HUD visits Kotzebue, Kivalina to evaluate housing needs

Federal authorities visited several northern communities to evaluate the challenges of overcrowding and deteriorating homes around the state.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development team came to Alaska in August to announce the awarding of $6 million of Indian Housing Block Grant funds to the Cook Inlet Housing Authority and talk about the progress on the 3D concrete printer project. HUD officials also wanted to look closely at Alaska’s housing needs and visited Anchorage, Fairbanks, Nome, Teller, Kotzebue and Kivalina.

“We wanted to get to areas of the state, and specifically tribal nations, that were further away from Anchorage,” said Richard Monocchio, principal deputy assistant secretary of HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing. “Because of the distance of Alaska compared to the Lower 48 and the supply chain issues that carry with it as well as the climate, the challenges in Alaska are special and deserve special attention.”

In Kivalina, the HUD team looked at how the village has been affected by increasing storms and at prospects for relocating, Monocchio said.

Tribal Administrator at the Kivalina IRA Council Millie Hawley said local officials gave the visitors a tour of the rock revetment and around the village, showing structures dangerously close to the ocean and homes damaged by mold.

“We have severe issues with mold due to the water coming in from the ocean, constant rain, constant snow storms, fall storms, also storm surges,” she said.

Kivalina residents considered several sites for relocation, trying to find a spot that is not as affected by rapid permafrost thaw. The current plan is to move to the new school site 7 miles inland, Hawley said.

The new site has been also facing challenges. For one, fall storms have been washing out the road built around 2020, posing a challenge for commuting to the new school.

“We have snowstorms at least four days out of a week, once it starts in November and (is) constant until April,” she said. “The road is mostly closed if it’s not maintained well enough, which they’re working on.”

Monocchio said the HUD officials saw the conditions of the road and witnessed other challenges in the village.

“There’s no question that, you know, there’s infrastructure issues, there’s housing issues,” Monocchio said. “This is going to be a challenge without question, both in terms of the terrain, in terms of the local geography and, you know, to secure the funding that’s going to be needed to pull this off.”

Still, Monocchio said he was confident the residents will be able to relocate.

“The village is so determined,” he said.

Funding through the Denali Commission, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act Bill could be a few ways to help that effort, he said.

Hawley said Kivalina leadership plans to start building about 150 homes at the new site at least 6 years from now. The ballpark cost of the endeavor would be around $58 million, she said.

In the discussion with HUD, she said she was glad to hear them identify several funding sources to move forward.

“It was very encouraging,” she said. “I think that makes things a little bit more at ease. There was a question about funding sources and how to access them, but we have some direction now.”

In Kotzebue, the housing stock is newer and of better quality, but the community still has housing needs, Monocchio said. During the visit to the village, HUD officials looked at the single-family homes that are being demolished, replaced and repaired, as well as at the new housing construction projects, he said.

“They’ve worked hard to repair the existing housing that’s there, which is important to preserve housing. First of all, it’s a lot more cost-effective, and then you also don’t have to relocate people,” he said. “We’re here to be a partner to the state, whether that’s rebuilding the housing that exists, or building new.”

The HUD team also met with local leadership from the Native Village of Kotzebue, NANA Regional Corp., Maniilaq Association, Northwest Inupiat Housing Authority and the Northwest Artist Leadership Team.

“It’s just an incredible opportunity to get some face time with folks that are administering, overseeing these programs that are really important to our communities,” said Elizabeth Niiqsik Ferguson, director of government affairs at NANA. “The housing stock period is not sufficient for our region or our communities.”

Patient housing that could improve the quality of care for patients in the Northwest Arctic and professional housing that could help with recruiting and retaining educators and other professionals were a few project ideas highlighted during those meetings, Ferguson said.

The cost of shipping the materials and setting up the water and sewer system for new housing is a barrier to addressing the issue, Ferguson said.

“The cost related to just the site development piece is ... prohibitive for any project happening,” she said.

In terms of solutions, authorities discussed reauthorizing and increasing the funding through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act, increasing tribal housing and getting creative with programs available outside of HUD.

“This was a great first conversation, and really, a lot of the work happens in the follow-up,” Ferguson said. “So glad that they took the time to come out, not only to Kotzebue but also Kivalina. There’s nothing that can substitute the experience and knowledge that you gain from just being out in the community.”