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Published in the July 5, 2018, edition of the Lyons Recorder.

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

Two events raised money for Habitat for Humanity homes in Lyons

by Amy Reinholds

Last weekend, both the car show at the Lyons Good Old Days celebration and the Lyons Lions Club, with youth volunteers the Leos, raised money for Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley, helping the construction of six permanently affordable homes at Second Avenue and Park Street in Lyons. 

Chris Wing, who has owned Lyons Automotive with her husband Chuck Wing since 2012, said the proceeds from the car show entry fees, raffle tickets, and donation jar totaled $1,982 this year, up from last year’s $1,300.  This was the fifth year Lyons Automotive sponsored the car show, and the second year they raised money for Habitat for Humanity.

Wing said last year they knew about the three duplexes Habitat for Humanity was planning to build at 112 Park Street, although Habitat had not yet broke ground. “It seemed like the perfect opportunity to help,” she said. Contributing this year was a natural continuation, because even though the community can see the progress of the two buildings underway, the third duplex building is just starting, and more funding is needed to see the project through to completion.

The ways that the local community can help see the Habitat for Humanity homes to completion falls into two categories: donating and volunteering. To donate specifically to the Lyons construction, go to www.coloradogives.org/rebuildlyons. To volunteer, no specific experience is needed, and training is on the job for each the 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. volunteer shift. On the website at www.stvrainhabitat.org/construction, after clicking FLOOD REBUILD-LYONS, volunteers can sign up for one or more of the specific days they are available Wednesdays through Saturdays.

The Adopt-a-Day sponsorship is an opportunity for groups or businesses to do both. It costs Habitat approximately $2,500 a day to build (costs of materials, permits, and site supervision for example). The combination of volunteer service and a financial contribution of $2,500 doubles the impact of the generous groups on Habitat’s mission. The Lyons Lions Club and its youth chapter, “the Lyons Leos,” joined together last Saturday for an Adopt-a-Day sponsorship at the Lyons construction site. There is room for more big-hearted businesses or organizations to do the same later this summer and fall. Although Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley has some federal disaster recovery funding, there is still a large gap in the costs of building these homes that fund-raising and donations must fill. 

The Saturdays in the summers are usually filled with volunteer groups, but outreach and volunteer coordinator Rebecca Shannon said that the fall is when volunteers are especially needed to see the Lyons construction completed. 

I’m thinking the 5th anniversary of the flood would be a good time for groups to come together and volunteer or fund the construction. Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley did not give up on the Town of Lyons, and the need for housing that people displaced by the flood can afford, even though a 2015 affordable housing proposal that included Habitat for Humanity was rejected by a majority of town voters. This summer and fall are big opportunities to support both Habitat and our neighbors who will be purchasing the new homes at 112 Park St., whether with donations or with volunteer hours. Thanks to Lyons Automotive, the Lyons Lions Club, and the Lyons Leos for stepping up this past weekend!

Lyons Automotive sponsored an auto show Lyons Good Old Days celebration June 30 and donated all entry fees (nearly $2,000) to Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley to support new homes being built in Lyons.

 Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit that acts as a builder and a lender of no-interest loans for homeowners. Mortgages are about $150,000 (depending on some custom options). The range of monthly mortgage payments including taxes and insurance will range from about $650 to $850 for all the homeowners in Lyons, depending on income and household size. All Habitat for Humanity homeowners complete about 250 volunteer hours per adult in each household, which includes and attending financial and homeownership classes as well as working construction on their own and their neighbors’ homes.

By the end of April 2018, a final round of applicants was selected to purchase the six homes. The preference policy gave first preference for applicants displaced as a result of the flood disaster of 2013, who maintained their primary residence in the Lyons area (80540 zip code) at the time of the flood. For income level requirements in Lyons, preference is for applicants at 60% of area median income or below (and possibly as much as 80% of the area median income was allowed for Lyons). A permanently affordable restriction means that homeowners who sell their homes in the future must sell to qualified buyers who are in that same income range.

In November 2016, three years after the flood, Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley purchased six residential lots from Craig Ferguson of Planet Bluegrass and his LLC, south of the former Valley Bank building (which remains on a separate commercial lot). The Lyons Board of Trustees voted in 2015 to waive water and sewer connection fees that they have control over for Habitat for Humanity. The total of about $173,500 in savings helped Habitat for Humanity meet its permitting and fees budget for the Park Street homes, keeping mortgages down to about $150,000 for homeowners. 

This column is a weekly commentary (opinion column) in the Lyons Recorder about affordable housing after the September 2013 flood disaster in Lyons. The Town of Lyons lost about 76 to 94 flood-destroyed homes, and a 2015 proposal for using part of Bohn Park to build subsidized, affordable Boulder County Housing Authority rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 homes) was rejected in a town vote, 614 to 498. Although other affordable homes have been proposed in the past year, so far, the only post-flood affordable housing actually in the construction phase is at 112 Park Street where Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley is building three duplexes (a total of 6 homes) on land the non-profit purchased at the end of 2016. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact me directly at areinholds @hotmail.com. For a history of post-flood efforts for affordable housing in Lyons, you can read previous columns from both Lyons-area newspapers posted on my blog at lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com.