A message from Daniel Stevens:
JACKSON, Wyo. — The unified efforts of local government with the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust (JHCHT), a nonprofit funded by wealthy donors, has created a blended public/private group that is positioning itself to become the landlords of the middle class in Jackson.
Around ten years ago the community set a goal for 65% of the local workforce to live locally. Broad public support for local workforce housing has morphed into a collaboration between the County, Town of Jackson, and JHCHT to become the primary housing developers and controllers of the workforce living in Jackson. Below market price housing is the well-intentioned product, control is the inevitable side effect that calls for close scrutiny. Along the way towards centralizing control of housing, numerous problems have arisen and many questions need answering. Low-income residents’ needs are being bypassed and their overall financial well-being is compromised. Public interests beyond workforce housing needs are being subsumed. There are conflicts of interest dating back many years. The Town Council is also trying to bypass public input and accountability. Heavy government interference in the housing market requires a high degree of public trust. This trust is eroding. This election is an opportunity to re-evaluate the accountability and consequences of the current affordable housing strategy in Jackson.
JHCHT does its’ work with donated land and money from individuals and the Town of Jackson along with some grants and revenue generated from rents and fees. Jackson/Teton County Affordable Housing (JTCAH) does its work using land owned or purchased by the Town or County government. Even if someone becomes an owner, they are not truly full owners. JHCHT and local government put many restrictions on the units. Owners are limited on how much they can sell for. In some cases, they only own the inside walls of the building, but not the outside structure. The land itself may still be owned by the Town or County or JHCHT and incur lease fees.
JTCAH and JHCHT are fighting what JHCHT board member Ethan Steinberg describes as “limitless capital meeting limited supply creating an upward spiral in home prices.”[1] These prices are out of reach for the local workforce at current wages. That is why JHCHT and JTCAH independently and in public-private partnership work in a unique environment in which capitalism, philanthropy, and government welfare are all combined into a unified effort to acquire land, build housing, generate revenue, and cap pricing.
Joan’s Problems
Those with lower economic status suffer from neglect and mismanagement when stuck under someone else’s control. Joan (pseudonym) is a home owner in the JHCHT managed Flat Iron community. She was among the original buyers in 1997. The land was donated by the Love family for the purpose of providing a place for working families to put down roots. Joan had to qualify for the house by not earning more than 120% of median Teton County income. The home made it possible for Joan to work in Jackson and raise her family here. However, she says her family is the only reason she has suffered the costs and frustrations of subsidized housing. She says the Town bought rights of purchase for its employees with a limit of three in one neighborhood, yet somehow ended up with four Town employees in her 15-house neighborhood. Owners only own the inside walls and have to pay a ground lease fee and HOA fees. The HOA owns the outside walls. The JHCHT sits on the board of the HOA but abandoned it years ago. Town employees get income restrictions waved. Over the years Joan’s neighbors have included second home owners, people with more vehicles than assigned parking spots, and people who have moved away, but then skipped the application line and moved right back in. In a small 15 member HOA the financial situation of government employees with an inside track to housing and nonprofit workers like her cause problems. The financial decision making for spending HOA money varies drastically between residents with lower and higher income. Joan says that mismanagement of HOA funds resulted in her having to pay for a new roof, the property of the HOA, with her own money. Neighborhoods with cost sharing between people of different economic standing is disadvantageous for those of lesser means. It also means that when neighbors cannot get along or follow HOA bylaws, the fail point has been reached. JHCHT according to Joan has provided no help. Additionally, Joan claims that she is forced to pay a disproportionate amount of HOA fees because JHCHT miscalculated her livable square footage, the determinant in HOA fee ratios. JHCHT is instead focused on its never-ending campaign of expanding development. Because of sale price restrictions “owners” like Joan miss out on real estate appreciation. In the long-term, affordable housing comes with a lot of costs.
Cooperative Interests
While it is reasonable to expect that the same people would work on the housing problem from multiple angles it raises questions about ethics and legality. While Jim Moses was CEO of Rocky Mountain Bank, the bank financed the Redmond St. Rentals.[2] The process for the Redmond St. Rental project started in 2008[3], Jim Moses was also the president of JHCHT in 2008 and 2009.[4] However, it is unclear if any financial agreements were made while Moses was still officially with JHCHT. Anne Cresswell has been working as president of JHCHT since 2010 and receives a six-figure salary. Regardless of intentions, the leadership of JHCHT has a track record of financial involvement in promoting JHCHT projects. Current Vice Mayor and Town Council member Arne Jorgensen is an emeritus and founding board member of JHCHT. His architecture firm Hawtin Jorgensen has been involved in several affordable housing projects. Jorgensen says he avoided conflicts of interest and even gladly lost money on projects for a cause he strongly supports. Millions of dollars have been passed around between the Town, JHCHT, and contractors. The point is that the status quo is upheld by long standing collaborative partners that are strongly committed to the current workforce housing plan.
