Park County Housing Coalition outlines home-repair program, coordinated entry work and community housing fund plans

At the Livingston meeting, Catherine Daly, Park County Housing Coalition program manager (HRDC), presented the coalition's 2025 work plan: a Park County Home Repair Program, efforts to strengthen coordinated entry for people experiencing homelessness and exploratory work to design a community housing fund.

Daly said HRDC secured Community Development Block Grant Housing Stabilization Program (CDBG-HSP) funding to stand up a Park County Home Repair Program that will offer 0% forgivable loans for low- and moderate-income owner-occupied, site-built single-family homes. Eligibility was described as owner-occupied, single-family detached, in Park County and at or below 80% of area median income (Daly cited roughly $61,000 for a two-person household under current HUD figures). Daly told the commission the CDBG-HSP award provides approximately $600,000 to deploy for home rehabilitation, weatherization and ADA improvements.

Daly described the coordinated-entry work aimed at improving assessment, prioritization and referrals for people experiencing homelessness. She said a local network already exists (including HRDC case management, Aspen, Community Health Partners, Mobile Crisis Response) and that partners are working to clarify roles, update information-sharing documents, and recruit additional partners such as Livingston Healthcare.

Finally, the coalition is exploring creation of a community housing fund to provide longer-term, locally controlled capital for housing work. Daly said the steering committee assessed multiple funding models (philanthropic gifts, voluntary visitor fees, membership fees, voter-approved funds) and that philanthropic gifts had surfaced as the most immediately viable, while the group continues to evaluate other revenue tools. She said a subcommittee had previously developed a framework for a community housing fund and that the coalition would update parameters to reflect the current funding environment.

Commissioners asked for Livingston-specific data versus countywide American Community Survey estimates; Daly said city-level ACS estimates can have large margins of error in Park County and confirmed most figures cited were countywide 5-year ACS estimates. Commissioner questions also covered governance of a community fund and which local organizations might administrate loans or grants; Daly listed potential partners including Park Local Development Corp., NeighborWorks Montana and the Park County Community Foundation.

Daly asked the public and local organizations to participate in the coalition's work and to refer residents who might benefit from home-repair or coordinated-entry services. She said program documents and eligibility guidelines are being finalized and that more implementation details and outreach would be announced as program launches proceed.