Carbondale Board OKs additional $100,000 for Mountain Valley mobile-home park purchase

The Town of Carbondale Board of Trustees voted 6-1 on Aug. 26 to authorize a $1,100,000 grant payment to the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition to support the purchase and preservation of the Mountain Valley mobile-home park.

Town Manager Ryan told trustees the grant agreement before the board would “formalize the town’s commitment to provide funds” and that the motion on the table reflected the board’s prior conversation about committing $1,000,000. He said the broader financing picture for both parks now stands at roughly $14,000,000 raised toward an original $20,000,000 goal and that private lenders and the finance group are targeting an interim comfort level of $16,000,000 to get preferred rates for the transactions.

The trustees discussed whether Carbondale should add funds beyond the previously discussed $1,000,000. Trustee Colin moved the revised motion to authorize payment of $1,100,000; Trustee Chris seconded. Several trustees said they were reluctant to further deplete the town’s housing fund but did not want the multi-jurisdictional purchase to fail. Trustee Ross said, “I would be, without you know, with some acknowledging some reluctance, say, let’s go ahead and promise that $100,000 and know that it’ll probably be well spent.”

Town Attorney Mark recommended adding a limited right for Carbondale to enforce the deed restriction that will preserve the property as a mobile-home park if the coalition or the currently listed enforcement entities are unable or unwilling to act in the future. He said the way the deed restriction is drafted now “West Mountain and Pitkin County can directly enforce it, but there’s no direct enforcement opportunity for the other contributing entities, including Carbondale.” Trustees agreed they supported asking that the town be added as a potential enforcer only for the property adjacent to Carbondale.

Trustees heard additional financing details from staff: the allocation among the two parks (Mountain Valley and a separate Aspen/Basalt park) is still being finalized; an extra $1,000,000 discussed in some spreadsheets was being routed to the Aspen/Basalt transaction in one scenario; and projected lot rents at Mountain Valley under the financing scenarios would move “from $1,110 currently to about $1,700,” Ryan said, based on the numbers circulated by the finance partners. Staff cautioned those figures are estimates and that April Long, who is leading fundraising and stakeholder coordination, expected due-diligence reports for infrastructure to be finalized that week.

Trustees also discussed timing and alternative funding sources. Ryan said state funds might be available but the state’s timeline did not match the mid-October closing and the purchase’s due-diligence schedule (45 days for due diligence followed by 30 days toward a closing). April Long, who joined the meeting from the field, told the board the coalition planned a fundraising event Oct. 3 and that organizers would circulate marketing materials to support outreach.

The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Hassig (aye), Cribbs (yes), Laird (yes), Montemayor (yes), Robison (yes), Bach (yes), Mayer (no). The board’s memo noted the town’s projected remaining housing-fund balance at year-end after the $1,100,000 contribution would be about $571,000.

Trustees and staff flagged follow-ups: finalize deed-restriction language to add Carbondale as a contingent enforcement party for the Carbondale-adjacent property; finalize infrastructure due diligence before closing; continue fundraising and state-level outreach; and evaluate whether future annexation or service agreements could provide additional long-term stability and cost savings for park residents.

The vote authorizes the town manager and town attorney to finalize the grant agreement in a form acceptable to them before execution.