether the community offers what they need in economic activity and educational opportunity; and why they choose to live in Perryville.

Ken Kiefer, president of the board of directors for the Cape County Board of Realtors, which assisted with a grant to help pay for the study, said the board is interested in the betterment of communities and available housing.

"The city has done a good job of attracting industry, but not many more people are living in Perryville as opposed to commuting," Kiefer said.

Grimes said the city is wondering whether there is something it can do in housing that will promote population growth.

Perry County had a 4.7 percent unemployment rate in April, according to the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which is one of the lowest rates in the region.

The population of the city is just over 8,300, according to current estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, up slightly from the 2010 official population count of 8,225.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632