Photo: A workforce housing ribbon cutting event hosted by BWD Construction, Pagosa Springs Community Deverlopment Corporation and the Pagosa Chamber of Commerce in the Trails subdivision.
The Friday morning (7:30am) ‘special meeting’ of the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners was not well attended. Only two of the three commissioners were able to make it. County Attorney Todd Weaver was missing.
County Clerk Kristy Archuleta was on hand to take the minutes; and County Manager Derek Woodman was also present, as was Administrative Assistant Gina McCune.
I was the only member of the public to attend.
The meager turnout was understandable, because the BOCC was really considering only a single question. Did the County want to provide the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation with a $300,000 grant… with the understanding that the PSCDC would do their very best not to ever use the money?
The gift required the consideration of three separate motions, and votes, all three of which were unanimously approved by Commissioners Ronnie Maez and Warren Brown. (Commissioner Veronica Medina was unable to attend, for whatever reason.)
The agenda items:
A. Consideration And Approval Of Grant Agreement With The Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation
The Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC) has applied for multiple grants to assist in the funding for its Affordable Workforce Housing Project. This agenda item is for the Board of County Commissioners to award a grant to the PSCDC in the amount of $300,000.00 to be used only to cover unanticipated costs, budget overruns and other unforeseen circumstances that exceed the current funding available for the Project.
B. Consideration Of Resolution 2024-______ Appropriating Additional Sums Of Money To Defray Expenses In Excess Of Amounts Budgeted For Archuleta County
This resolution dedicates $300,000.00 of Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) money received in 2023 to the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation grant award.
C. Consideration And Approval Of A Letter Of Commitment For The Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation
This letter to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Housing provides the Board of County Commissioners’ commitment to the PSCDC’s Affordable Workforce Housing Project in the form of a $300,000.00 contingency grant.
The political details of this gift had been discussed three days earlier, at a morning work session, when PSCDC Executive Director Emily Lashbrooke had explained the complications related to a grant she hoped to submit — an unexpected requirement that the ‘Affordable Workforce Housing Project’ document the availability of $300,000 in ‘contingency funds’ when submitting the grant application.
The Colorado state government has been blessed with the ability to offer millions of dollars in housing grants, thanks to voter approval, in November 2022, of Proposition 123. The voters are presumably well aware that housing in Colorado has become an enormous burden on typical working families, and also on some retirees on fixed incomes.
The PSCDC and the BOCC have been working hand-in-hand to create new, lower-priced housing in the Trails and Chris Mountain subdivisions at the west end of town, and support for the proposed homes has also been promised by Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) with a recent vote to waive certain water and sanitation fees for new dwelling units that serve families ‘at or below 100% AMI’ income range.
PSCDC has also been receiving logistical support from Habitat for Humanity of Archuleta County.
It’s not entirely clear, however, whether the 10 workforce homes planned for 2024 — to be built by BWD Construction — will ultimately qualify as ‘at below 100% AMI’. The quoted price for the homes is above the 100% AMI threshold, and PSCDC is scrambling to find money to subsidize the mortgages, to fit into the desired price range.
One place to find the money, would be Prop 123 grants. But those grants are highly competitive, due to the current housing challenges in so many Colorado cities and towns.
Another place to find money is through community fundraising. A sizable number of very wealthy people own property in Pagosa Springs, and many of them have traditionally supported local non-profits and organizations like Habitat Archuleta, the Ruby Sisson Library, the Rotary Club, the Humane Society, the Pagosa Arts Council, Thingamajig Theatre Company, and our local preschools.
Historically, the PSCDC has not conducted fundraising events and developed a donor base (like most of the above named organizations have done) but has instead depended largely on taxpayer revenues donated by the BOCC and Town Council, and on state grants. So it made sense, when PSCDC discovered they needed a guarantee of $300,000 before they could apply for their current grant, they approached the BOCC.
I will grant the BOCC and the PSCDC one important consideration. The County’s bank account was probably the only bank account with an accessible $300,000 — given the short notice. (Ms. Lashbrooke’s request to the BOCC took place on Tuesday; the grant submission deadline is today, April 1.)
To Ms. Lashbrook’s credit, she did mention, when making her request, that she “would like to bring in some other stakeholders in the community to contribute…” but given the tight deadline, that was obviously not feasible. So the BOCC was basically the only option.
Over the past ten years, many activists in the community — myself included — have been urging the BOCC to do their utmost to support the development of workforce housing, and it has sometimes felt like we were banging our heads against a wall.
So I’m not complaining about the allocation of $300,000 to support an ongoing effort by PSCDC to build some affordable housing west of town. During that same ten-year period, the BOCC and the Town Council have poured literally millions of dollars into supporting the tourist industry — using tax money to help make visitations to our community are delightful as possible.
It’s about time that we use some tax money to support the affordable housing industry. Unfortunately, it’s an industry that barely exists in Pagosa.
Now that our local citizen-elected leadership is finally making an effort to address the housing crisis, maybe we will make some headway.
Deed restrictions — applied to local projects — will be part of the solution.