Housing coalition

from 20220519

Conservation

By James Steindler Contributing Editor

There is no shortage of housing troubles and no limit to the resources and partnerships needed to strive toward an elusive resolution. The recently-formed Greater Roaring Fork Valley Housing Coalition (GRFVHC) aims to connect communities and organizations tackling the housing crisis locally.

David Myler, a local attorney, and the late Bill Lamont, a longtime Carbondale resident and seasoned city planner, “sparked this movement several years ago,” according to GRFVHC organizer Heather Henry. The two gentlemen traveled up and down the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys meeting with community leaders.

Initially, Lamont’s ambition was for the group to become a multijurisdictional housing authority. “A housing authority has the ability to go to the voters and ask for taxes,” Myer explained to The Sopris Sun. That tax revenue can be used to finance the development of workforce housing and “a nonprofit can’t do that.” Myler referred to housing authorities as “a creature of statute and agreement. The statute provides the authority to create an authority, but it requires an intergovernmental agreement among its members.”

When Myler and Lamont were originally canvassing municipal and county governments, “there wasn’t the political will among the local governments in the Valley to take that step.” There are currently three housing authorities operating within the Valley: Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield County Housing Authorities.

GRFVHC registered with the Secretary of State as a nonprofit in the beginning of April this year. One advantage of being a nonprofit, rather than a housing authority, is that fundraising can be more dynamic. Whereas housing authorities require a vote to boost tax revenue, “the nonprofit allows a bit more flexibility,” began Henry. “You could still create a taxing district that could provide flow-through funds … but we can also more easily go after grants and receive donations.” Ultimately, “you have multiple ways to put money in the nonprofit.”

The group opted not to pursue becoming a housing authority, but agreed that, “at a minimum, we need a coalition of downvalley entities that can start to work together more collaboratively and more constructively,” explained Henry. “It’s really hard to solve the problem of housing within your own boundaries,” she continued, so tackling the seemingly insurmountable crisis entails blurring jurisdictional lines. In April 2019, the Greater Roaring Fork Regional Housing Study was completed, providing a comprehensive understanding to work from and the data to back it up. “We got really close to a memo of understanding as a group at the end of 2019 … and then COVID hit,” lamented Henry.

The group’s various leaders were forced by the emergent situation to place all their efforts back within their own jurisdiction.

“They were just so overwhelmed — it was crazy, obviously, what it did to housing,” she continued. “So, we pretty much went dormant through all of 2020 and 2021.”

“In just three years, things have changed significantly since that [2019] housing study,” said Henry. For instance, “The financial gap analysis has changed significantly because of the increase in housing prices,” and the level of available housing has dwindled.

In 2021, the state created the COVID-19 Regional Resiliency and Recovery Roadmaps Program, partnering with 16 regions throughout Colorado in service of their respective recovery efforts. Pitkin County leads the Roaring Fork Valley Roadmap group — one of the 16. The group's focus became workforce housing.

It worked out nicely when the Roaring Fork Valley Roadmap group became aware of the developing coalition, setting forth an opportunity for collaboration. “Everything sort of just coalesced into this one working group that picked up the ball from 2019 and got it over the finish line,” Henry stated, “getting all of the communities signed on to this multijurisdictional housing coalition.”

GRFVHC has sought guidance from the Eagle County Housing Authority and its derivative organization, The Valley Home Store (TVHS). Its programs include down payment assistance, rental assistance, a cash buyer program —“So if someone is being outbid by a cash buyer, TVHS can basically provide the cash for them to compete,” Henry explained — and a buy-down program, which private homeowners can apply for for the homes to become deed restricted once they eventually go back on the market.

GRFVHC consists of eight foundational entities, each of which contributed $10,000 in start-up funding and will have a seat on its board of directors. These include: Pitkin and Eagle counties, Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs and Colorado Mountain College. Henry stressed that other entities, namely Garfield County and its Colorado River municipalities, have also been a part of discussions “and are very excited to see how things unfold and then will hopefully join the coalition.”

