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Page 4 — Thursday, September 22, 2022 — The Hastings Banner

The Hastings Banner

Devoted to the interests of Barry County since 1856

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CFO

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- NEWSROOM •
Jayson Bussa (Editor)
Molly Macleod (Copy Editor)
Brett Bremer (Sports Editor)
Greg Chandler
Hunter McLaren

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:

P.O. Box 188

Hastings, MI 49058-

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Have you met?

Do you remember?

Did you see?

Our housing crisis

continues...

For years, leaders throughout Barry

County have talked about the need for

additional housing yet the progress

has been slow and spotty.

Currently, most of the new housing

construction has been in Middleville

and surrounding townships. The lack

of housing growth in other areas of the

county has become a concern because

it’s impacting our schools, which in

recent years have seen a decline in

enrollment, putting pressure on dis-

tricts to compete against each other

for a shrinking pool of students.

Plus local industries are feeling the

pinch of attracting and keeping

employees on the job due to the diffi-

culty in finding a place for them to

live.

“We’re finding it extremely difficult

to staff positions not necessarily due

to money, benefits, culture or the type

of work that we’re performing,” said

Viking Corporation’s vice president of

human services Dennis Quam. “It’s

because of the lack of available hous-

ing, whether it be rental apartments,

condos or single-family homes.”

Denny and I attended both the Hast-

ings City Council and Barry County

Board of Commissioners meetings

recently to plead our case for the

cooperation of attracting more hous-

ing projects throughout Barry County.

Both bodies blamed the other for

moving the Tyden Lofts project in

downtown Hastings forward – a prob-

lem many developers face when try-

ing to work with local governments.

Affordable housing is a basic com-

ponent needed for society to function.

Research shows the foundational

importance of safe, decent and afford-

able housing determines the level of

concern for child welfare, labor mar-

ket outcomes and the overall health

and vitality of a community.

The recent interest in our communi-

ty from developers is a promising

possibility. But it takes visionary lead-

ership and their willingness to work

with developers to make it happen.

“Progress is impossible without

change, and those who cannot change

their minds, cannot change anything,”

said playwright George Bernard Shaw.

Every town relies on a diverse blend

of people whose circumstances call

for a range of housing types, afford-

ability levels and locations. Workers

need reasonably priced housing near

work. In the late 1940s, many of the

houses built in Hastings were near the

E.W. Bliss and Hastings Manufactur-

ing Company, making it possible for

workers to walk to and from work

each day.

New households and growing fami-

lies need an expanding stock of hous-

ing with affordable options. And retir-

ees are looking for options so they can

downsize yet still remain in their

communities. And companies and

local businesses need workers and

customers to prosper so solving the

housing crisis will determine the vital-

ity of our community in the future.

That’s why we must ask, are the

rules and regulations on the books in

our communities creating barriers that

reduce or impede the housing supply?

And, are regulations driving up

prices, and making it difficult for

homeowners to build their dream

homes?

Developers warn that one reason

housing is scarce is that, in a typical

market, an apartment complex with

affordable rents costs more to build

than developers can recoup through

rents. And creating housing that is

affordable has become even more dif-

ficult. So what can be done to change

the situation? A substantial part of the

problem and solution is within local

control.

New housing doesn’t just require

land, materials and labor, it must pass

through local approvals, which can be

lengthy, often adding to development

expenses. Plus new development that

provides multi-family or affordable

housing approvals are often conten-

tious and uncertain, which can impact

the outcomes.

According to a recent study by The

American Economic Journal Macro-

economics, housing supply constraints

don’t just add to rents and home pric-

es, they create a drag on the national

economy and exacerbate income

inequality.

By loosening constraints on hous-

ing development, it increases the

nation’s gross domestic product.

Removing regulatory barriers to

affordable housing and investing more

in rental subsidies can strengthen the

fabric of all communities, from rural

towns and villages to major urban

transit hubs. In fact, modernizing zon-

ing codes, housing permitting pro-

cesses and other land-use policies

could allow housing resources to

stretch farther.

Plus, Hastings and other small

towns throughout the county have a

unique opportunity for growth due to

their location near major metropolitan

centers, and the existing character of

their communities – we just need to

agree on a plan for the future that will

provide the level of growth and sus-

tainability that will attract high-quali-

ty development.

When asked by the Hastings City

Council ‘What suggestions do you

have for us?’, my response was to

allow city sewer and water into the

neighboring townships where land is

prevalent and it would allow a denser

development to offset the cost of

infrastructure.

Plus Hastings has one of the few

Opportunity Zones in the area, which

attracts investment, especially when

you’re dealing with a volatile stock

market. We have options but our lead-

ers must be willing to use them.

Growth just doesn’t happen; it takes

a concerted effort by local groups and

government. Good growth is inten-

tional, with thoughtful planning and

strong support from the community.

In the book 13 Ways To Kill Your

Community, author Doug Griffiths

warns leaders that, “Everything

changes. The world is change. It

always will be. You can watch it,

understand it, internalize it, respond to

it, adapt to it, regulate it, take part in

it, capitalize on it and make it your

own – or you can deny it is happening,

ignore its consequences, and it will hit

you like a freight train.

Change will happen whether you

like it or not. And change always

wins.”

