State‑backed workforce housing program seeks local Bridger sites; council to help identify candidates

Representatives from a Community Reinvestment Organization — referred to in the meeting as HAB or CRO — briefed the Bridger Town Council on a potential workforce‑housing project.

"So their goal is to get 9 to 10, individual units, stand alone units," Angela Gettel of the Lagerish Community Foundation told the council, saying the program has state matching money already unlocked for Carbon County and is seeking towns that want to host a small development.

Gettel and the program director said the program is aimed at households up to about 140% of area median income and that mortgage terms would be structured so payments do not exceed roughly 30% of a household's income. The initiative looks for candidate sites and will perform reconnaissance and assessment; it can consider publicly or privately owned parcels if the infrastructure and economics make sense.

Council members asked practical questions about site feasibility: whether water and sewer lines exist near a potential site, whether private owners could participate, and whether environmental issues might limit use of a parcel. One council member raised historical industrial uses of an 8‑acre candidate site near the airport and asked whether soils or buried materials would need assessment before the program proceeds.

Program staff said initial reconnaissance is part of the offering; council members suggested the town could seek engineering and environmental screening first to avoid later costs. The council asked staff to coordinate with the program and identify candidate municipal and private sites for their January discussions.

No formal commitment was made; the council agreed to gather site ideas and let the program perform assessments to determine viability.