Kudos to Bonnie Osborn.  She has championed the affordable housing movement here in Summit County.  Recently, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) selected Bonnie as this years’ advocacy award winner.  Bonnie was the cause behind the voters approving an affordable housing tax in Summit County but more than that, her model could serve as a successful strategy for other communities in Colorado.

          Affordable housing is a dire necessity in Summit County as workers in the service industry can not afford the prices of Summit's skyrocketing real estate market that is approaching build-out.  And by service industry, we are not just referring to waitresses and hotel staff but policemen, firefighters, dentists and doctors.  In Dillon alone, seven of ten firefighters live in Denver and commute to the County for their required shifts.  It seems as though any couple that gets married and starts to have a family gets quickly priced out of the county and to lower elevations.    

One of the areas that gets hit the hardest is within the Summit school system.  The problem is two-fold.  First, kindergarten in Summit County is not fully subsidized.  Imagine a situation where you had to pay $300 a month for full day kindergarten or, if you couldn’t afford it, you would have to pick your child up at noon and find a sitter or take your day off of work.  Furthermore, when your child enters the first grade, they would already be a year behind in math as math for kindergartners is taught in the afternoon.  The second aspect of affordable housing and the school system is keeping teachers from moving out of County.  Teachers are often a high turn-over demographic as most of them are just starting to raise families and the job comes with an unsustainable income.  The school system has stated that every time a teacher leaves the school system it takes $10,000 to recruit and train in a new one.  One school in the area is working on a proposal where they would cede some school land in exchange for teachers to get first crack at deed restricted housing.

Summit County and Bonnie Osborn have been able to watch other resort communities affordable housing trials and tribulations and have been able to learn from them.  When Jackson Hole raised teacher’s salaries 32% to keep them around; unfortunately, it pushed the income brackets of the teachers out of the government subsidy realm but still left them in a place where they were not making enough to qualify to buy a Jackson Hole home.  Aspen, one of the first communities to reach build-out, has a deed restricted unit that is over a million dollars; maybe that could have been planned better.  Bonnie's’ tax might fill the Summit Combined Housing Authority coffers enough that they can buy housing and keep the ailing demographic issues.  This year children form other communities has to be bussed into Frisco in order for there to be enough children to open the school.  These issues translate to help staff in local pubs and restaurants and if our service industry flails then the back bone of the tourist driven economy flails. 

The bright side of these issues exists.  Local Rotary clubs are fund raising to send children to kindergarten full day.  Bonnie's’ strides in tax work and voter sway; she’s a Rotarian as well and just an all around great lady.  Silverthorne approved 11 two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-car garage affordable housing units in the South Maryland Creek Ranch in exchange for a building permit for 71 high-end homes.

All of these positives count as progress.  Thank you Bonnie Osborn, we could not have done it with out you. 

Blog by Jason Brewer

Although he spends part of every year in Summit County, Bill Crouse leaves Breckenridge each spring to guide expeditions up Mt Everest on behalf of the French-based Himalayan Experience.  The Iowa native first scaled the peak as a three person team conducting a GPS recalculation survey on the world’s tallest mountain.  Since then he has made the climb six times, and will head out for attempt number seven the first week of April.   He has been known to hike Colorado 14ers with 35 pounds of rocks in his pack as part of his training.   Imagine that the next time you scale one of our local peaks!   Click here to follow his upcoming expedition.

Submitted by Margaret Bowes

This is Moses.  He's a malamute and, although it's hard to tell, he's smiling in this picture.  Some dogs in snow are like a fish in water, Moses is no exception.  Moses is into being above treeline, unchaperoned walkabouts, and back country skiing.  He's fond of the hills above Breckenridge.  He hopes to someday pull a sled with children in it and grow opposable thumbs.  You can find Moses above treeline with local Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is a financial analyst for Vail Resorts, a 24 hour endurance mountain biker- including the brutal and famous Montezuma's Revenge, rock and ice climber, back country skier and mother of two.  Beth is another fantastic athlete and person who has made the high country her home because, well, it's paradise and it's where Moses wants to be.

Blog by Jason Brewer