Clear Creek Regional Housing Authority moves toward hiring executive director; county to sponsor state planning grant

Amy Saxton (presented as Amy Saxon in meeting materials), Clear Creek County’s representative to the newly formed Clear Creek Regional Housing Authority (CCRHA), briefed the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 18 about next steps for launching the multi-jurisdictional housing authority.

Saxton reviewed the authority’s intergovernmental agreement and said partner municipalities have approved appointments; municipalities largely named council members as their appointees. She recommended the CCRHA hire an executive director to carry day-to-day work and suggested the county serve as the fiscal sponsor for an upcoming state planning and capacity grant (deadline noted as March 14) to fund a facilitator and support initial launch activities.

Saxton told commissioners the CCRHA’s first-year operating budget is funded through member contributions (Clear Creek’s contribution comes from lodging-tax revenue and is roughly $90,000 of the initial budget), though the executive director hire would likely occur later in the year. Commissioners discussed board-staff communication, the workload involved in launching a new authority and how to ensure municipal appointees (mostly elected council members) are prepared to represent their jurisdictions.

Saxton recommended convening the CCRHA board and a facilitator-led strategic planning session to define the authority’s priorities, governance habits, and staff/board roles before the executive director begins full duties. Commissioners signaled support for pursuing the state planning grant, for the county acting as fiscal sponsor if needed, and for Saxton proceeding as the county’s representative to the CCRHA while the board finalizes details.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to help frame the grant submission, to ensure municipal staff support for CCRHA launch tasks, and to return with progress updates on hiring and the facilitator grant.