A Rare Opportunity to Use Federal Dollars to Help Create Local Housing
Together Colorado and ECHO announce recommendations to apply ARPA funding for Affordable Housing. Speaking: Hermine Ngnomire
Boulder County Commissioners to hear from the Public on Local American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Dollars
Boulder County will be receiving about $64 million in local dollars to spend on mitigation of the impacts of the pandemic. ECHO has been encouraging the commissioners to use these dollars to make significant investments in housing. The dollars have to be spent relatively quickly and some of the things we are encouraging them to spend it on include:
land banking
land-trust investments (allows affordable home-ownership)
helping mobile home park owners buy their parks
support to small municipalities to make code changes to create more housing
provide cash assistance
creating a housing trust fund.
Commissioners will hear public input at their upcoming Town Hall:
September 9 from 5:30 - 7:00 | Sign up to attend the meeting
You can also provide written comments here.
We need you!! Please let the commissioners know that affordable housing is the number one problem (as evidenced in survey after survey) in the community and you want them to use their ARPA dollars to achieve significant affordable housing gains. If you need help in crafting remarks, contact us at echobouldercounty@gmail.com and we will be happy to help you. This is a RARE!!! opportunity with a large influx of dollars to get affordable housing supply expanded significantly. Please help be part of saying YES!!! to housing. Now is an important time where your actions could make a big difference. The Commissioners are listening to the community, let’s help them hear from YOU!
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ELECTIONS ARE HAPPENING SOONER THAN YOU THINK
in Lafayette, Louisville, and Longmont: Nov 2, 2021 is Municipal Election Day
LONGMONT CANDIDATE FORUMS
OURS:
October 13 - 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Zoom candidate forum for all council and mayoral candidates sponsored by East County Housing Opportunity Coalition (ECHO), Sustainable Resilient Longmont (SRL), and Ecocycle. Moderated by Liz Lane from KGNU. Spanish simultaneous translation will be provided by Rosabelle White Aguirre.
OTHERS:
October 3, 2:00 - 3:30
A forum for the six at-large candidates vying for two open City Council seats. The candidates are: Diane Crist, Jeremy Dejuan Johnson, Sean P. McCoy, Aren Rodriguez, Tallis Salamatian, and Shiquita Yarbrough. The forum will be at the Stewart Auditorium inside the Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road.
October 4, 6:00 - 7:30
A debate between three Mayoral candidates, Gregory Harris, Joan Peck and Tim Waters. The debate will be held at the Stewart Auditorium inside the Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road.
The public can submit questions and ideas to be included in the forum, the debate, and the one-on-one interviews on the Engage Longmont platform, until 6 pm on Friday, Sept. 17. Residents can also vote on ideas submitted by others, beginning on Sept. 17 until 6 pm on Sept. 29.
LAFAYETTE CANDIDATE FORUMS
September 16, 2021 at 6:30pm - hosted by the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission / Lafayette Library Meeting Room (775 Baseline Rd)
The Youth Advisory Commission is seeking your input. Submit your questions or topic for the Candidate Forum. LYAC will review proposed candidate questions and topics. Not all questions or topics will be used. Deadline for submission is September 10, 2021.
October 12, 2021 at 6pm - hosted by the League of Women Voters / Lafayette Library Meeting Room (775 Baseline Rd)
LOUISVILLE CANDIDATE FORUM
September 30, 6:00 - 7:30 PM League of Women Voters, Zoom Candidate forum.
Registration Link - https://www.lwvbc.org/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=629866&item_id=1520765
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LONGMONT SEEKING INPUT ON RENTAL HOUSING
Longmont City Council is considering options for establishing a rental housing licensing and rental housing inspection program to ensure safe housing for Longmont residents. In June, Council directed staff to begin to develop a program for Longmont, including conducting outreach to get input on the proposed program.
Please complete a short survey to provide feedback about rental housing licensing and inspections. The survey will be available through September 30, 2021. Click to be taken to the Rental Licensing and Inspections Survey
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AVOIDING EVICTION
Struggling with potential eviction or need help paying your mortgage because of COVID? There is a new infusion of resources to help you. Call the Boulder County Housing Helpline. 303-441-1206
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SUPERIOR COMMUNITY MEETING ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Our region’s economic vitality depends on policies that lower housing costs. Communities in Colorado are declaring housing emergencies, and workers are commuting long distances for jobs. Housing costs in Boulder County are unfair to young people and new residents. How many times have you heard a friend or yourself say, “I could never afford to pay for my house if I was buying it for the first time?”
Superior residents will be gathering at 6 PM – 7:30 PM at the Superior Community Center on September 8, to discuss what Superior is already doing and what more can be done to create an inclusive community with housing at all price points. Superior residents and potential residents are welcome.
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STATEWIDE TRANSFORMATIONAL HOUSING TASKFORCE
In addition to local ARPA dollars there is also about $450 million dollars available at the state level to make significant changes in housing and homelessness. A taskforce has been established to issue a report with recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor on policies to create transformative change in the area of housing using federal coronavirus recovery money.
To find out more about the work of the taskforce and meeting dates visit:
http://leg.colorado.gov/committees/affordable-housing-transformational-task-force/2021-regular-session
