Dorchester Times: FLASHBACK: Readers Want New Housing In Dorchester (And Now We Know It's Coming)

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

FLASHBACK: Readers Want New Housing In Dorchester (And Now We Know It's Coming)

In May 2014, the Dorchester Times asked readers who lived in Dorchester if they wanted to see new housing built in our community. More than 60 readers/residents responded to the survey.

When we asked if they supported new housing in Dorchester, an overwhelming 83% of respondents said "yes." Around 17% said "no."

Those who said that they wanted new housing in Dorchester were then asked which area of town would they like to see new homes built. Readers were evenly divided, with 40% saying build north of town and 40% saying south of town. The rest wanted housing elsewhere.

We bring up this four-year-old survey because now the Times can confirm that action is being taken by village leaders to grow Dorchester -- in geographic size, anyway. Dorchester officials have annexed a large piece of farm ground immediately north of town for purposes of housing development.

The land being annexed is owned by William J. Plouzek. The area's boundaries are 12th Street to the south; the Hwy 6 spur (or County Road 1400) to the west; County Road D to the north; and County Road 1450 to the east.

From what we know, following the annexation, the Dorchester Village Board will use an economic development tool known as "tax increment financing" (TIF) to provide an incentive to build new homes. Authorized by Nebraska voters in 1978, TIF diverts taxes generated by the increase in a redeveloped property's taxable value to reimburse the cost of new infrastructure over as much as 15 years. Of course, there would have to be sufficient interest and a commitment to build new homes.

According to sources, at least two new homes are going up in Dorchester this fall (on 9th Street and 12th Street). At least two additional homes are being planned to be constructed in the northeast section of town. (Also, don't forget that these lots in are available for housing.)

Which brings us to another survey (conducted by the Times in March 2014) of 20 DHS alumni ages 18-30 showed that 80% of these young people -- many of whom have already married and/or have children -- would currently consider moving back to Dorchester. However, nearly all of those alumni said there would need to be adequate housing. Others told us they would not move back unless there were more streets with paving. We've heard the same sentiments from Baby Boomers in or near retirement.

13 comments:

AnonymousMay 5, 2014 at 4:15 PM
I thought Lyle Weber commented on this last time .... just saying
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AnonymousMay 5, 2014 at 6:43 PM
Would the new street be paved?
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AnonymousMay 6, 2014 at 8:53 AM
How much property tax dollars does the village get from the farmers cooperative? And I'm told another $2 million of investment is going in this summer.

And we can't get a serious look at new housing development? Really??
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AnonymousMay 6, 2014 at 2:50 PM
They can get more serious about it when the property owners and the developer come to a meeting!
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AnonymousMay 6, 2014 at 4:30 PM
Go Huskers! Let's all get warm and fuzzy.
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AnonymousMay 6, 2014 at 4:31 PM
With all the talk of paved streets, has anyone asked where the money goes that the village gets from Keno sales???
I would think as much as people spend on that, there would have been some streets already paid for by now....
Just an opinion: why would you go forward on development if the streets can't even get paved???
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AnonymousMay 7, 2014 at 11:51 AM
10 percent of keno sales ain't going to pave many streets
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AnonymousMay 7, 2014 at 1:03 PM
WHY WON'T THE BOARD JUST PUT THE PAVING ISSUE TO A VOTE OF THE TOWN'S PEOPLE?

SCARED IT WILL PASS???
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AnonymousMay 7, 2014 at 2:23 PM
There have been 5 homes that have sold here in town, and guess what there no paving.People are buying homes. I think the pavements pushers should rethink, it's the town that is growing, no matter if there is paving or not. You could put it to vote, but everyone knows what the outcome will be. Dorchester is growing, no matter if there is paving or not.
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AnonymousMay 7, 2014 at 2:29 PM
Interesting discussion here. I bought a home in Dorchester a while back simply because it was on a paved street.

I can tell you that I would not have done the same had the house been on a graveled, dusty road. Sorry. Just stating the truth.

I do wish the town leadership would allow residents to vote, for once and for all, on the paving issue. I think some board members have been swayed to oppose paving just to "go along along to get along."

Maybe the better solution is just to start a new development on the outskirts of town as the bloggers have talked about. Pave there and see what happens.
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AnonymousMay 9, 2014 at 11:47 AM
I have a question...If the streets would get paved, how would the cost be distributed? Meaning, would it be on a 20 year bond like the renovation of the school is? I would think grants would be involved as well.

I believe that when the first informational meeting was held, big numbers were given to the citizens when it came to paving. Some of the people I talked to who went to the meeting were overwhelmed with the numbers. Is there any way that someone can put together actual numbers that people can count on? When the school bond went through, my taxes went up $100 a year. I am glad to pay that. Can we put some kind of numbers together to explain to people what they will actually be paying? This subject needs to be taken care of. Let the citizens vote, after an informational meeting that doesn't scare everyone half to death.
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AnonymousMay 10, 2014 at 10:34 AM
well we need to fix the water lines before we do any paving. if you all recall seeing a few of them bust this last winter. i believe that was even told to some of us that would happen when we got the new water tower. lets work from the bottom up, it will be a lot easier Dorchester
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AnonymousSeptember 5, 2018 at 11:13 AM
Baby Boomers are the Flashback generation. We can't get any Respect!!
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."