Douglas County Commission approves 18‑month pilot to lease fourplexes for justice‑involved supportive housing

Douglas County commissioners voted unanimously June 18 to direct $154,000 in remaining 2025 ACT funds to a trial supportive‑housing program that will reserve two fourplex buildings for justice‑involved residents under a master lease with Bert Nash and Sims Properties.

The pilot will reserve two fourplexes at 50506 Colorado Street under a master lease managed by Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. Each apartment in the two buildings has two bedrooms, allowing the project to serve eight to 16 people at a time; one fourplex will be prioritized for specialty courts and behavioral health court clients and the other for probation and community corrections referrals. The county authorized the county administrator to execute an addendum to the 2025 Bert Nash service agreement to support the master lease.

Bob Trajanski, director of behavioral health projects for Douglas County, told commissioners the plan is an “18‑month experiment” intended to expand supportive housing options while testing whether a master‑leased, single‑unit/double‑occupancy model is a better fit and more cost‑effective than relying on congregate, 24/7 staffed placements. “This will be a better fit for those clients and for the clients that are at Transitions and need that environment,” Trajanski said.

Nut graf: Commissioners and staff said the pilot addresses two county concerns: (1) a shortage of landlords willing to lease to justice‑involved tenants and (2) high per‑bed costs at existing congregate facilities. The pilot aims to free transitional beds at Bert Nash’s programs for people whose clinical needs are better served in congregate settings while offering individual or roommate units to justice‑involved residents who may not thrive in those congregate models.

Key facts and timeline - Property and partners: Bert Nash would be the master‑lessee and property manager; Sims Properties (owner Brian Sims) would provide the fourplexes. Matthew Faulk, director of housing at Bert Nash, confirmed the owner is local. - Capacity: Each fourplex contains four two‑bedroom units; project capacity is eight to 16 people depending on single or double occupancy. - Cost comparison: Trajanski said the per‑bed daily cost at congregate placements rose from about $35/day in 2017 to about $100/day now. The proposed master‑lease units would reduce per‑bed costs to an estimated $35 to $68 per day depending on occupancy. - Timeline: The presentation described a phased opening: two units available in July and the remainder online in September. Staff described the arrangement as an 18‑month pilot to test scalability and sustainability. - Funding: Commissioners approved redirecting $154,000 of the 2025 ACT allocation for the remainder of 2025. Staff said they would propose a $200,000 line in the 2026 budget for justice‑involved transitional housing aligned with the program if pilot results warrant it.

Discussion, concerns and next steps Commissioners asked staff how outcomes would be tracked; Trajanski said an outcomes plan was expected by September when the second set of units comes online and noted the specialty courts process evaluation under way would inform metrics. Katie Fitzgerald, criminal justice coordinator, said the process evaluation team will conduct a site visit in July and that process and outcome evaluations are expected by early fall.

Commissioners also pressed for clarity on which existing budgets would be adjusted. Trajanski said some bed costs are embedded in operational support for Transitions and in behavioral health court services; staff agreed to review contracts and clarify budget lines in the 2026 budget process.

Formal action Commissioner Reed moved “to approve redirecting $154,000 of the Bert Nash 2025 ACT funding allocation to support the implementation of a justice‑involved supportive housing program and to authorize the county administrator to execute an addendum to the 2025 Bert Nash service agreement to support a master lease agreement between Bert Nash and Sims Properties to manage the units.” Commissioner Kelly seconded. The motion passed unanimously (Reed: yes; Kelly: yes; Dorsey: yes; Anderson: yes). The vote authorized officials to finalize the addendum and proceed with the master lease.

Why it matters locally County staff framed the pilot as aligning with the county’s supportive‑housing goals and with a stated objective to add supportive housing beds for justice‑involved individuals. Officials said the model could scale if the 18‑month experiment shows cost savings, better clinical fit, and landlord willingness to work with supportive housing providers.

The commission directed staff to proceed with executing the addendum and to return information on implementation, outcomes tracking and any budget implications during the 2026 budget process.