Barry County is at a crossroads, we

will either answer the call for addi-

tional housing and make it happen or

we will reject change and experience

the consequences of our actions.

Halley’s

Wayne’s Comet

In this section, we commonly ask ‘Did

you see this?’ In this case, you did not –

which is why we’re sharing it with you.

While on assignment for an upcoming

report from the Delton area, resident

Wayne Houghpaling gave us a quick peek

at his prized Mercury Comet, which has

been stashed in his garage for years.

Houghpaling had the vehicle shipped to

him from Arizona, and, at its age, it’s still

looking pretty good.

“Look at it – no rust anywhere,” he said

with a smile.

Good morels

Banner 1970s

Duane Bowerman and his wife, Maria, 736 North Michigan, Hastings, picked these luscious mushrooms in about three hours Sunday.

Duane isn’t saying exactly where, but he says they gathered about a half-bushel “somewhere near Freeport.” Duane says they have har-

vested more mushrooms this year than last year. – Banner photo.

Staff writer Hunter McLaren is a Report

for America corps member covering

schools, city government and community

issues in Barry County for The Hastings

Banner. Report for America is a national

service project that places journalists in

local newsrooms to report on under-cov-

ered issues.

As part of the program, corps members

are expected to take on a service project

that benefits the community. McLaren hosts

a weekly, two-hour writing class for middle

and high school students in Barry County.

This week’s Bright Light features writing

and reporting contributions from local stu-

dents Zeke Ring, Kelly Burhans and

Carleigh Stonehouse.

Wearing blue smokey-eye makeup, Zac

Ploeg confidently walked the Thornapple

Kellogg High School hallways.

“I just didn’t care what people thought,

so nobody really messed with me,” Ploeg

said. “But I think if you let people get under

your skin, they will. So you just really have

to be confident and you can’t let the B.S.

get in the way.”

After graduating, Ploeg now works at

Left Field Coffee Bar in Hastings.

Ploeg sees Left Field as more than a cof-

fee shop. He sees it as a safe place for the

LGBT community to gather in a rural area.

“I think it’s really important to have plac-

es like this in towns like this,” he said.

“Because I know from people I went to

school with who were part of the LGBT

community, they didn’t really have any-

where to go.”

While he plans on continuing to work at

Left Field during the day, Ploeg starts cosme-

tology night classes in November. Although

he decided on cosmetology, he originally

wanted to go to school to be a makeup artist.

Ploeg took a theatrical makeup class

when he was 13-years-old. He’s been doing

it ever since.

“I wasn’t good at it, but I really liked it

and I kept trying,” he said. “Eventually, I

was good at it. I’ve come a long way since

then.”

He attributes his interest in makeup and

cosmetology to two things: his mother, who

is also a cosmetologist; and his love for

theater. Ploeg, who performed in a theater

show from the time he was in the fourth

grade until he graduated high school, is still

carrying on his penchant for performance in

a new way.

“Well, I am an Instagram drag queen,”

Ploeg said. “I have not made my way into

performing yet. We’re still working on it.”

Starting with drag makeup and a wig

when he was 15, Ploeg only started doing

full-body drag makeovers last fall. He

remembers becoming first interested in

drag in the seventh grade, when he would

sneak upstairs at his family’s house and

watch “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

“I always loved it, and I was like, ‘Oh,

this looks fun.’ But I never considered

doing it,” Ploeg said. “Then I saw the show

Dragula, which is a lot more inclusive, and

it’s more my thing. I love scary things. So

then I was like, ‘Oh, okay, so this is what I

need to do.’”

Performing as “The Mermaid,” Ploeg

describes the look as “spooky, but pretty

and a little eerie.” The horror-themed make-

over is one of the reasons he likes drag so

much, he said.

“Most people, when they think of drag,

they think it’s men in wigs, which really

isn’t the case anymore,” he said. “It’s taking

an idea of something and making it bigger,

extravagant and more detailed.”

“Because there’s drag kings and drag

queens, there’s really no (defined) roles. It’s

a performance art (for some), or sometimes

just art for some people where the perfor-

mance really isn’t there. But I would say

it’s just about entertaining people.”

For following his passions and his

unwavering confidence, Zac Ploeg is this

week’s Bright Light.

Favorite dinner: Pizza. Hungry How-

ie’s pizza, in particular. Just cheese. Some-

times if I’m feeling crazy, pepperoni, but

that’s a rare occasion.

Favorite movie: “Jennifer’s Body.”

Favorite season: Fall, because it’s cold

but not too cold. And I like Halloween.

What kind of music do you like: It’s a

very wide range. I tend to like music with

a lot going on. I’m okay if it’s boring the

whole time if at the end something really

cool happens. I like some weird music,

like Slayyyter. I don’t know how to

describe that, it’s like crazy pop music. I

listen to bubblegum pop, heavy metal, I

really do it all.

Each week, the Banner profiles a person

who makes the community shine. Do you

know someone who should be featured

because of volunteer work, fun-loving per-

sonality, for the stories he or she has to tell,

or for any other reason? Send information

to Newsroom, Hastings Banner, 1351 N.

M-43 Highway, Hastings, MI 49058; or

email [email protected].

Zac Ploeg

Fred Jacobs, CEO,

J-Ad Graphics Inc.