Dorchester Times: Is Dorchester Addressing Its Housing Needs?

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Is Dorchester Addressing Its Housing Needs?

Five years ago, this blog published the editorial below. It offered a basic plan to address the village's housing situation -- including the need for new and remodeled homes, and doing something about the problem of neglected and vacant homes.

We're re-running this editorial in March 2022 in hopes of spurring community discussion about the need to aggressively plan for Dorchester's future. This is more relevant than ever considering housing costs and inflation today, as more big city residents look to move to more affordable small towns.

Housing supply (or lack thereof) affects a community's school population, business support, local government revenue, and quality of life. To have a smart housing plan, the entire community needs to care, not just a handful of elected leaders. Read this editorial and provide feedback in the comments section.

---------------------------------

Two things truly define a small town: the character of its people and the quality of its housing.

With that in mind, here's a statistic that should concern Dorchester residents: Nearly 13% of housing units in the community are unoccupied, according to data collected by Sperling's Best Places.

Some are empty because elderly residents recently passed or are in nursing homes. Some are neglected properties that have been vacant for some time.

We've said it before: Nothing is harder on a town than unoccupied homes -- especially deteriorating, hazardous properties (residential and commercial).

Dorchester's population has been stagnant for decades. (At least we're not losing significant numbers, as many small towns across the Midwest.) But with the significant loss in farm families due to technology over the last 30 years, Dorchester needs to grow to ensure the well-being of its school and its long-term future.

The good news is Dorchester has a lot of hard-working, involved residents who are making positive change.

The bad news is we need more people to help in order to expedite the progress. It can happen.

Positive change should be focused squarely on housing and bringing new, young families to Dorchester. This includes efforts to attract former Dorchester-area residents back here.

Young families need to be told about (or reminded of) all the benefits of life in Dorchester, from lower taxes, lower housing costs, safer conditions, and better education standards.

Meanwhile, the strong majority of Dorchester homeowners are working very hard to improve their properties. (See our story on recent home improvements throughout town.) What's more, home price appreciation in Dorchester is up 5.40% over the last year.

Dorchester homes are a source of pride for the vast majority of our town's residents. That is why it is unfair when a handful of severely deteriorating properties threaten either the health of residents or the investments of nearby homeowners.

Here are steps we can all take, as individuals, to make Dorchester even better when it comes to housing:

Ask Town Representatives to Impose a Blight Tax and Fees on Vacant Properties: Town residents should ask Dorchester Village Board members to consider a blight tax and fee on abandoned properties in town. (Of course, exceptions would need to be made for properties owned by residents in long-term care and in extreme cases of hardship.) Keep in mind that a recent Times survey of readers found that 64% supported the blight tax concept and another 14% said the village board should at least obtain legal counsel and consider whether such a tax makes sense. Village board members need to hear from residents.

Gather Willing Investors and Create a Plan for New Housing: Individuals are needed to invest in Dorchester's housing, whether as residents or investors. This includes DHS alumni, families with ties to our town, farmers, business owners, school staff -- they can collaborate and craft a long-term housing plan for Dorchester. Maybe a townhouse or duplex development makes more sense in our small town today? Perhaps apartments? Those looking for expert housing help can get it from the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD), to study best practices, success stories, programs and ideas implemented by towns of our size.

Incentives for School Staff to Make a Home in Our Community: The Dorchester school board could consider providing financial incentives for DPS faculty to reside in town. This makes sense since every teacher and administrator is paid with property tax dollars imposed on residents. While homes are rarely for sale in town, there are plenty of homes that could be renovated if owners had reason to sell. And lots are currently available to build. Renting is also a possibility, since renters make up 20.91% of the Dorchester population, according to Census data.

Get Help for Those Homeowners in Dire Need: Nebraska USDA Rural Development recently announced that USDA is seeking applications for grants to make housing repairs for low- and very-low-income rural residents. The grants are being provided through USDA Rural Development's Housing Preservation Grant program. For those who truly need financial assistance with home repairs, call USDA's Nebraska office at 402-437-5563. Also, the community foundation and Dorchester Methodist Church seem to be logical places to help elderly and impoverished homeowners with clean-up or basic repairs.

Some will say the Times' plan is too simplistic. To those critics, we ask: How is the current approach working? Better yet, share your ideas in the comments section. You may do so anonymously.

4 comments:

AnonymousJune 28, 2016 at 1:24 PM
Dorchester has SOOOOO much going for it geographically and with the elevator and still having its own school. There are many, many nice homes so I just cant figure out why the town and current residents would put up with the handful of property owners that let their places crumble and detract from our nice town. PLEASE home and business owners, be mindful of your fellow residents! Southwest quarter of town is the most urgent
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousJune 28, 2016 at 4:17 PM
Pride. The rarest of qualities nowadays.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousJune 28, 2016 at 5:40 PM
We bought a house and fixed it up. Even the past owners thought that we did a good job on the house inside and out. Neighbors even commented to me that the house looked really nice. It is definitely a lot of work, but I do believe renovating the houses in Dorchester are worth it. We had people asking to rent it when we were done. They were asking a week after we bought it.
We do need more duplexes or apartments in Dorchester. The need is there.
As for the subject of teachers living in Dorchester, we all need to check the availability of housing. The new superintendent did look around and ask about houses for sale in Dorchester. I don't think he could find any. Plus some people in this community that want teachers to live here need to let the teachers be normal individuals as well. I know they are teaching your kids at school but they have to be able to relax and be themselves. Some people are too critical and need to sweep their own doorsteps before they worry about someone else's. Ok. I'm getting off my soapbox now.
Deanna Bird
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Village Dweller checks all reader comments to determine if they are appropriate for print.

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."