Winnebago County sets up revolving loan fund for housing development.

OSHKOSH, WI—(WISS)— A revolving loan fund was once again the topic of conversation at the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday night. The board postponed the vote for a month to correct wording in the resolution. Now it clearly states that the $3.5 million will come from Spirit Funds, not from interest acquired from an ARPA Grant. 

The County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of the revolving loan fund in a 27-5-1 vote.

Revolving Loan Program

Winnebago County named housing development a top priority in its Strategic Plan. It set a goal to “ensure housing for all” and to build strong community support for the policies and investments needed to make that happen. The county maintains that at least 10,000 new housing units are required to attract new families, support the aging population, and sustain local businesses.

“ We’ve had a lot of questions here and elsewhere about housing affordability, but the reality is that if we want to drive down rental and purchase costs, reduce homelessness for the long term, we need a dramatic increase in the supply of housing.” Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz told the Board of Supervisors. “The same is true if we want to balance out the outsized power of landlords and sellers. Some of whom are jacking up prices, evicting long-term tenants, and allowing properties to fall into disrepair.”

The revolving loan program will establish a fund offering low-interest gap financing for housing development. Winnebago County would work with municipalities to streamline approvals and remove barriers, enabling projects to move forward efficiently.

The resolution to establish the revolving loan fund stated that local non-profits would submit a Request for Proposal to oversee, manage, and co-invest in the program. Hintz said several other stakeholders for the county would serve on a board overseeing the fund.

UWO-Fox Cities Campus

Also at the board meeting on Tuesday night, Hintz shared a “Letter of Intent” from Faith Technologies, Inc., expressing the firm’s desire to explore and evaluate a purchase of the UWO-Fox Cities campus.

“Faith is growing and experiencing tremendous demand to produce more electricians to help rebuild the grid and work on projects such as data centers throughout the country. Their assessment will consider if our Winnebago Fox campus is a good fit with what their national strategic interests are,” Hintz explained.

In its “Letter of Intent,” Faith Technologies said it will consider whether to include community amenities on the property, such as the Barlow Planetarium and the Communication Arts Center. According to Hintz, the child care center established on the campus will not be a part of the proposal.

“I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s exciting. It could be a great opportunity!” Hintz said.

Faith Technologies is an engineering, construction, manufacturing, and clean energy firm based in Menasha with operations across the country. It is looking at UWO-Fox Cities as a training facility for its 5000 employees and as a space for research and development and advanced manufacturing.