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New Kent housing panel urges manufactured-home renovations, $500,000 trust-fund seed and a housing coordinator
Summary
The Housing Advisory Committee presented four actions to the New Kent County Board of Supervisors — promote manufactured-home community revitalization, establish a $500,000 housing trust fund, hire a housing resource coordinator, and add a county housing web page — and asked the board to consider funding in the FY2027 CIP.
The New Kent County Board of Supervisors heard a four-point package from the county’s Housing Advisory Committee on Nov. 24, which aimed to expand affordable and safe housing options.
Matthew Starr, a committee member, led a presentation on manufactured homes and neighborhood revitalization, noting that modern manufactured homes meet federal HUD building standards and can provide lower-cost ownership options. "Manufactured homes today are built with a strictly enforced federal building HUD code," Starr said, and described recent park renovations he has overseen. He estimated new manufactured homes at about $120,000–$145,000 and an estimated mortgage payment of roughly $926.18 on a 25-year loan at 8%, with lot rents at his parks about $600 per month, producing a combined monthly cost around $1,600—well below the county’s median home price.
Jeremy Nicely, another committee member, proposed creating a county housing trust fund and requested a $500,000 initial investment to be placed in the FY2027 capital improvement plan as seed money. Nicely said the committee envisions roughly two-thirds of the fund going to housing-affordability programs and one-third to safe-housing repairs, while the Partnership for Housing Affordability (PHA) would administer the affordable-housing portion. "We have requested $500,000 to be in the capital improvement plan for fiscal year 2027," Nicely said.
Board members pressed for implementation details. Amy, speaking for the Partnership for Housing Affordability, confirmed there would be an administration fee and estimated it could be "$55,000 to $60,000" for grant management and legal review, which board members said they want quantified before committing seed funding.
Bill Dinsmore, head of the safe-housing subcommittee, asked the board to hire a full-time housing resource coordinator, estimating salary costs of up to $50,000 and benefits up to $17,000, and said about 85% of that cost could be reimbursed by the state if the position is placed under Social Services. Dinsmore recommended partnering with James City County for training and using its software to capture housing-need data. He also proposed a county housing webpage to centralize resources, which staff said would be low-cost to implement.
Supervisors praised the committee’s work but declined to take immediate action, citing the upcoming budget process. Multiple members said manufactured-housing renovations and the webpage are among the most immediately actionable items and asked county staff to return with recommendations and fiscal analysis during the budget cycle.
What happens next: The board did not adopt funding at the Nov. 24 meeting but indicated it would consider the committee’s funding request and staff recommendations during the FY2027 budgeting process.
