Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears construction consultant recommend pausing district affordable‑housing project
Summary
After months of predevelopment work, the district’s consultant told the Steamboat Springs School District Board the affordable housing project lacks complete drawings and a reliable cost estimate; the superintendent said the district will stop work with the current team, collect invoices and reconvene the selection committee to explore other qualified developers.
Pascal Genesta, who has led predevelopment work for the district’s planned 22‑unit affordable housing project, told the Steamboat Springs School District Board on Feb. 9 that the project cannot move forward without complete drawings and a firm cost estimate. "We don't have a cost," Genesta said, adding that the team lacks the foundation details and soils information needed to produce a reliable price.
Superintendent Celine Wicks said the district will ask the contractor for all outstanding invoices, pay for work completed to date and reconvene the decision‑making committee to re‑evaluate other firms that responded to the district’s request for proposals. "There is absolutely no way that we are breaking ground by June" under the current timeline, Wicks said, and the district will instead seek a revised approach that includes stronger oversight.
Board members pressed for clarification of next steps and timing. Several members supported bringing in an owner’s representative or predevelopment professional to provide independent oversight and keep a future contractor on schedule. Pascal told the board that the three finalist proposals ranged widely in cost — one spread was between about $10,000,000 and $20,000,000 for 22 residences — and said that, while the need remains, "it's time that we pull the plug on this project, and we revisit the need, and we look at our options" with the committee.
Wicks said staff will request outstanding deliverables and invoices, reconvene the committee, re‑survey staff served by the housing, and pursue a more fiscally responsible partner. The district also noted questions from potential funders — including the Yampa Valley Community Foundation and STR tax reviewers — that could not be answered without the missing documentation.
Board members asked that staff notify other RFP respondents so the district can determine which firms remain interested if the committee restarts the selection process. Staff said they expect to have the committee reconvened and initial follow‑up completed by April. If the district must restart the procurement and predevelopment process, presenters estimated a roughly one‑year additional delay before ground‑breaking.
The board did not take a formal vote to cancel the project; the superintendent said staff will return with a committee schedule and recommendations for how to proceed.
