Candidates at Two Rivers forum disagree on how city should address housing squeeze

At a March candidate forum, Two Rivers council candidates sharply debated the city’s role in addressing rising housing costs and a tight local market.

Katherine Dulkkey said the city should use zoning and creative options to increase choices for residents, suggesting accessory units and mixed‑use development at sites such as the former Hamilton property. “There is a place and that comes in helping with the zoning,” she said, adding the city should “look at all of the available real estate” and consider varied housing types.

Incumbent Adam Wusky framed housing as largely driven by the private market but said the city can influence whether people want to live in Two Rivers by investing in parks, public safety and infrastructure. He pointed to tax‑increment financing (TIF) as a tool to support apartment construction and noted a recent state law allowing targeted TIF assistance in certain low‑income areas.

Bonnie Shimalonus, also an incumbent, cautioned against more low‑income housing in a small city she said already has about 5,000 housing units and a roughly 30% rental rate. “I don’t really want to see more low‑income housing in the city because we have three units like that already,” she said.

Shantel Hoffman raised concerns raised at a prior listening session that some houses are being purchased for short‑term rental use — keeping homes vacant part of the year and squeezing families out of neighborhoods — and proposed minimum‑stay requirements for short‑term rentals to encourage longer stays and neighborhood stability.

Darla cited local market data to underline supply pressures: she said about 33 homes were actively on the market, county median sale prices rose from $135,000 in 2020 to $239,000 currently, and home sales fell from 1,153 in 2020 to about 118 now in the county. “The homes are not changing over. They’re not downsizing,” she said, arguing higher material costs and demographic trends are constraining turnover.

All candidates acknowledged the limits on what a city can mandate in private sales, but they differed on where to focus city effort: Dulkkey and some others favor zoning changes and strategic redevelopment to expand options; Wusky and Darla emphasized quality‑of‑life investments and market incentives; Shimalonus and Hoffman urged caution about adding subsidized housing and proposed targeted rules for short‑term rentals.

The League of Women Voters‑hosted forum concluded with candidates urging voters to weigh these differences at the April 7 election.