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Council discusses reassigning PABs; staff recommends Dawson Square rehab, CHFA for down‑payment assistance, and conditioned Maker allocations
Summary
Staff briefed council on private activity bond (PAB) options after withdrawals and timeline constraints; staff recommended reallocating portions of 2024 to Dawson Square rehabilitation and CHFA, assigning 2025 funds to an in‑city June Grama project with conditions, and reserving 2026 allocations for Maker with city conditions or CHFA if unused. Council pressed for guarantees that Thornton residents benefit and gave directional consensus for staff recommendations.
City staff updated council on private activity bonds (PAB) after recent withdrawals and timing constraints, and requested direction for allocations for the 2024–2026 bond years. Jessica Prosser and legal staff explained that some applicants withdrew their PAB applications and that unused bond cap could be assigned to CHFA for down‑payment assistance or assigned to Maker Housing Partners with conditions to keep allocations available for future in‑city affordable housing projects.
Jessica explained options and timelines and warned there is not always a guarantee that down‑payment funds routed to CHFA will be used only by Thornton residents: "if we do assign some of the PAB to CHFA there is not a guarantee that that money can be used only for Thornton residents," she said. Staff recommended reassigning 2024 allocations (including a recommended $6.5 million for Dawson Square rehabilitation and a portion to CHFA via Maker), allocating approximately $6,000,000 for June Grama (2025) within city limits, and assigning 2026 allocations to Maker for future in‑city projects under explicit city conditions, with an automatic re‑route to CHFA if Maker cannot identify eligible in‑city projects within the required time frame.
Council members debated keeping funds local versus supporting statewide down‑payment pools, asked about accountability and paper trails for Maker allocations, and asked staff for tracking mechanisms to confirm transfers to CHFA. A number of council members voiced concern about allocating funds to projects outside city limits; others emphasized the benefits of keeping funds close to Thornton residents. Council signaled support for staff’s 2025 recommendation (June Grama in‑city) and for staff to pursue the conditioned Maker approach with automatic reallocation to CHFA if conditions are not met. Provenance: topic introduced SEG 505; discussion wrapped at SEG 1486.
