Group asking Kalamazoo City Commission to “Fund Housing, Not Festivals” with remaining ARPA funds

KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Ahead of next Monday’s city commission meeting, a group of community organizers and residents will gather outside Kalamazoo City Hall to call on local officials to consider “affordable housing for all” as the top priority for the remaining $1.65 million of the city’s American Rescue Program Act (ARPA) funding.

Tristen Jessup of the We the People Michigan Action Fund says in recent years “Kalamazoo has been plagued by an acute shortage of housing and skyrocketing rents due to poor policy planning and administration that puts developer and corporate profits above housing needs for the city’s largely working-class communities.”

Following a 6:00 p.m. press conference at City Hall, the group plans to speak during the public comment portion of the city commission meeting. The group is calling their effort “Fund Housing, Not Festivals.”