Opera House Hosts Latest Minden Town Hall Meeting

Craig Bennett and Brenda Petersen of Miller and Associates were in Minden on Thursday, March 22, for the town hall meeting at Minden Opera House. Miller and Associates is working towards providing Minden with a new comprehensive plan for the decade spanning 2013-2023.
Petersen began by explaining the results of her exhaustive research into Minden’s community.
She explained some of the numbers were taken from the 2010 census, as the 2011 results are not available yet. According to that census, Minden’s population was 2,923. She gave multiple population growth estimates over the next 10 and 15 years, with numbers ranging from a 0.65 percent decrease (2,638 in 2025), to a 1.2 percent increase (3,449 in 2025).
Petersen emphasized that population tends to fluctuate, but Bennett added that Minden’s size was far more stable than many communities analyzed.
Petersen moved on to housing values, where the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) data put the median house value in Minden at $86,091, with 911 units. Additionally, USA.com placed those numbers at $86,700, with 882 units. Petersen showed other estimates, but said these two being so close lends itself to their credibility and that $86,000 would be her best estimate.
She gave a layout of income by household in Minden, with the largest group falling between $50,000 and $75,000.
Additionally, Petersen provided a layout for housing affordability. She used the standard scale, on which a person can afford a house valued at double their annual income.

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