SPANISH FORT, Ala. — The first Baldwin Housing Authority for Baldwin County has been formed and a board of directors was recently announced, according to Darrelyn J. Bender, president and CEO of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.

According to the Baldwin County Commission, there is an affordable housing problem in Baldwin County. This led the initiative to address the problem, according to Bender.

The group will work on raising money, apply for grants and continue to work with private individuals and companies and anyone who is interested in solving the problems of affordable housing, Bender said.

According to a 2006 report from the Baldwin County Affordable Housing Task Force, Baldwin County is the fastest growing county in the state. Unemployment, increase in housing costs, and rising land prices all contribute to making affordable housing a problem for some segments of the population in this area.

The Commission gave the startup funds of $20,000 in June 2006 for a task force consisting of 35 participants to study affordable housing. Six months later the task force was requested to give a proposal on how to address the problem.

Later, in January 2007, the Commission appointed a task force of 10 to decide how best to set up a Baldwin County housing authority. The task force was created with five ecumenical representatives and five business representatives including Bender with Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce; Bob Higgins with Baldwin County Economic Alliance; Brenda Lee with Baldwin County United Way; Dan Hanson with ACT II, Mayor Fred Small of Daphne; Sister Julie Guillot with Eastern Shore Affordable Housing; Michele Prockup with Catholic Social Services; Sherry Weaver with Habitat for Humanity; Tom Pennington with Mercy Medical and Tom Poulos with Gooden Homes. It was facilitated by Frank Leatherbury.

“I think this task force did a fantastic job of structuring the job and is educating people on what they can do to get a house,” Bender said.

She said they do not want to duplicate efforts, but want to use everything that’s already in place. Working with different groups they can also leverage money to help get grants.

The task force gave a presentation to the County Commission in November 2007. The Commission approved giving the task force $80,000 to move forward, but the funds had to be matched, which the task force is still working on gaining.

A proposal was presented to and approved by the Commission, which consisted of three items: Forming a smaller group and move forward with an actual authority; to look at fast tracking permitting to help developers of affordable housing; and to look at the overlay of districts and help with planning and zoning ideas.

After putting together a vision statement, it was decided the best way to proceed was to create a 501C company, have a board of directors and action team, which includes organizations, churches and individuals, according to Bender.

The group proposed basic job descriptions, while the task force had the articles of incorporation and by-rules.

“Board composition would be reflective of the community and make ecumenical and business groups and others feel like they are represented,” she said.

The board includes one representative from each of the five area Chamber of Commerce's, as well as representatives from four nonprofit groups not directly associated with affordable housing, but who understand affordable housing. There are four clergy representatives from each county district who are appointed by clergy. There will be a representative from Baldwin County Economic Alliance.

Another proposed member will be a successful recipient who will tell the board what it is like to get affordable housing and how they can help more recipients; an ex-officio is a member of the Baldwin County Commission (Wayne Gruenloh) and one mayor (Mayor Fred Small of Daphne). Baldwin County mayors and county commissioners will choose the representative from their groups. The board just received approval and will meet in February for an all day retreat with a professional facilitator, Ramona Hill.

“They will hammer out the details on how the board will work and how action teams will be set up,” Bender said.

The Baldwin County Commission will not be in charge of the Affordable Housing Authority, Bender said.

“In fact, the county is so large and so diverse, we are not just addressing the workforce issue, but the working poor. It is multifaceted,” she said. “There is not just one level of affordable housing.”

The group will work on raising money, apply for grants and continue to work with private individuals and companies and anyone who is interested in solving the problems of afford. housing, Bender said.