In June, the new nonprofit board will convene for a strategic planning session and “from there, the board of directors will have our roadmap,” stated Henry. The coalition hopes to launch some of its programs before the end of

Regional housing coalition carries on Lamont's legacy

2022 to take advantage of American Rescue Plan Act funding that should become available through the State of Colorado later this year.

Much like TVHS, “Most of the programs that we’re looking to put in place will be geographically neutral programs,” said Henry. That means, for instance, rather than funding a housing development that would benefit one community, the assistance programs will be available to each participating jurisdiction’s constituents.

“All of the members of the coalition are individually doing an amazing job, but they did see the benefit of a collaborative and coordinated approach toward housing on a regional basis,” said Myler. “We didn’t form this coalition because they weren’t producing housing and participating in strategies … it was that we thought that we could take it to a different level with this coalition.”

Coalition inspirator and driving force, the late Bill Lamont. Courtesy photo

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George Weber and Lynn Pulford prepare for life after CRMS

By Will Sardsinky Sopris Sun Correspondent

Over the past 26 years, George Weber and Lynn Pulford have transformed Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) and, in return, it has transformed them. As they wrap up their fi nal semester of teaching before retirement, they refl ect on the value of their time there: introducing them to each other, giving them purpose and even preparing them for their lives post-retirement.

Before working for CRMS, Weber spent 10 years getting to know the school through a friend, Bob Campbell, who worked there. When Campbell turned in his own resignation, he left Weber’s resume with it. At that time, Weber was playing vibraphone in a successful, touring Dixieland band.

Years prior, he had visited and played a jazz show on campus. “I was playing music I didn't think would be listened to much by high school kids, and so I was worried — this may not work. But just the opposite happened. Th e kids were extremely respectful, warm, welcoming and appreciative of what I did. It blew me away.”

He began teaching music at CRMS in 1996 and has only continued to experience that same supportive community. One year later, Weber was leading the 10-day backpacking trip that every new student embarks on prior to the academic year, when Lynn Pulford was assigned to the same trip as a wilderness assistant.

Pulford had been teaching at Colorado Mountain College for several years when Meredith Ogilby, a CRMS teacher, took one of her courses. Ogilby was planning to leave CRMS and encouraged Pulford to apply for the job. “It just sounded like one big adventure with all the diff erent things they did there,” Pulford refl ected.

While Weber taught music, Pulford taught photography and dove into new arts such as silversmithing. “It was experiential learning at the beginning, because I really didn't have a lot of training. All the kids just stepped up. We all learned together and we melted things and tried again.”

Over the course of four years, working together in the art department, leading trips together, and seeing each other connect with students, a relationship developed between Weber and Pulford. Th ey admired each other’s care for the students.

It wasn’t always easy, though, as Weber explained, “Friction developed based on spending a lot of time in the same place. But, we worked through that and we worked together really well.” Other faculty sometimes commented how they themselves could never spend that much time with a signifi cant other. “Th ey’re pretty amazed that we literally have for years done everything together. We've led trips together.”

“We’ve canoed together!” Pulford interjected, laughing.

Weber laughed along, then fi nished, “Caring for kids is what we do on trips. We're really like-minded around how we want kids to learn and enjoy. Our fi rst goal is a safe environment, then a fun environment and then let's get some skills along the way. Teaching how to cook, or how to hike safely, or how to boat safely; it all comes from the same place: our heart.”

For Pulford, love of the students has also been a highlight. She recalled a few weeks back when she and Weber were packing food and gear for all of the week-long trips leaving the following day. Th ey were way behind and worried about fi nishing when, out of the blue, a group of students showed up to help. “What the students do inspires me. Aft er their experience here, they’re such good people,” she said.

For Weber, the musicianship that he was able to foster also marked his time at CRMS. Under his leadership, the music program grew from kids playing in the dorms during evenings to a full academic program with fi ve classes per semester and several Coff ee House concerts per year. “I really, really enjoy being with kids and watching them learn. When I see somebody learn and get as happy as they get at the end of a rehearsal or a concert — they're just jumping up and down, squealing and hugging each other and running around — that is just incredible to watch happen!”

He continued, “A lot of my students get better than me and pass me right up. I get them started and they just kind of skyrocket past my own skill level sometimes, and it's really incredible to watch kids become really, really good musicians.”

