Housing director position in limbo
Affordable housing program’s future questionable
"There’s no way of getting affordable housing right now at
the county level. I think a recommitment needs to be made to affordable housing."
Steve Amsbaugh, former Blaine County housing director.
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Three weeks ago, Ketchum and Blaine County housing director Steve Amsbaugh
resigned, and the county and city have not yet advertised for a replacement.
The housing director is Ketchum’s and the county’s point man on
affordable housing.
The continuing vacancy begs the question: Are Ketchum and county leaders
still committed to affordable housing?
The short answer, said County Commissioner Len Harlig in a Thursday
interview, is yes. However, the program’s future may not reflect its past, he said.
"I know where we are but not where we’re going," Harlig
said. "I can’t speak for the other two commissioners, but I would be open to
listening to proposals to modifying the position."
Harlig said he still sees the need for affordable housing in Blaine County
to be "as great or greater than it’s ever been," but added that he
isn’t sure how to proceed.
"Whether [the existing program] is the exact and only solution for
[the affordable housing shortage], I don’t know," he said.
Ketchum City Councilwoman Chris Potters also said she’d like to see
the housing director’s position modified. The position belongs at the county level,
rather than at the Ketchum and county levels, she said.
"It needs the broad brush. We don’t need one city working on the
problem," she said in a separate interview Thursday. "It’s a problem that
persists throughout the county. It’s something that really needs county
leadership."
The housing program, now entering its fourth year, is funded 60 percent by
Ketchum and 40 percent by the county. It has yielded moderate successes.
The program’s most notable accomplishment, the Fields at Warm
Springs, was finished this spring and provides 14 condominium units in the $200,000 price
range. They are deed restricted to regulate future inflation of property values.
Contrary to public rumors, all 14 units were sold this spring.
Potters said she’s not concerned about funding the program, calling
the 60/40 split "workable."
"It’s a perceptual problem," she said. "The perception
is that Ketchum is the lead on the program."
In an interview two weeks ago, resigned housing director Amsbaugh said the
program was experiencing "a lack of momentum" and that he was ready to move on
to do other things.
"There’s no way of getting affordable housing right now at the
county level," he said. "I think a recommitment needs to be made to affordable
housing."
So far, there has been preliminary talk between Ketchum Mayor Guy Coles,
Ketchum city administrator Jim Jaquet and County Commissioner Mary Ann Mix about meeting
to hammer out the future of the housing director position, Harlig said.
According to a 1997 Ketchum/Blaine County Housing Needs Assessment
prepared for the city of Ketchum, there is a need for affordable housing in Blaine County.
"The supply of housing is not adequate given the demand generated by
the population and labor force," the document states. "Housing is too expensive
for a substantial segment of the population and affordable home ownership opportunities
are not sufficient for renters who want to buy and could likely qualify to purchase homes
priced below $200,000."
"I hope they do something," Amsbaugh said. "I hope the
program’s future isn’t dying."
