Daggett County commissioners press to salvage self-help housing effort as local workers face eviction risk

Daggett County commissioners spent an extended portion of their meeting discussing barriers to the county's self-help affordable housing effort and potential workarounds after officials said applicants' credit and occupancy requirements are preventing families from qualifying.

Commissioners said they remain short of the required qualified applicants to proceed with a pending self-help construction project and noted at least one county deputy has been told by a school board he must vacate housing because the family cannot find affordable alternatives.

The discussion opened during the commissioners' issue-updates segment, when a commissioner noted a public hearing on a Dutch John water bond and then asked about affordable workforce housing. Staff reported only one person had applied who was unsure she would qualify, and another person might try to pair up with a co-buyer. Commissioners repeatedly raised creditworthiness as the main barrier: "It's getting people approved with the credit because the low income people that we're trying to help are the ones that are challenged," a participant said.

Commissioners and staff explored possible ways to be more flexible within the program rules. They asked whether two families could jointly own and occupy a single unit and whether a non-occupying cosigner could strengthen an applicant's loan application. One commissioner asked for clarification from the program administrator, noting, "Maybe have UBAC clarify if they could get a cosigner to help them with that." The group agreed to raise those specific questions with Laurie from UBAC later in the afternoon.

Officials also discussed outreach and retention: keeping a rotating advertisement in the county newsletter and on social media, producing a flyer for Facebook, and encouraging family or friends to help meet work-hour requirements tied to the program. "As soon as we get 1 person qualified, we lose somebody and we could never get the group enough all at once," a commissioner said, describing previous efforts. Several speakers urged a creative approach to avoid losing the current tranche of applicants.

Commissioners stressed the urgency created by staffing and housing shortages. One commissioner warned: "He has been given notice by the school board that he needs to vacate because they were going to be hiring potentially for new positions at the school, and he is not having any luck finding anything that he can afford to live in." Participants discussed interim rental options, the possibility of the county temporarily holding units or allowing rental while purchases are staggered, and whether program rules permit the county to take temporary ownership.

No formal action was taken. Commissioners directed staff to: (1) ask UBAC for written clarification on occupancy and cosigner rules, (2) explore targeted outreach (newsletter, social media and flyers) to find more qualified applicants, and (3) follow up on the immediate housing need for at least one deputy so staffing is not imperiled. The board said they would discuss options with Laurie at the scheduled afternoon meeting. The commission also said it would continue trying to recruit the remaining qualified applicants to meet program requirements.

Ending

Commissioners emphasized the project's importance and pledged to keep pursuing creative solutions while seeking formal clarifications from the administering organization. No vote was taken on program changes at the meeting.