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Kermit Mahan, right, executive director of Austin's Hous- ing and Rede- velopment Authority, leads former Austin mayor Tom Keogh, now a member of the Roseville City Council, and others through Courtyard Apartments in Austin on Tuesday. Elizabeth Nida/ Post-Bulletin �, . t` Y� � ' J a r /�� ! �_ tL fi''J 1(�li d C J�' �'„% i,� { f t=� (% tL Date: OI/28/02 �/_�� . � ,�Item: WS II C � City/Region � ■:� �.'�it►,:�, i"`i'�%� - -.�...�. -� . mayor visits revitalized Former Austin Mayor Tom Kough was back in town Tuesday for a tour of his old -- but revitalized — stomping graunds. Now a member of the Roseville City Council, Kough has kept in touch with friends and former colleagues here, so he knew of Austin's afford- able housing projects. He decided to bring a few of his new colleagues here to see what a small town can do when it sets its mind to it "I thought, ` Why not show them the best?' and this is the best," said Kough. He and Austin Housing and Redevelopment Authority �eCll11V@ Director Kermit Mahan arranged a tour of Courtyard, Chauncey and Murphy's Creek apartments. With Kough on Tuesday were Roseville Mayor John Kys��ly- nmm� rnmmiinifi� �Pi7P�f1T� "1 thought, `Why not show them the best?� and this is the best, " -� Former Austin Mayor Tom Kough Kysylyczyn said Roseville is trying to work out its major problem — public transit �-- and aff'ordable housing ties directly into tl�at. "You ha�e your services that are within wall�nt� dis- tance. With us, it's gF ;�y�an, people who use the �:°�aL$ close to the bus lines," said �ysylyczyn. Doing tl�at would require replacing substandard houses with apartments, he said. Mahan explained Austin's multipronged approach, which was to f�rst build upper�nd units to attract empty-nesters away from their houses. The single family homes �bat went on. thP markat annPaled 4o manv units, studies found a need for additional affordable apartments, resulting in the decision to build Mutphy's Creek Bob Da�is, a Chauncey tenant who showed his living quarters to tour members, said he loves his apartment. Da�is said his wife died 13 years ago but he finds himself in good company in the com- plex. "We're one big family now, and no one's lonely anymore," said Da�is. Kough said he plans to share the information gleaned from the tour with other council members. "We have some opportunity in Roseville for broiects sim- Austi n an aging population in Roseville, so we'd like to open up some housing stocl�' Welsch said Austin's collage of financing, which includes the city, private business and the Hormel Foundation, is admirable and something Roseville doesn't ha�e. That city is struggling to attract young families to live there, said Welsch. "Our estimates are that one-third of a million cars pass through the community in a day, so that's really d'1s- rup�ive to daily life," he said. "We have more jobs than we ha�e residents." Kough was mayor of Austin during the Hormel Foods Corp. strike. He was also a Hormel employee who lost his job for refusing to cross picket lines. A world-class diver, Kough pushed for Austin's Municipal Pool to be built. Last year Kough parkici- pated in the Spamtown U SA