Time with students outside of the classroom has also taught Weber and Pulford new skills and given them a better grasp on what they want to do with their retirement. Not only did they both learn outdoors skills, but they’ve led trips all over the Mountain West. “I learned how to canoe here,” said Weber. “We both did.” Th ey’re excited to continue exploring the region while checking out new areas like the Pacifi c Northwest.

When they’re not out canoeing, camping and hiking, they

George Weber and Lynn Pulford. Photo by Will Sardinsky

continues on page 22

Rodríguez visited schools in the district while interviewing for the job. Courtesy photo By Jeanne Souldern Sopris Sun Correspondent

When Dr. Jesús Rodríguez came to visit the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) in midApril as one of three fi nalists for the district’s superintendent position, he said, “I hoped that they got to know who I was as a human being." He grew up in Brighton, located about 25 miles northeast of Denver, where his parents were migrant workers in a local flower greenhouse.

His parents immigrated from Mexico — his mother, the eldest in a family of nine children, arrived at the age of 15 years and his father, the second oldest of nine children, arrived at 21. Rodríguez said his father, who completed sixth grade and his mother, who finished ninth grade, knew the importance of quality education.

Rodríguez shared that his school experience wasn’t a great one.

Rewind to eighth grade and a math teacher who would become Rodríguez’s mentor. In an independent math studies class, Rodríguez did the required work but nothing beyond that, so “the teacher said to me, ‘You have so much potential, but If you just do the bare minimum, you’re never going to be able to maximize it or live up to it.’” Rodríguez recalled, “even as a teenager, I knew he was right.”

Learning that life lesson stuck with him. Rodríguez said, “I knew he cared about me, and he was right — I wanted to do the work.”

However, in high school, not one of his advisors or teachers talked to him about completing FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, or believed that attending college was even on the radar for him.

But, that eighth-grade math teacher would attend Rodríguez's high school graduation. Th ey talked aft er the ceremony, and “he asked me, ‘What are you going to do next?’ I answered, ‘I don't know.’”

When asked about college, Rodríguez responded, “I have no idea where to start.” His former teacher replied, ‘Well, I'll pick you up on Monday, and we'll get it fi gured out.’ And we did.” He drove Rodríguez to the local community college and helped him register for classes.

He also learned about a scholarship opportunity he qualifi ed for because his parents were migrant workers. Such opportunities, Rodríguez said, may elude many Latino students “because they don’t know the scholarship even exists.”

Th e University of Colorado Boulder’s BUENO Center for Multicultural Education charters the scholarship. Rodríguez recalled, “As soon as I met the center’s director, Dr. Leonard Baca, and other people like him, I immediately saw a vision for myself because I saw ‘me’ there. And so, pretty early on, I told myself I’m going to get a doctorate someday.”

He and his wife, Elle, fi rst met at a principal preparation program in Denver and began dating aft er the two were working as principals in Denver public schools.

Currently, Rodríguez and his family live in Dallas. Elle works in education and, aft er their move, will be able to work remotely, something which factored into his acceptance of the superintendent position. “It’s something that certainly gives us fl exibility,” he said. Even better, Elle already has local ties — her uncle and aunt are Steven and Mary Catherine Conger.

Th ey have a two-year-old son named Cosme, “an old family name” and a derivative of the word cosmos. Cozy, as they call him, turned two years old just two days before they came to visit the district.

Th e Sopris Sun also asked Rodríguez about the family dog. “Well, he’s the sweetest kind,” responded Rodríguez. Th e seven-and-a-halfyear-old, 100-pound American Bully called Cain is “good pals” with Cozy and, “when they stand next to each other, they’re eye-to-eye.”

Rodríguez and his family expect to be relocated here by July 1. They are excited to be closer to family, including family in the Denver area who will now be able to drive here for visits.

Th e RFSD superintendency was the fi rst and only superintendent position he had ever applied for. He explained that he wanted to work in a school district where “the strengths and needs of the school district aligned well with my experiences and my background.”

As it turns out, Rodríguez shared, “the Roaring Fork School district was meant to be that place.”

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