Something Boone County and the City of Columbia have been quietly working on for a while is about to get some national attention. Their joint housing study is being honored with an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) — one of 18 categories NACo recognizes each year for county programs that actually move the needle — with the recognition happening this Sunday, July 19, at NACo’s annual conference in New Orleans.
The study looks at some of the same pressures a lot of us feel here in the Boonslick, just at county scale: workforce housing, starter homes people can actually afford, and making sure housing works for residents with disabilities. According to Boone County’s announcement, the study leans on data-driven tools — including a housing study “crosswalk” and a 10-stage housing continuum — to figure out where the gaps are and what to do about them.
This isn’t a study that’s going to sit on a shelf, either. It’s now guiding the work of Upward Mobility’s Affordable Housing Coalition Workgroup, and city and county leadership are reviewing its progress through quarterly coordination meetings, turning the findings into actual strategy rather than a one-time report.
It won’t shock anyone who’s tried to buy a starter home around here lately that “workforce housing” is doing a lot of work in that description. Boonslick towns like ours depend on a lot of the same labor market Columbia does — construction crews, restaurant staff, home health aides — and if those workers can’t find anywhere affordable to live within a reasonable drive, that’s a problem that doesn’t stay confined to Columbia city limits.
For Rocheport, sitting inside Boone County, that’s worth paying attention to even though the study’s headline numbers are county- and city-focused. Countywide housing strategy eventually touches every corner of the county, including the small towns that don’t always get a seat at the table when these conversations happen in Columbia. If you want to know more about the study or how to get involved, the county’s Community Services Department is the place to start — Program Coordinator Enola-Riann White can be reached at (573) 886-4298 or upward@boonemo.gov.