Non-Profit = Non-Charity
JHCHT has leveraged donated assets to continue growing its portfolio. It has raised funds by selling rights of purchase or rental agreements (RPRA). An RPRA is the right to have an eligible employee first in line to buy or rent an available unit. The Town of Jackson has paid at least $3.45M for nine RPRAs[5]. JHCHT has agreements for undisclosed terms with nonprofits St. Johns Health Foundation[6] and Teton Adaptive Sports.[7] Inexplicably JHCHT also has an RPRA with First Republic Bank.[8] The IRS considers lessoning the burden of government as tax exempt. That is why JHCHT started providing government employee housing as part of its nonprofit charter. How First Republic Bank is getting access to nonprofit housing is unclear. JHCHT is shrewdly leveraging its tax-exempt donated assets to recover their market value. Despite donated land and money that is meant to cap housing costs below market price, JHCHT has extracted funds above that cap. With RPRA payments in addition to government employees still paying mortgages and rents that are above the Wyoming average, the charitable impact of the nonprofit is muted. The charity of land owners and donors is being sold to tax payers, making tax payers charity contributors. Looked at another way it can be described as a complicated low tax strategy to buy land. Whether it is clever development strategy or not, one thing it is not is charity. JHCHT has provided local government with a conduit to hard to acquire land. With their nonprofit status and expanded funds, JHCHT is continuing to launch new projects and expand its portfolio.
Accountability
The overall agenda for aggressive expansion of public/JHCHT land-lording is all over the ballot for the current election. Voters are presented with a total of $80M in taxation for the County to collect and direct towards housing projects. Current high property taxes help assure workforce housing is more unattainable for local businesses to create. The Town and County are creating a situation in which only tax-exempt nonprofits and local government can afford, provide, and control work force housing. The push for JTCAH and JHCHT to bring 65% of the workforce local with both entities exercising significant control and access raises important questions of accountability. Is there discrimination going on based on age, sex, ethnicity, or personal beliefs? Is there discrimination on which businesses’ workers get chosen? Is there favoritism, bribery, conflicts of interest? Even in benign evaluation who is more valued, a teacher, bank clerk, fireman, nurse, river guide? How transparent is the selection for who gets housing? Eligibility for housing is contingent on getting a job from certain parties. This means a lot of control over who makes up the electorate. Are Town officials going to hire people who will not vote for them? Will employees of local businesses get housing if they or their employer do not support JHCHT? If local government and the unaccountable private nonprofit JHCHT which operates with assets and board members from the ultra-wealthy continue to aggressively expand development and their control of workforce housing, they ultimately will control who is part of Jackson. Anne Creswell, president of JHCHT and incumbent Town Council candidate Jonathan Schechter did not provide answers to questions about accountability and oversight. The other incumbent candidate Arne Jorgensen says, “We provide policy, we review these policies from a selection process every year or two. The staff then implements those. I am very proud of that. There is nobody that’s out there playing games, being nefarious in the background, in the shadows. If there’s some way [sic] that thinks we’re being discriminatory with either of those hats [referring to previously being on the JHCHT board and currently sitting on the Town Council], there are roles and opportunities to make those complaints.” Jorgensen pointed towards public prosecutors as the proper outlet for complaints of wrong doing saying, “It’s not up to the Town Council, it’s not up to the County commission to do that.” This deflects some responsibility away from elected officials. Jorgensen’s assurances of today and the recent past are not a guarantee for the future. Where power is concentrated it can be abused and needs continuous stewardship and accountability. Either that stewardship is always there or the power needs to be redistributed.
