RBC Commissioners hosted a work session last week to address concerns about the future use of the Fairfield Center Apartments. County Attorney Don Steerman opened the meeting by noting current apartment operations are unsustainable from a fiscal and liability standpoint. “If it continues to operate the way it is now, it will fail on its own accord,” he said.
He explained that the county is putting a lot of money into operating and maintaining the apartments, (about $85K per year) most of which goes toward a dedicated maintenance position, and insurance. The county has also spent close to $30K for significant maintenance projects in the last two years.
Steerman explained that the apartments may also be a liability for the county if certain physical/operations issues go unaddressed. “There are a lot of non-compliance issues which could cause liability issues potentially to the county,” he said, noting that resolving those issues could cost $400K, an estimate he considered conservative.
County officials and staff assured meeting attendees that their first priority is making sure no one gets displaced from the apartments. “One thing that’s important to all of us is that the people who are living there can remain there,” said Commissioner Ginny Love.
One proposed solution would be to seek federal rental assistance/funding through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) section 202 “Project Rental Assistance Contracts” which are designated “to preserve housing that serves the nation’s most vulnerable elderly residents.” This would require the county to transfer operations of the apartments to a non-governmental, non-profit entity, such as the Meeker Colorado Civic Improvement Corporation (MCCIC) board, which currently serves an oversight role for the apartments. Under such a plan, rents could be increased to market rates ($700-800/mo), allowing MCCIC to collect enough revenue to help fund operations. HUD would come into play by subsidizing any residents who couldn’t afford to pay increased rent.
Steerman emphasized seeking HUD may first require the county to address existing compliance issues, but said he still considered it a good potential option.
Meeker Mayor Kent Borchard expressed frustration about the conversation, stating the county shouldn’t have a problem allocating $400K or more from the CCITF fund to get the apartments in compliance, since they just allocated $4 million from the same fund for the Wolf Creek Reservoir project. “This is a capital project that really needs to be done, and half a million dollars is chump change on that CCITF fund,” he said.
County commissioners agreed that something needs to be done, and said the meeting was the next step in finding a solution that works for everyone. Moving forward, the county will continue to offer support/assistance to the MCCIC to determine the feasibility of pursuing federal section 202 assistance.
By LUCAS TURNER | [email protected]om
