Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
By Stephen Floyd
The Mill City Council has extended a lease for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) housing amid continuing struggles to find long-term homes for its residents.
During the council’s Feb. 22 meeting the lease for the temporary housing development on SE Fairview Street was extended to Sept. 30.
The lease had been set to expire March 31, however FEMA informed Mayor Tim Kirsch on Feb. 8 they would be seeking an extension. Kirsch told the council the housing site has not posed an inconvenience to the city, and its residents have been considerate neighbors.
FEMA opened the site Jan. 23, 2021, to house Marion and Linn county residents displaced by the 2020 Santiam Fire, which devastated the region and destroyed more than 1,500 structures. The site can accommodate up to 16 manufactured housing units and, along with temporary housing at local RV sites, was meant to accommodate 85 displaced families who qualified for the FEMA program.
