Students hit by Quincy housing crisis
Quincy is an abundant place with a vast amount of resources, but there is one need that Quincy falls short in providing, and that is enough housing for students attending Feather River College.
Each year, potential FRC students make trips to Plumas County, get recruited by coaches, or commit to attending the small community college anticipating a fairly easy transition from their hometowns to the small town. However, despite how much the college may want them to attend, the Quincy housing market says otherwise.
Administrators at FRC have recognized a housing crisis for potential students. Each year, students have to be turned away from the three housing facilities the college operates, The Pines Apartments, The Meadows Apartments, and the Feather River College Dorms. Those students are left with two options, try to find a rental in the area that rents to college students or not attend the school.
“It has been very difficult,” said FRC President Kevin Trutna. “There is a stigma of them being college students that makes it hard for them to find rentals.”
The three housing facilities the college operates offer approximately 250 beds for out-of-town students. However, the college can have almost 900 students going to school on campus, and a majority of them are not local.
“We just seem to be popular with people from out of the area,” said Trutna.
With only 250 beds available through the college, the rest of the students are on their own for housing. In a town that is already low on rental housing, it is extra difficult for students to find places to live when some landlords won’t rent to college students.
“There are specific sports teams and types of students that aren’t able to find a place to rent,” said third-year FRC student Kelli Columbro. “It is frustrating because housing is hard enough. Everything is expensive and you finally find a place, only to be told ‘no.’”
Trutna said when students can’t find a place, sometimes the college will allow triple beds in one room. Usually there are only two beds to a dorm room, but if students agree, the college will triple up a room and dock off rent. Trutna said the extra body can take a toll on their facilities, however.
The housing facilities usually fill up well before the summer begins. There is a waiting list by April. When the wait list gets over 50 students, the college has to start turning students away.
Trutna said the college does not currently have any plans to purchase or build new housing facilities. After buying the Pines and Meadows in the past five-years, the school is trying to maintain the facilities it has. Building new housing facilities would be extremely expensive and contingent upon properties that allow for high density housing, of which there are few in Quincy.
In the meantime, school is about to start in a couple weeks, and there are still 40 students on the FRC housing wait list.
“The same story repeats itself every year,” said Trutna. “The college housing gets full, and students can’t come to school here.”
Not only the students at FRC, but our community as a whole. MANY local families cannot find decent, affordable, housing. Is it not time that this situation is addressed?
Quincy needs more housing, that’s obvious. But what I don’t understand is how the college can over recruit students. They’ve been recruited and have chosen this school to attend, made plans around that, turned down other opportunities, only to find out there’s no where for them to live. That is not fair to them.