Councilmembers wavered on the idea of creating a housing authority at their latest joint meeting.
A subcommittee of Park City and Summit County councilmembers and staff has been working for months to develop a housing authority.
They came back to the full councils Jan. 12 to see if they could finally create one, but councilmembers decided against a vote.
Many weren’t sure if the costs outweigh the potential benefits, and they want to wait until the full councils are present. Summit County councilmembers Roger Armstrong and Canice Harte missed the housing authority discussion.
Councilmembers have been disappointed that some federal assistance for housing authorities is no longer available, and now they’re unsure about the $1.5 million price just to get it off the ground.
“It just seems like a very expensive undertaking for $1.5 million to not actually build anything,” Summit County Councilmember Chris Robinson said. “That’s just to create this clearinghouse.”
Staff estimate an additional $600,000 annually is needed to actually build new units.
However, Park City Councilmember Ryan Dickey noted the city has already made development happen without a housing authority. He sees opportunities for the county on a parcel like Cline Dahle next to Jeremy Ranch Elementary School.
“We can put [a request for proposals] out on Cline Dahle tomorrow without a housing authority and get into the housing business,” Dickey said. “I'd love to see that.”
The hesitancy to move forward with the housing authority comes after the majority of the councils gave staff the thumbs-up to draft a budget in November. Staff didn’t get the go-ahead to draft the paperwork needed to implement that budget Jan. 12.
Summit County Council Chair Malena Stevens says a housing authority could be useful because it’s independent of politics.
“To me, that's the utility of having an organization like this, because there's not that constant flip-flopping,” she said.
At the end of the discussion, County Economic Development and Housing Director Jeff Jones told the councils to give new guidance if they want a different outcome.
“We [staff] work for the councils,” Jones said. “So if you folks want to set a different agenda, then just do so. And tell us how you want us to proceed…and we will do our best work to try to support that. I think that's kind of why the housing authority issue surfaced: getting a uniform ‘What is the agenda?’ has been challenging within our region.”
Summit County will add 8,000 jobs and 3,500 people over the next 10 years, according to Jones, who says there are just 26 rentals available right now, affordable or not.
The Park City and Summit County councils will meet again March 22. They’re expected to have a more final decision on whether to create the housing authority.