Clashing Interests-Degrading Public Trust
The new Flat Creek apartment project has created a flash point in the community which highlights a collision course between public interest and the housing development control agenda. The project will use land originally donated to the Town for the rodeo and fairgrounds. Of the original 26 acres, the grounds have been whittled down to 17.5 acres. Yet another reappropriation of the land has drawn the ire of long-time locals who see it as a trend that will ultimately eliminate the historic rodeo grounds. The public land the Town will donate to the project is intended for public use, building apartments on it will permanently eliminate it from broader public use. The Town has the obligation to secure the interest of the broader public. What does the public really want to do with the land? The Town Council does not want to find out. They are moving ahead with the project by declaring that they can build on it despite the zoning status. Residents of Jackson should be able to bring a public referendum on the matter, but the Town Council has tried to bypass this possibility. This prompted outrage and threats of a lawsuit at a public hearing on Aug. 15th, further degrading already fragile public trust in the Town Council. The Council fully supports the development. However, Councilman Jim Rooks cast a symbolic opposition vote acknowledging the inappropriate and provocative manner of the zoning process. None the less, the Town is moving forward unchecked. Jorgensen says, “trust in our community is critical. Just because someone disagrees with a housing policy, that doesn’t mean we’re doing something nefarious.” Close association between Jorgensen and Shelter JH unfortunately has further degraded that trust.[9] Shelter JH has been trying to diffuse concerns about the fairgrounds by pushing the false claim that the fairgrounds can be relocated. Given the decades of trying to do this and the absence of lands or funds for relocation makes it an obvious deception. Shelter JH Vice Chair Nikki Kaufman works on the Jorgensen campaign[10] and Shelter JH coordinator Carol Stumpf[11] sits on the Town Housing Supply Board. Clearly, the housing agenda is bulldozing other public responsibilities. For local government and inscrutable nonprofits to become the main landlords of the workforce requires significant public trust, a trust that is in growing jeopardy under the current Town Council.
Incumbent Town Councilors Jorgensen and Jonathan Schechter are fully on board with the current push for controlled housing development. Although Schechter has called 65% an arbitrary number.[12] Challenger Devon Viehman says she wants to see a higher number than 65%.[13] Katherine Rueckert is the only outlier candidate. While still supportive of affordable housing efforts, she has declared opposition to the Flat Creek development. She can provide some outsider accountability and will provide Councilman Rooks with important support in upholding public input and trust. Two things that affordable housing cannot be created without.
Background of JHCHT and JTCAH
The JHCHT stated purpose is to be a not-for-profit housing developer focused on housing Jackson’s workforce. Their website says “We leverage private philanthropy and public subsidies to build truly affordable homes for people who make less than 120% AMI (area median income).”[14] The mission statement of the Jackson/Teton County Affordable Housing (JTCAH) joint department is “to create healthy housing solutions so that our workforce can live, spend, and volunteer locally, maintaining the community character we all cherish.”[15] JHCHT has housed 656 people since 1991 by building “nine affordable home neighborhoods, manage 33 rental homes, maintaining average rental rates at 50% below market rate.” [16] The most recent available records (2019) show JHCHT has $15.5M assets and $5.6M liabilities[17]. JTCAH as of their last available report (2020) has 1,056 units plus 241 dorm beds. 505 of the units are rentals.[18]
By Daniel Stevens
Requests for supporting documents can be emailed to: daniel.s_contact@proton.me
[1]JHCHT Annual Report 2020 p.13 https://www.housingtrustjh.org/_files/ugd/22e772_65a16097d7464d9fb5ec0b32b665abf4.pdf
[2] https://buckrail.com/community-foundation-rmb-announce-jim-moses-fellowship-awards/
[3] Town Council Agenda Documentation 2/13/08
[4] https://wyobiz.wyo.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=108079197073114160241097171243153062107201176101 2008, 2009 Original Annual Report
[5] Cresswell email
[6] Memorandum of Employee Right of Purchase or Rental Agreement, St John’s Health Foundation 1/6/22 Notarized by Alison Lee
[7] Memorandum of Employee Right of Purchase or Rental Agreement, Teton Adaptive Sports 3/12/21 Notarized by Kristine Lee
[8] Memorandum of Employee Right of Purchase or Rental Agreement, First Republic Bank 1/13/21 Notarized by Stefani J. Ewert
[9] Arne Jorgensen Contributions and Expenditures Report 8/9/22: $1120 for Nikki Kaufman Campaign Organizing Expense
[10] Arne Jorgensen Contributions and Expenditures Report 8/9/22: $1120 for Nikki Kaufman Campaign Organizing Expense
[11] https://shelterjh.org/board-staff, https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/2494/Housing-Supply-Board
[12] https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/election/Town_Council/voter-guide-Town-Council-4-candidates-vote-for-2/article_612cf27a-510d-5f57-b742-a1217b220925.html
[13] ibid
[14] https://www.housingtrustjh.org/about
[15] http://www.tetonwyo.org/652/Mission
[16] https://www.housingtrustjh.org/about
[17] https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/830297131_201912_990_2021022617762682.pdf
[18] http://www.tetonwyo.org/DocumentCenter/View/15634/2020-Housing-Midyear-Report_Final
