When Ark Valley Voice, together with its parent nonprofit, Truth Has a Voice Foundation, held its Chaffee Candidate Forum on October 19, Chaffee residents asked more questions than could be answered during the allotted time, all of them directed to the three candidates running for the Chaffee Board of County Commissioner (BoCC) District 3 seat.
All three candidates running for the BoCC seat were given the 10 questions we couldn’t get to that evening, and responded by the requested time: Tuesday evening, October 25. Today we begin publishing their answers to the first four of these questions, rotating their position in their answers to those questions.
They answer questions today about support for agriculture, their leadership experience, and the county’s housing needs.
1. What can the county do to be more supportive of agriculture?
PT Wood (Democrat): There are a number of programs designed for agriculture in the county, Chaffee Common is a funding source (.25 percent sales tax) that has supporting agriculture in the valley as one of its missions and continues to do that. Other important organizations that are invaluable to this effort are Guidestone; especially the Land Link Program which connects young farmers and ranchers to established agricultural operations. The Central Colorado Conservation Land Trust and Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust both are important organizations that help with conservation easements making sure farms and ranches can remain productive in perpetuity.
We need to continue to support the reinvigorated Chaffee County Cattleman’s association. Beyond that, we can work to minimize friction between development and agriculture through thoughtful land use planning. Through the land use code update, we can make it easier to generate added income on working lands through things like argi-tourism, events, and camping as well as continuing the Heritage Water and Agricultural subdivision exemptions. Tying this all together through support for Agricultural Resiliency Plan, which would need to include water, ditch, and wildlife management plans.
Brandon Becker (Republican): The biggest thing the county can do in the next couple years is make as many allowances in the land use code to make agriculture possible. People have every right to farm and ranch if they want to make a living that way.
Another good idea is expanding the things like camping or auxiliary dwelling units so they can find secondary sources of income for years that the weather isn’t in their favor.
Adriane Kuhn (Unaffiliated): In speaking with some folks there is talk of an idea to build a cold storage facility that would help the food grown here keep longer so that it can be available when needed and stay in the county. I think this is a great idea to work on. This would help places like Farm to Table and other small growers to expand their offerings locally.
I have also put the word out to the ranchers I know to please keep me informed of their needs and that there will always be open communication.
2. In what local volunteer or professional organizations have you held a leadership role? How would you use this experience to help you in your role as county commissioner if elected?
Brandon Becker: I helped found and am a board member of the non-profit Bringing Everyone Together Through the Crisis of Housing (BETCH), a housing nonprofit that focuses on keeping families in their houses by providing rental subsidies to people who are down on their luck. This will help with finding the proper solutions to solve this housing crisis we are currently in because I have been on the front lines seeing people struggle to make it up in these little mountain towns. I hear their stories constantly and many who are dealing with these issues are friends. It’s a tough thing to see, and that boots-on-the-ground knowledge will help tremendously with that decision-making.
Adriane Kuhn: I volunteered with a large garden tour that raised an average of $20,000/year to donate books and hire aides to improve childhood reading. I led the committee organizing 120 volunteers, worked with the team to put on the auction, and I conceived, designed, and produced a fundraising garden calendar.
Another group I was in for many years was for parents of babies through preschool. I was one of two moms that had another child over 10 yrs old and we took a lead role in helping new moms in both guidance and general assistance when and where needed when they were feeling overwhelmed. I was head of the activity booth last year for the Salida Fiber Fest and I worked this summer with others to get a stage for F St. that is a free place for anyone to perform any art they choose. It was late coming this summer and was a trial run for a busy next summer.
All these experiences taught me how to work with others by delegating out jobs, scheduling time, and not just doing the minimum of my role but always helping out others when more hands were needed. It also helped me grow as a person in empathy and assessing the needs of others.
PT Wood: I have been on the Board of Directors for FIBArk, The Arkansas River Trust, The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) as Vice President, Colorado Distillers Guild (President), and Salida Sunrise Rotary. I also served as the ACSA State Guild Committee Chair as well as served on the AHRA Citizens Taskforce, been a member of CAST, CML and the Mountain Pact.
This experience has helped me develop leadership, listening, and cooperative skills working with a diverse group of people from all over the county, state and country.
3. Housing for our workers is a huge issue in this valley. Both Adriane and PT mentioned there were other options to the property tax option. If you oppose the ballot question of the property tax increase, can you offer at least one idea to raise the projected $2.2 million needed? The increase in property taxes to the average homeowner is estimated at approximately $9/month.
Adriane Kuhn: I answered a similar question from AVV, see answers below. To comment on the final point of $9/month, many people are already stretched thin; it would go up even more for commercial properties. It is based on assessments, so as prices rise so would the tax. And there are other property taxes that will come up that would be a better help to more people that will have a better chance of passing if we find a better solution than this tax. I think we need a more innovative solution which I talk about below.
Q. What is your position regarding the Chaffee County (via the Chaffee Housing Authority and the Multijurisdictional Housing Authority) ballot question on raising county property taxes to fund workforce housing? Do you support it, or do you support another alternative, and if so, what is it?
