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Chaffee County approves MOU with Salida to fund infrastructure for South Arkansas neighborhood
Summary
The county approved a memorandum of understanding committing $250,000 for design work and formalizing conditions to support workforce housing at the South Arkansas neighborhood in Salida, while addressing county road impacts and affordability definitions.
Chaffee County commissioners voted to approve a memorandum of understanding with the City of Salida to commit $250,000 in county funds toward design work for infrastructure serving the South Arkansas neighborhood, a planned workforce housing development south of Highway 50.
The MOU formalizes a prior 2023 county commitment and references the planned-unit development (PUD) ordinance that defines the numbers and types of housing planned in the neighborhood. County staff and Salida officials said the project will require significant water, sewer and road extensions before blocks of homes can be built.
County staff said the county previously agreed in 2023 to provide $250,000 for design and $750,000 toward construction subject to conditions; the city has since secured several grants to support both design and construction, and the engineering phase is already underway. The county’s $250,000 design allocation is included in the county’s 2025 budget.
Commissioners and Salida officials discussed how the MOU ties county funding to the PUD’s affordability definitions. Commissioner 4, Chaffee County commissioner, said the PUD’s affordability spectrum—ranging in some rental categories to as low as 30% of area median income (AMI) and including 60% AMI units—was an encouraging detail when evaluating the county’s commitment. “I’m really excited about the fact that, you know, for the rental units that you’re going down to 30% AMI… the spectrum of AMI and what the city is offering is pretty impressive,” Commissioner 4 said.
County staff noted a key county concern: impacts to county roads 107 and 104. Those roads are not currently built to serve a development of roughly the scale discussed in the MOU. The agreement includes provisions for phased transfer of responsibility for those roads to the City of Salida as the neighborhood develops, and language intended to ensure the public benefit of units reserved as workforce housing.
Christy Dune, City Administrator for the City of Salida, thanked the county for its partnership and said the city and its partners had finalized the MOU after a lengthy coordination process. “We really appreciate the support the county has shown the city,” Dune said.
The commissioners approved the MOU by motion and voice vote. The board and city officials said the MOU aims to ensure that grant-funded engineering and subsequent construction will proceed under conditions that protect workforce housing targets and address road needs.
The project remains contingent on final engineering, construction phasing and the pace of grant-funded work; the MOU sets conditions and definitions intended to preserve workforce housing commitments as the project proceeds.
