Garfield County commissioners unanimously backed a request Monday that could help residents of Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park reduce the cost of purchasing their community through a property tax exemption.

Commissioners approved a letter of support for the Sopris Mountain Collective’s request to enter into a special limited partnership with the Garfield County Housing Authority. If approved by the housing authority, the arrangement could extend the authority’s tax-exempt status to the mobile home park and save residents about $55,000 a year in property taxes on the land.

Residents of the 98-unit mobile home park are under contract to purchase the property, with a target closing date of Oct. 20.

Betsy Crum, representing the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, told commissioners residents have raised nearly $12 million in grants and forgivable loans to reduce the amount they will need to borrow and help keep monthly costs affordable.

The largest contribution is a $4.5 million Colorado Health Foundation grant through the Aspen Community Foundation. Government commitments include $2 million from the City of Aspen, $1.5 million from Pitkin County, $1 million from the Town of Snowmass Village, and $500,000 each from the towns of Carbondale and Glenwood Springs.

The Snowmass Village Town Council moved Tuesday to contribute $1 million toward the purchase.

Other funding includes more than $700,000 through Aspen Community Foundation housing justice funds, a $500,000 anonymous donation and several private contributions ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. A $1.3 million request to a private family foundation is also pending.

The park is home to about 200 residents, including roughly 75 children, as well as seniors, veterans and families. The purchase price is about $23 million, although Crum said the total cost is expected to approach $26 million with repairs to sewer, water and other infrastructure.

Residents currently pay about $1,000 per month to lease the land beneath their homes. Crum said that amount is projected to increase to about $1,300 following the purchase, not including any payments residents make on their individual homes.

Maria Judith Alvarez, president of the Sopris Mountain Collective, told commissioners the potential tax savings would help residents keep the community affordable and provide long-term stability.

Under the proposal, the Garfield County Housing Authority would take a small ownership interest in the property through a special limited partnership. That could allow some or all of the land to qualify for the housing authority’s property tax exemption.

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The exemption would apply to the land. Residents would continue paying property taxes on their individually owned homes.

The roughly $55,000 represents property taxes paid to multiple taxing entities, not just Garfield County. Commissioners noted during Monday’s discussion that the taxes also support entities such as schools and fire districts.

Garfield County Housing Authority Executive Director Cheryl Strouse told commissioners the authority has used special limited partnerships with housing developers for about 20 years, but this would be the first arrangement of its kind in Garfield County involving residents purchasing their own mobile home park.

Strouse said the housing authority board would determine the details of the arrangement, including how much of the potential tax savings would be passed along to the project.

Commissioners questioned whether supporting the arrangement could set a precedent for other resident-owned mobile home parks seeking similar exemptions.

Strouse said any future project would have to comply with the housing authority’s protocols and undergo its own review.

Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said the proposal could influence how future county boards consider similar requests, although each would still be considered individually.

“It does set a precedent,” Jankovsky said. “Future boards will look at, well, we did this for one mobile home park, and we do it for another mobile home park.”

He added that future proposals would still come before commissioners “one at a time for discussion.”

Commissioner Perry Will said the proposal provides another way for Garfield County to support affordable housing despite lacking a dedicated funding source for it.

“We don’t have a lot of ways to support affordable housing in the county,” Will said. “We don’t have dedicated funding for it, and I see this as a way to benefit affordable housing in the county without having a dedicated funding source.”

Garfield County commissioners have not contributed money toward the mobile home park purchase. The Sopris Mountain Collective previously approached the county seeking financial assistance, but no direct county funding was provided.

Instead, commissioners described the special limited partnership and potential tax exemption as another way the county could support the resident purchase.

“This is our way of making a contribution to these people because they deserve it,” Jankovsky told the Post Independent.

Commissioner Mike Samson also praised residents for continuing to pursue funding and other ways to complete the purchase.

“You took the initiative,” Samson said. “You just didn’t give up. You said, ‘This is our home. We’re going to fight for this. We’re going to work for this. We’re going to try and get as much money as we can and go forward.'”