Grant Received for Housing Coordinator Position

To help address our community's workforce and affordable housing needs, the Town applied for – and received – a $200K grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). This new position will serve as the multi-jurisdictional Housing Coordinator for Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County under the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation for two years.

Affordable housing options continue to be a significant issue for both the Town and County, and finding solutions to provide more housing for our entire community is a shared goal and objective of both entities. The grant requires a 20% financial match of $50,000, which will be divided and paid for equally between the Town and the County.

The Housing Coordinator position will have similar job duties to the previously proposed Town Housing Coordinator job position. Staff believes a multi-jurisdiction coordinator will provide a comprehensive approach for our entire community's workforce and affordable housing needs, supporting the Town, County, and developers.

The position will help increase capacity to accelerate affordable housing projects, source funding, and grant opportunities, streamline affordable housing development application processes, provide technical assistance, negotiate terms of deed restrictions, seek development opportunities, achieve Proposition 123 goals, initiate regional collaboration, and collect and report relevant housing data to inform future decision making.  

We anticipate this new multi-jurisdiction Housing Coordinator position will be successful, providing the basis and justification for the Town and County to continue jointly funding it for many years.