Ketchum could soon find a silver lining in the recessing economy in the form of new affordable housing.
The units would not, in fact, be new, but rather would be existing Ketchum homes purchased with the help of city funding.
The Ketchum City Council on Monday unanimously approved an expenditure of up to $125,000 to be used by the Ketchum Community Development Corp. and ARCH Community Housing Trust for a pilot project of the Open Door Program.
Because it's prohibitively expensive for the city to buy and develop land for the use of affordable housing, this program would help qualified buyers buy existing housing at discounted rates.
To acquire housing, CDC and ARCH will look for sellers willing to lower their offering prices in return for a tax deduction for the difference between the discounted price and the appraised value.
Next, money from Ketchum's in-lieu fund would be used to further "buy down" the purchase price to bring it in line with the income categories set out by the Blaine County Housing Authority, which would support the program by helping find qualified buyers.
Ketchum's in-lieu fund has a balance of $518,000, with $1.2 million expected to come through development of the Residences at Thunder Spring, scheduled for completion in about two years
For developers building above the density allowed by city zoning codes, Ketchum requires that part of the additional area be dedicated as deed-restricted community housing. Developers have the option of paying cash into the in-lieu community housing fund if they cannot build the affordable housing on-site.
While council members were extremely supportive of the project, they asked to see the initial purchase plan before the money is spent.
Ketchum CDC Executive Director Neil Morrow said the $125,000 could be used to fund two home purchases, and that those plans would be brought before the council in the near future.
In other Ketchum news:
· The City Council voted unanimously to appoint Deborah "Burnsie" Burns to another three-year term on the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission. Burns is co-chairman of the commission, on which she has served for over five years.
"I have a passion for this and the learning curve is so great for me," Burns told the council Monday night. "I can't imagine abandoning ship right now."
All of the council members applauded Burns' dedication to the city, and council President Baird Gourlay said the current commission is the best he's worked with during his time in city office.
·The council also approved a $20,000 contribution to the Blaine County Community Drug Coalition to help in the education and prevention of drug use. The money will come from the city's drug forfeiture fund, which can only be used for specified purposes.
Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling and Terry Basolo, executive director of the coalition, attended the council meeting Monday night to request the funding. The contribution brought the coalition's total current funds to just over $100,000. Basolo said a portion of the money will be used to help fund a Big Brother, Big Sister program in Blaine County.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
