As a member of the Board of Director of the Downtown Little Rock CDC, Jay has worked with others to build a series of high-quality, affordable homes east of Main Street.  Many of these new houses employ sustainable designs that reduce the owners’ power bills, simultaneously enhancing the long-term affordability of the homes and providing environmental benefits.   What is taking place in this area must continue all over District 34, where vacant lots and poor housing stock are vital issues.

•   We must find a funding stream for the state housing trust fund created in 2009.   This fund will be a dedicated source of revenue set aside to address the affordable housing needs of communities throughout the state.   However, the coffers of the fund are empty at this point because no funding stream was identified.  This is a crucial step in funding new housing and revitalizing the existing housing across District 34

•    We must maintain weatherization programs, which are very helpful in improving the housing stock of homeowners and cutting their monthly power bills.  These programs are particularly important for the elderly who wish to remain in their homes.   Arkansas received $62 million in federal stimulus dollars to be dedicated to weatherization, and it will be important to maintain a vibrant weatherization program in the state after the end of this funding.

•    We must work to protect and revitalize the historic areas in District 34.  In 2009, the General Assembly created a new state historic preservation tax credit, which provides tax credits to those preserving residential or commercial properties in historic districts.   However, a very low cap was placed on the number of credits that would be available each year.   These programs easily pay for themselves and are crucial for revitalizing older neighborhoods.  They allow young people to make an investment in the rehabilitation of an older home and, as a result, help bring life back to a neighborhood.   We must work to loosen these caps on preservation tax credits.

Growing neighborhoods are essential for the economic revitalization of District 34.  Therefore, it is crucial for Arkansas to pursue wise policies to create an environment where weed lots can turn into new homes and where old, deteriorating homes can be brought back to life.