BOZEMAN — The Bozeman City Commission is still working to address affordable housing issues in the community.
In the meantime, it has appointed a new Affordable Housing Manager.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint - and we’re going to work on it over time.”
Earlier this week, city staff and commissioners rolled up their sleeves to do a deep dive into the Community Action Plan that passed last November.
And Tanya Andreasen, the former Neighborhoods Director with the city, has hit the ground running in her new position.
“So last night’s (Monday) meeting was about, ‘Okay, we have this action plan?’ How are we going to get that work done?” said Andreasen.
The goal: prioritize action items that fall under the plan, keeping long and short term goals in mind.
Andreasen says it’s an onerous task that falls on commissioners, city staff and numerous community partners - which is why it’s important to prioritize.
“There’s too much work to get done right now with limited staff and capacity,” she said. “So what are we going to do first? And what resources do we need and what resources do we have?”
Bozeman Mayor Chris Mehl said there’s plenty of work to do moving forward, but Monday’s meeting will keep the ball rolling.
“Housing is a big issue,” Mehl said. “It’s going to take a while. The real focus is on what are we doing soon? And that is looking at the regulations we have. Can we build more housing units? Are we subsidizing in the right place? How do we provide targeted assistance?”
Andreasen said prioritizing is important, but collaboration between commissioners, staff and community is key.
“It’s not all about the work of the City Affordable Housing Program,” she said. “It’s about how we can all come together and leverage our strengths.”
Andreasen is the third housing manager to be hired since the position was created a few years ago.
She said her experience as City Neighborhood Director has prepared her for the new job.
