Middleton — The Community Development Authority and the city’s Workforce Housing Committee on Dec. 11 reviewed a draft Affordable Housing Action Plan, agreed on a near-, mid- and long-term prioritization framework and approved a schedule to circulate the plan to advisory committees and begin public outreach.

Staff presenter (Speaker 5) opened the discussion saying, “as you’ve all seen in your packets, we have a draft of the affordable plan,” and asked the groups to prioritize recommended programs and assign timeframes for accomplishment. Committee members debated a three-tier timing framework (near-term: 1–3 years; medium: 3–7 years; long-term: 7–10 years) and whether to add an importance score alongside urgency.

Why it matters: Committee members said sequencing and staff capacity will determine what can actually be started. Speaker 1 argued hiring a dedicated staff person should be “job number 1” to shepherd RFPs, fund establishment and municipal-code work, while Speaker 4 noted some short-term items could be done with existing staff.

Key details and next steps: The committee discussed procurement approaches (RFP versus RFQ), with Speaker 5 explaining that an RFQ (request for qualifications) invites creative proposals while an RFP (request for proposals) is more prescriptive and appropriate for known programs. The transcript references both “Lytec” and “LIHTC” in different places when discussing multifamily programs; the committee described the LIHTC-like approach as a predictable financing pathway for multifamily development and flagged timing for any RFPs to match relevant funding cycles.

The group mapped required sequencing on a road map slide (establish affordable-housing fund, hire staff, issue solicitations) and debated an opportunistic land-acquisition approach sometimes described in the packet as a “land bank” activity. Speaker 6 summarized the plan’s public-engagement timeline: a joint preview meeting on Jan. 8, committee reviews and council presentations in late January, public input sessions and online comment during February and target passage of a refined plan in April. Committee members discussed outreach venues including a Chamber of Commerce presentation (Feb. 5 proposed), an open-house format with poster boards and binder copies at the Middleton Public Library and the senior center, and targeted outreach to stakeholders such as WayForward, the tenants resource center, veterans’ groups (VFW/DAV) and school-district channels.

Public-input logistics were debated: participants proposed a short presentation followed by Q&A and written question cards or comment boxes to avoid single speakers dominating conversation; accessibility for seniors and scheduling around Presidents’ Day were raised as issues the staff will resolve when finalizing dates and locations.

Formal action: Speaker 6 moved that the Workforce Housing Committee approve the dates and outreach plan as discussed; Speaker 1 seconded. A separate motion to circulate the plan through the Community Development Authority was moved by Speaker 8 and seconded by Speaker 5. Both motions were adopted by voice vote.

What remains unresolved: The committee approved the outreach plan “as discussed,” but participants noted several scheduling uncertainties (facility availability, avoidance of holidays) that staff must confirm when publishing the public-input calendar. The transcripts include multiple spellings/terms for some program names (for example, “Lytec” and “LIHTC”); the committee discussed LIHTC-style multifamily financing in the meeting and staff indicated procurement timing will align with the appropriate funding cycle.

The committees adjourned after approving circulation and outreach; staff will prepare a 15-minute presentation for council and coordinate the open-house and poster-board outreach in February.