"The sound of kids playing after school, neighbors checking in on each other, the shared meals, the everyday kindness that built a community. That's what's being taken from us. It's not just about finding another place to live. It's about being torn away from the school we've gone to since we were little, from the friends who feel like family, from the streets..."
That was one teenage resident of the Aspen Basalt Mobile Home Park, speaking at a Carbondale Trustee meeting on June 24th. Aspen Basalt and Mountain Valley Mobile Home Parks went up for sale in the spring. The parks are regarded as a more affordable option in the Roaring Fork Valley where housing is scarce and expensive.
Since they were alerted the properties were up for sale, residents have been fundraising in an attempt to pay for their lots. Maria Romero, a resident of the Mountain Valley Park, addressed the Carbondale Trustees in early June to ask for funding assistance. Romero said the space rent increase should the sales go through was already causing some of her neighbors to leave.
"And right now we are in the danger of going up to $1,600. I am here to ask you for funding. A lot of us are not certain what's going to happen, so we need this funding for us to be able to stay and be able to afford our rent."
Carbondale Mayor Ben Bohmfalk told Romero the town was considering a hefty donation. Then that same month, the trustees approved a letter of intent to contribute a million dollars to purchase the homes. In conversation with KDNK DJ Merle and the Chameleon, Mayor Bohmfalk said the residents organization worked in their favor.
"It's going to come out of our housing fund more than likely, which has about 1.2 million in uncommitted funds. So it, you know, uses the, the lion's share of that money. But it preserves, uh, well over a hundred units. I think it's 120 some or 130 units of housing. And a lot of people showed up who live in those parks to say, you know, here are the faces, here are the voices. We're not just statistics. And I think that was helpful. So they've been doing a great job of organizing and trying to own their own future and buy the lots underneath them. And so the town made a really significant, commitment to that project last night [June 24]."
Residents must make an offer to the current owner Investment Property Group by August 7th. If accepted, there will be a due diligence period, then a closing period. KDNK will continue to cover this story as more information becomes available.
