New Housing Authority in Ridgway Colorado

RIDGWAY – Ouray County and the towns of Ridgway and Ouray are gearing up for discussions about what tasks to assign to the newly created Multi-jurisdictional Housing Authority. The authority’s first meeting will take place Thursday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Ridgway Town Hall.

“Every one [of the three governments] has different rules and regulations and different needs, so let's select the ones we think we can get done,” said Ouray County Commissioner Don Batchelder. Batchelder chaired an unofficial meeting at the Ridgway Town Hall on Aug. 21 to set the agenda and framework for the first meeting in the lengthy process of making housing affordable in Ouray County.

The effort is expected to begin with an authority-issued Request for Performance to the three participating entities based on a list of their expectations and the estimated funding that might be needed. “We formed this entity to look for funding; this is our task only,” commented Mike Fedel, City of Ouray Land Use Coordinator. Fedel, along with Jen Coates, assistant town planner for the Town of Ridgway, are expected to assume the role of staff to the authority.

The City of Ouray will be asking that the interagency agreement, or memorandum of understanding, be better defined. “We don't know where it'll evolve into the future. The language is pretty broad,” said Ouray City Administrator Patrick Rondinelli at the Sept. 2 city council meeting.

The authority will take on tasks as requested by the town, city and county, according to City Councilmember Sandra Stuller, who helped draft the memorandum of understanding. “The authority will serve the three governments that formed it. The costs are to be assumed by the requesting government and the budgeting to reflect the proper allocation of costs as services are provided,” Stuller told the council on Sept. 2.

The board will be made up of five members. It is expected that Ouray City Councilmember Betty Wolfe, Ridgway Town Councilmember Paul Hebert and Ouray County Commissioner Don Batchelder will serve on the board from one to two years.

Start-up funding will come from a $12,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and $3,000 in matching funds from each of the three governments.

Written by Christopher Pike and posted by Erin Eddy