Affordable housing and adequate child care are two pieces of the economic development puzzle that
help draw new employers to a community.
Clinton needs more of both, according to presenters at a recent meeting sponsored by the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce. The luncheon, held September 18 at the Clinton Elks Lodge, highlighted how growth in each area could support new jobs.
Dozens of local leaders, business owners and service agency staff members heard from two presenters: Mark Dawson, Economic Development Director for Clinton, and Robin Phillips, CEO of Child Care Aware of Missouri.
Dawson shared the results of a housing study completed by Next Move Group, a consulting firm that works with small to mid-sized communities. The findings show that 163 additional housing units, both homes and apartments, are needed locally in the next five years to keep up with job growth. Two-thirds of the housing units are needed for those in the $50,000 to $75,000 income bracket, and the rest are needed for the $100,000 to $150,000 income bracket.
The study results were based in part on how many Henry County residents own their homes vs. renting, how much rent or mortgage residents can afford based on their other expenses, and how many homes and rental properties currently are available in the area.
Dawson said that when selecting a site, companies that once focused on “location, location, location” now look at labor. He said that firms want as many as 10 applicants for each open position to find employees.
“We have to look at those projects that we can make work here,” Dawson said. The largest available tract at Gerhart Industrial Park is 20 acres, and the average request by developers is 30-plus acres, which means many projects are out of reach.
In addition, 11 percent of companies require rail, which also is not available. Dawson also said the average request he receives requires available labor of 3,500. Within a 25-mile radius of Clinton the number of unemployed is 2,200.
Despite the challenges, Dawson said he remains positive. He said a handful of current projects are “viable,” and he pointed to an expansion at Cloy Estates, a senior housing development, that will add another 38 units with a $10 million investment.
When older adults downsize, that opens houses up for others, he said.
Phillips, who is from Henry County originally, said the lack of child care locally is also a challenge across
the state and the country. She said inadequate child care affects recruitment, productivity, attendance and retention, adding that the Missouri economy loses $1.35 billion annually due to childcare issues.
She said 80 percent of working parents say that child care benefits impact their decision to stay at a company, and 69 percent of women with young children said they would be more likely to choose an employer that assisted with child care access.
Phillips said 435 slots exist at seven licensed facilities locally for children from birth through 6 years, but more than 1,200 could be needed based on current population numbers. The result for the community is that young parents and grandparents or others raising young children are missing work, distracted, disengaged and frustrated.
“Child care is a community wraparound issue,” she said, and requires an investment “if you want people back to work.”
A variety of options can help, she said, including communicating with workers, offering and educating employees about Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), offering flexible work arrangements and contributing to child care costs as a benefit.
Following the presentation, participants asked several questions.
Kathy Wilson with the Clinton Senior Center said she sees many older adults with inadequate or no housing. She questioned whether the Cloy Estates expansion would be enough to make a difference.
Dawson said builders who are interested in housing projects have to weigh construction costs against the income generated from a project.
“How do you produce it?” he said. “I don’t know. I really don’t have an answer ready.”
Clinton Mayor Carla Moberly said the cost of goods to build or rehabilitate a property combined with interest and insurance rates can stop developers.
“When you put those three together, it doesn’t pencil out,” she said.
Steve Lebofsky of Moreland Day Care asked for examples of how a community could close the gap in child care, in Missouri in particular.
Phillips said she has seen initiatives in other states, one in which a payroll tax paid for child care and another in which the public and private sectors worked together with 80 percent of the funding coming from private sources.
“It’s a very layered, complex thing to fix,” Phillips said. “It takes strategic doing, not strategic planning. It takes the whole community.”
Dawson closed the event with the announcement that the Docking Institute from Fort Hayes State University would complete a six-county labor study in the spring in that involves polling 2,000 residents to provide additional data.
