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Organizations have found the biggest challenge to economic growth in Sanders County is the dire need for housing. According to the new Sanders County Community Development Corporation (SCCDC) Executive Director, Ray Brown, over the past few years the county has been conducting assessments through block grants and have found that “affordable housing is a major barrier for development.” Brown explained that the current stock of housing is either non-existent, unaffordable or unlivable and that there is no incentive for builders in the area. There is also a lack of property on the market to build on and a large portion of the workforce not making enough to drive housing construction in the area.

On July 6, the SCCDC and other organizations, including the Mineral County Economic Development Corporation and the Sanders County Community Housing organization, released an online survey allowing Sanders County residents to weigh in on the situation. Brown said the survey is extremely important because it will be a large driving force for change and development in the area. The survey is also part of the larger assessment happening, something that has never been done in the county before. Without a survey having been done in the past, the county is closed off to many possible grants and government funding that could help Sanders address many infrastructural issues that have been rising to the surface in recent years, Brown said.

Preceding the survey, between June 16 and June 26, the organizations got together with major players in the county, including mayors, banks, hospitals, tribal housing and many more, in order to get an idea of the issues that these groups believed were in the way of business growth and general welfare in Sanders County. The one thing that kept coming up was the need for housing for prospective employees. They concluded that for the economy to grow, locals need to be able to afford to live in the area and young transplants need incentive to move here to work those jobs.

The SCCDC needs at least 1,000 participants in the survey to get an accurate reading of the community. They feel positive as there were 76 within the first day the survey opened, however, there is still a long way to go. According to Brown, residents need to respond in order for the SCCDC and other organizations to create out-of-the-box solutions. “The first step in solving a problem is to identify it,” said Brown.

The SCCDC expects to have results of the assessment produced by September. Results are anonymous and the entire survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. It can be completed at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RS-Sanders. Questions can also be directed to (406) 827-6935.