Kris Teegardin 07.02.2016 Photos by Evan Semón
From Edgewater Mayor Kris Teegardin:
It is no secret that many folks are struggling to pay rent or make their mortgage. I know quite a few people who are struggling, and I bet you know people who are struggling too. It is vital we pool all available resources on the local, county, state, and federal levels to make sure affordable and accessible housing is available in our communities. The Jefferson County Commissioners will deliberate on Tuesday, June 27th upon the acceptance of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These grant funds pay for public infrastructure, safety-net programs, and affordable housing options that benefit Jefferson County elders, veterans, persons with disabilities, workforce, and low-income families and neighborhoods. There is serious consideration of declining these vital funds.
Furthermore, these grants are funded with taxes we have already paid! CDBG leverages $3.65 in investment for every $1.00 spent, and HOME leverages $13.00 for every $1.00 spent. Thus, if JeffCo turns down HUD’s $901,614 in CDBG and $725,241 in HOME allocations, in reality, it may be turning down over $3.2M in CDBG and $9.4M in HOME for a total loss of over $12.7M.
How are these grants used and why should we care?
HOME is used to increase the amount of affordable housing options within Jefferson County. Past projects include:
- Affordable and mixed-income multi-family apartments for seniors, veterans and families
- Down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers
- Construction of for-sale homes for Jefferson County families
- Housing rehabilitation
CDBG is used to address a wide range of community development needs in Jefferson County. Past projects include:
- Infrastructure improvements such as sidewalk and ADA ramps
- Parks and public facilities
- Housing rehabilitation for elderly, disabled and low-income earning residents
- Social services and health programs for seniors
- Economic development activities
Mayors Adam Paul, Marjorie Sloan, Joyce Jay, myself, Mountain View Councilwoman Emilie Mitcham and other elected officials will be testifying at the hearing, but we need your help! Please contact all three of our commissioners to accept these grants:
Board of County Commissioners Contact Info:
303-271-8525
100 Jefferson Pkwy.
Administration Facility Golden, CO 80419
Libby Szabo, Commissioner District One- commish1@jeffco.us
Casey Tighe, Commissioner District Two- commish2@jeffco.us
Donald Rosier, Commissioner District Three- commish3@jeffco.us
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
Just wanted to email to pass along my support in using grant money for CDBG projects. There are countless infrastructure issues and social service issues that I believe are first priority in Jeff Co.
I do NOT support use of grant money towards HOME. In my opinion there is plenty of affordable housing and thousands of affordable housing units about to be completed in Denver. I would prefer to not see Jeff Co to be the low income dumping ground of the city. If people want affordable housing they can get a roommate or start being smarter consumers with the money they do have.
In my opinion if you successfully use money towards the right CDBG projects it will help everyone help themselves as more business and positive development occurs on its own.