I have reservations about it. Implementing workforce housing is crucial. The problem I have with the ballot question is raising property taxes to do so. Taxes and valuations have risen quite a bit in the last few years and I’m certain there will be a tax question on the ballot for the south part of the county about a new school in Poncha Springs in the near future. Many people already are living on the brink of being priced out of their homes. The tax will be passed along to renters; both residential and commercial renters. Won’t this squeeze workers and local businesses further? I am for CO Proposition 123: Dedicated State Income Tax Revenue for Affordable Housing Programs. This at least is not a regressive tax that would get passed down to those who could least afford it.
Another possible solution, and this is an out-of-the-box idea that needs more work, would be starting a housing utility. A vehicle where community investment can be made to build housing. When net rent receipts exceed a required predetermined maintenance fund, a dividend can be paid back to the investors. Again, not a refined idea, but a different way to get to the same end without raising taxes. (UPDATE:) On Monday 10/24 I had a meeting with the Housing Authority to get their take on it and received positive feedback on it being an idea worth exploring.
PT Wood: As I said in the debate, I support both 1A and 6A. 1A will give the county a flexible funding source to help support the people that make our visitor experience world-class and 6A will give the CHA a predictable funding source that will allow the county to make a real impact on our housing crisis.
I also mention that there are additional options that could be looked at if needed, for example as Mayor of Salida we passed an inclusionary housing ordinance that made new development part of our housing solution. I will continue to look for creative solutions working with our partners across the county, state, and country.
Brandon Becker: As I stated in the debate, there are many other measures that affect housing on the ballots. The $2.2 million is for funding the Chaffee Housing Authority, though I am not so sure that is the best way to use millions of dollars. There are measures like Prop. 123 that help fund affordable housing, as well as 2D on the Salida Ballot that approve a handful of inclusionary housing.
As far as funding for the CHA, there is a measure on the City of Salida ballot that directs money raised through taxes towards the Chaffee Housing Authority (2A and 2B). This is done with a marginal tax on short-term rentals, which I find to be a much better approach because that group has a much larger effect on housing stock than any other group of people such as workers or people on fixed or low income.
To add to that, I have found the best way to solve a lot of these issues is not through the government at all. A large amount of that budget will go to things like rental subsidies, but if a government is doing it then a significant amount must go towards operation and salaries. With nonprofits like the one I helped found, they can throw fundraisers and give that money out to the people who really need it with very little to no operating costs because we are volunteers. The cost of help goes up significantly when bureaucracy gets involved because bureaucracy is paid.
4. Senior housing is a growing need and one in four residents is age 65 or older. I am disappointed the housing crisis continues. Riverbend was built in 1995 it is wonderful and fully-occupied. Why aren’t we getting more senior housing or assisted living built and what are your ideas to increase housing for people to be able to grow old in Chaffee county?
PT Wood: I have talk about this quite a bit, one of the easiest things we can do is work through the new land use code to make it easier for us to age in place, from making ADU’s more accessible so we can have multigenerational living situations, to implementing the Multimodal Transportation Plan to make access to health care easier.
More challenging but necessary is supporting the development of senior care facilities, assisted living, hospice care, and increased care options at the HRRMC.
I should add that Riverbend was a low-income tax credit project much like the 48-unit Salida Ridge Apartments that were a direct result of our inclusionary housing ordinance.
Brandon Becker: The two biggest barriers to senior living facilities in Chaffee County are cost and staffing. This cost is something the county will have to help with and I believe it is right to do. With the largest generation in the U.S. now moving into retirement, we need to prepare for the inevitability that there will be more retired people than workers. We should help bring these businesses here as a county and look further into expanding higher education in the county to help retain staff at these types of places. We also need better medical care, primarily on the north side of the county such as a hospital, so that people are more able to age in place if they so choose.
Adriane Kuhn: I agree with you. Senior housing/assisted living is very expensive to build, maintain, and staff nationwide. There were some people looking at putting some in before COVID but in both cases stopped because of either cost and permit/code requirements or COVID shutting things down. I would like to re-engage with those people and see what could be restarted.
Another possibility is a co-living situation where people that need a place to live can rent a room from an elderly person but do chores and shopping trips, etc. in lieu of rent. The program that had started had some flaws that needed to be worked out, but it is a way to help people live longer in their homes while providing housing to those that need it.
The answers to the final group of Chaffee County residents’ unanswered questions will run Thursday, October 27.
Featured image: The Ark Valley Voice-Truth Has a Voice Foundation Chaffee Candidate Forum was held in the Salida City Council Chambers. From left to right: PT Wood, the empty chair for write-in Clerk and Recorder candidate Elaine Allemang, Incumbent Clerk and Recorder Lori Mitchell, Brandon Becker, and Adriane Kuhn. Photo by Hannah Harn.
Editor’s Note: Collegiate Commons, which opened in Buena Vista in October, 2018, is also a low-income housing effort that has added much-needed housing for the workforce and seniors.
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