Business View Civil Municipal June 2023

149 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 6 PERRYVI LLE , MISSOURI He notes that Perryville is dedicated to addressing this housing shortage in the community, introducing a new incentive program that offers a reimbursement of $15,000 for single-family homes that meet specific criteria, and $3,000 per unit for apartment complexes. Additionally, duplexes receive a higher reimbursement rate of $6,000 per unit. “The mayor and the Board have identified this as one of our biggest challenges as a community. When the housing supply and the supply chain got disrupted, we doubled down and decided we’re going to go all in and try to help spur housing in Perryville,” he relays. “When we say housing, we need all levels of housing. We need an apartment for that young person looking for their first place on their own, we need starter homes for young married couples and families, and then we need the next size and the next size after that. We could use everything from an apartment to a three-quarter million-dollar home plus.” In a commitment to sustainability, the city has invested in natural gas vehicles for its public works fleet and has collaborated with Citizens Electric to support the opening of a half-megawatt solar farm which now operates within its limits. Perryville is also pioneering the adoption of electric transportation in the Midwest, working with Beta Technology to install an electric plane charging station at the airport. As well the city EV charging stations have been installed at the airport and the local Holiday Inn, a collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources funded 80% of the project. Additionally, Perryville is addressing environmental challenges and receiving statewide recognition for its efforts. Buerck relays, “The community has been featured several times for its conservation efforts, including a 2022 feature article in the Missouri Conservationist, published by the Department of Conservation in Missouri. The L-A-D Foundation recently produced a mini- documentary that will show you what we’ve done as a community to address sinkholes, and protect the karst topography, and how we work to keep our groundwater safe. The strides we’ve made