Glenwood Springs City Council approved a three-year, $300,000 commitment to the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition’s Good Deeds program Thursday, reinforcing its investment in workforce housing. The decision, which passed 6-1 with Councilor Mitchell Weimer opposed, ensures continued support for local workers struggling to afford homes.

The Good Deeds program helps buyers by covering a portion of a home’s purchase price in exchange for a permanent deed restriction, keeping it designated as workforce housing. Last year, Glenwood Springs contributed $200,000, which helped purchase four homes within city limits. Each of those homes is now occupied by people who both live and work in the city.

“Last year, Council gave $200,000 to the program, and we got four houses out of it,” Housing Development Manager Kevin Reyes said. “That comes to $50,000 a house, which is pretty good ROI if you look at it from that perspective.”

The program, which spans from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, continues to grow. Snowmass Village recently contributed $250,000, and those funds have already helped secure another home in Glenwood Springs. That property, previously used as a short-term rental, will now be home to a single mother of two who works for the school district.

“I can’t think of a better story than that,” Reyes said.

This year’s contribution will come from the city’s 2C workforce housing fund, a voter-approved accomodations tax dedicated to housing initiatives.

Councilor Marco Dehm questioned why the city’s 2024 allocation was lower than last year’s.

“The reason we did $200,000 last year is because it was a pilot program,” Dehm said. “Why did they only talk about $100,000 this year?”

Reyes said the workforce housing fund advisory board wanted to keep the amount flexible so the coalition could return for additional funding if needed.

“They wanted to be a little bit more on the conservative side, with the ability to review additional requests in the future,” Reyes said. “This recommendation allows the coalition to come back in six or eight months and say, ‘Hey, we’ve spent all our money. Can you help us re-up our fund again?'”

The workforce housing fund currently holds about $2 million, accounting for already allocated funds.

West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition Executive Director April Long provided an update on the organization’s long-term financial plans. She said the coalition’s 2025 operational budget is covered, with $180,000 in contributions from its nine member jurisdictions, including Glenwood Springs.

“We intend to grow the operating dollars in a sustainable way, continuing to use our local government partners, and increasing those partners, potentially from other large employers in the region,” Long said.

The coalition is also in discussions with a private business considering a $2 million annual contribution. Pitkin County, which recently passed a tax to support workforce housing, is also weighing a $1 million investment this year.

Long said the coalition is exploring additional housing initiatives, including a potential regional housing district and pooled in-lieu fees to make workforce housing projects more effective across jurisdictions.

“We’re taking baby steps into what we could become, but not getting out over our skis,” Long said.

Mayor Ingrid Wussow said the program is having a real impact.

“This turned short-term rentals into affordable housing for our community workers and essential workforce,” Wussow said. “That’s exactly the kind of impact these funds were meant to have.”