Public Comments 01-10-2017 EagleBend Refinancing
PO
Box
1130,
Vail,
CO
81658
VailValleyPartnership.com
/
VisitVailValley.com
/
VailValleyMeansBusiness.com
/
VailonSale.com
January
6,
2017
Avon
Town
Council
Town
of
Avon
1
Lake
Street
/
PO
Box
975
Avon,
CO
81620
Dear
Avon
Town
Council
members:
Vail
Valley
Partnership
(VVP)
is
the
regional
chamber
of
commerce
representing
Eagle
County,
Colorado.
Our
organization
has
over
850
member
organizations,
representing
over
80%
of
the
local
workforce
within
the
valley.
As
you
are
aware,
workforce
housing
is
among
the
priority
needs
in
the
Vail
Valley.
It
has
come
to
our
attention
that
a
current
working
group
of
citizens
and
business
interests
have
been
meeting
to
review
a
proposed
restructuring
of
debt
at
Eaglebend.
It
is
also
our
understanding
that
this
committee
is
opposed
to
the
proposed
restructuring
for
a
variety
of
reasons
including:
1. Models
showing
a
potential
rent
increase
of
up
to
40%
for
up
to
150
households,
or
more
moderate
disruption
of
increases
up
to
15%.
2. Dependency
on
Low
Income
Housing
Tax
Credits
(LIHTC)
which
involves
taking
on
a
lot
more
debt
in
order
to
provide
cash
out,
and
which
significantly
limiting
the
availability
of
funding
for
capital
replacements
going
forward.
3. Multiple
hurdles
associated
with
LIHTC
over
9-‐12
months,
any
one
of
which
could
prove
fatal
to
the
project,
and
a
belief
that
tax
credits
are
better
utilized
for
new
projects.
The
dire
need
for
deed-‐restricted
workforce
housing
certainly
does
entail
creative
thinking
and
new
approaches
to
mitigate
this
problem;
however,
Eaglebend
is
working
just
fine
the
way
it
is
and
has
been
for
23
years.
It
has
provided
nearly
$1.9
M
as
seed
money
and
assistance
for
other
projects
which
could
never
have
happened
or
survived
without
Eaglebend
assistance.
Eaglebend
is
a
model
of
success
that
other
projects
should
look
toward,
and
the
potential
disruption
to
a
successful
model
is
not
worth
the
risk
associated
with
it.
This
project
checks
numerous
boxes
in
terms
of
meeting
the
needs
of
workforce
housing
in
Eagle
County
and
the
Town
of
Avon,
and
does
so
with
a
thoughtful
approach
to
rent
and
capital
improvements.
We
respectfully
urge
the
members
of
town
council
to
consider
the
many
public
benefits
of
Eaglebend
and
to
avoid
using
it
as
an
ATM
while
putting
294
families
at
risk
of
increased
rent
or
no
housing
at
all,
and
to
follow
the
advice
of
the
citizens
committee.
Thank
you
for
your
commitment
to
affordable
housing.
Best
regards,
Chris
Romer
President
&
CEO
Vail
Valley
Partnership