Briefs Gunnison County

Capital projects update
The county’s two major capital projects at the jail and public works facility are both on schedule and moving ahead as planned.
County manager Matthew Birnie told the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners he was very pleased with the work of the superintendents of both sites and all of the structural tests that have gone on to date have come back and are positive.

The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the projects from general contractor GE Johnson is still being reviewed by the county, but it did come in $56,000 under the initial GMP.
“On a $14 million-plus project, coming within $56,000 is a pretty close estimate. But it’s not going to be enough to add on any of the optional items that had been considered,” county manager Matthew Birnie told the commissioners.
And as winter sets in, contractors working on the projects are preparing for the cold and hoping to have the buildings enclosed by year’s end. The projects are scheduled to wrap up at the end of next summer.

Stallion Park
The board of County Commissioners, along with Housing Authority director KT Gazunis, sat down with developer Dick Landy on Tuesday, November 16 to talk about two changes to the covenants for Stallion Park, the affordable housing complex at Buckhorn Ranch south of Crested Butte.
The first request Gazunis and Landy made to the commissioners was for a change to the language in the Stallion Park deed restrictions to conform with the requirements for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing. FHA requires the county to exercise its right of first refusal prior to any foreclosure sales at the complex.
“That creates some obstacles, but we’ve had several meetings on how we can address that,” Gazunis said. “We have to address that to get FHA financing, which opens up the ability for potential buyers.”
The second request came from Landy, who is desperate to sell some of the more than 20 open units in the complex, to appease anxious bankers holding the debt on the project. He asked the commissioners to allow for an increase in the average median income (AMI) limits on the property from 100 percent of AMI to 120 or 150 percent of AMI. For a family of four, 150 percent of AMI is about $99,000.
Gazunis said, “All of Dr. Landy’s product is priced well below the upper price point [for affordable housing]. And the housing would still be only available to purchasers who earn 80 percent or more of their income in Gunnison County.”
Among the many barriers to people getting financing right now, Gazunis said, those with an AMI below 100 percent will have a harder time than families earning 120 percent to 150 percent AMI. And Landy has also dropped the price of his units substantially. A two-bedroom unit that once would have cost close to $300,000 could now cost $162,000 to $167,000.
The commissioners approved the change in the covenants to accommodate FHA financing and voted to increase the AMI requirement to purchase property at Stallion Park from 100 percent AMI to 150 percent.