One leader’s initiative has energized activity in Bertrand to build housing and spark growth in the community. LaDonna Bennett is a lifelong resident of the Bertrand area in Phelps County. She began working as the Clerk/Treasurer for the Village of Bertrand in 1984, and she now serves as executive director of the community’s housing authority.
Five or six years ago, LaDonna and the Housing Authority Board became concerned about the growing waitlist of applicants for the town’s income-qualified, one-bedroom apartments. “People wanted to move here, like schoolteachers, but there was no place to live,” she said. LaDonna reached out to Sharon Hueftle of the South Central Economic Development District (SCEDD) to discuss what could be done. “Sharon is very outgoing, vibrant, and wanting to help,” said LaDonna. “I just called her out of the blue to see if there was anything that we could do.”
That phone call was a catalyst for housing initiatives that are transforming Bertrand.
Sharon and her team at SCEDD worked with LaDonna and the Housing Authority Board to submit a grant application through the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NAHTF) program. The application outlined plans to construct five new two-bedroom apartments in the community. Around that same time, LaDonna learned that Phelps County expected significant job growth as a result of successful business attraction. It was a welcome development, but one that intensified the need for more housing.
It was encouraging, then, when leaders in Bertrand received word from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) that their application had been approved for $525,000 of NAHTF funds. “As you can imagine, we were all very, very excited to learn of the grant award,” LaDonna said. “It inspired community members to form a new group, the Bertrand Community Builders, to make additional investments in housing. When they saw we had won the grant, they began talking, looking around town, and seeing what else they could do.” The Bertrand Community Builders are currently rehabbing a home, and they’ve cleared another plot of land for new home construction.
The housing projects are bringing in more young families, said LaDonna, which benefits the local school system. Attracting new residents also infuses fresh vision as Bertrand looks to the future. “Young people have good ideas. Maybe they’re not the same ideas we older people have,” she joked, “but they’re good ideas.”
Envisioning, planning, and implementing new housing projects involves the coordinated efforts of community partners. LaDonna credited SCEDD for their hard work on the grant application. She thanked the Phelps County Development Corporation for providing assistance to buy land for the housing project. She also emphasized the great work done by the Village of Bertrand’s board to support the apartments being funded through the NAHTF grant. Floor plans have already been completed on the new units. Pending approval of the plans, the town hopes to break ground on the apartments this summer/fall and to complete them in 2024.
LaDonna has great affection for her hometown of Bertrand. “A small community is a good place to live,” she said. “People care about each other, and when something difficult happens to somebody, everyone rallies around them to give support.”
Bertrand recently invested $2.5 million to upgrade its aquatic center. LaDonna mentioned the refurbished swimming pool, local golf course, and the annual Bertrand Fair and Rodeo (taking place June 24-27 this year) among the town’s attractions. A local group is also working to open a new daycare. “We have a group of young people who are very invested in the community and want to see it grow, and I’m really excited about that,” she said.
As DED celebrates Fair Housing Month in April, the agency salutes leaders like LaDonna, and communities like Bertrand, who are taking action to increase the availability of affordable housing. These efforts are essential to Nebraska’s growth.
To learn more about housing programs administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, visit the department’s website: https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/programs/housing/.