wastewater facility to support growth and address environmental concerns. A new electrical substation is also being developed to enhance capacity and prepare for growth. Gunselman acknowledges,“The thing about infrastructure, housing, and people, it’s a cycle. You just have to go through all those processes. We do own our utilities, and we do a really good job of keeping them up to date and in good working order. But now we’re at the point where we’re increasing the capacity of those systems so we can bring houses online, and so we can accept the people who are wanting to move here.” HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT With a consistent annual growth rate of over 1% for more than a decade, Jasper is addressing its housing needs to support its growing population. Historically, the city’s housing inventory consisted largely of single-family homes and apartment buildings. However, the city is adapting to fit the current needs, as Gunselman recounts,“We’ve taken a more mindful approach to try to address the missing middle in some of those developments, and we are also looking at adding workforce housing and more affordable housing to our inventory.” To further these efforts, Jasper has collaborated with university students to explore strategies for promoting infill housing in older parts of the city. “Indiana University works with municipalities in providing student capacity to address different problems,” Gunselman details. Recently, the focus was on infill housing, and how to structure programs and ordinances to allow for development on smaller lots in the older areas of the community. “We’re trying to look at strategies to promote infill and get more economic value from the land that we currently have,” he emphasizes. “At the same time, we’re still looking at traditional housing starts and more of that missing middle. Really, it’s just taking the landscape and being more open to different types of housing germanamerican.com Proud to call Jasper home since 1910! 8 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 02
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