More than 70 percent of Lee County employers say housing prices make it hard for them to recruit employees, and more than half say home prices affect their ability to keep the employees they’ve already got. Almost half also say increased commuting times and low employee morale driven by housing costs impact their employees’ productivity.

That’s why the Lee County Horizon Council, a public-private economic development council, now has a work force housing task force, the latest group trying to solve the county’s rapidly increasing affordable housing problem.

“We’re concerned that a number of groups are all trying to address the affordable housing issue,” said Mike Jackson, a Horizon Council board member and Cape Coral economic development director who is chairing the new task force. “We’re afraid it’s like the blind man and the elephant, and maybe missing the big picture.”

Regina Smith, director of economic development for the county, said her office got interested in affordable housing when businesses started complaining — loudly.

“We were hearing from local employers about their ability to recruit and retain employees,” she said.

The Lee County School District is the biggest employer in the county with more than 10,000 workers. The district has had trouble recruiting teachers, and across the state, recruitment strategies include potential housing bonuses for new teachers. The county has also talked of finding a way to exempt teachers from school impact fees.

The Horizon Council task force heard this week from Dennis Gilkey, CEO and president of the Bonita Bay Group, with 1,300 employees the county’s eighth largest Lee employer and the third largest non-government employer. The company has loan programs to help employees buy homes.

“We have some innovative home loan programs,” said company spokeswoman Mary Briggs.

The company will lend employees $5,000 for down payment assistance. Lower-paid employees buying through the Bonita Springs Housing Development Corporation or Habitat for Humanity can get the loans, and if they stay with the company for four years need only pay back 40 percent.

Employees buying outside those two programs still qualify for the loan, though they must repay it all, free of interest.

“A lot of people have a hard time getting money together for a down payment,” Briggs said. “We’ve run $80,000 to $100,000 through the program in the last few years.”

Smith said the Horizon Council’s initial goal is to educate businesses on what they can do. A big majority of the more than 300 businesses that responded to a recent survey said their business is impacted by affordable housing. Seventy-two percent said housing costs significantly impact recruitment, while 51 percent said housing costs significantly affect their ability to keep the employees they already have. Forty-seven percent said housing costs make their employees less productive.

That same survey showed only 4 percent of the businesses offer any housing benefits for employees.

The Horizon Council task force was created late in 2005. Earlier this month Jackson was appointed as an ex-officio member of the county’s Affordable Housing Committee.

“We need the best communication we can get,” said Commissioner John Albion, who chairs the committee. “Because the issue is vast.”

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