The Granby Board of Trustees met at Granby Town Hall on April 23 and the Granby Assistant Town Manager, Nicole Schafer, gave the board and meeting attendees an update for where the town is in regards to the housing project.

The town recently made the decision to move forward on the housing project, even after going separate ways with the previous developer for many reasons including building challenges, project costs and more. However, Schafer said that Rocky Mountain Workforce Housing could potentially be a partner in later phases of the housing project.

Summit Home Construction quoted the cost of building for the housing project at around $400-465 per square foot. Schafer said that cost was unattainable for the town. Since then, the town has been working towards lowering that cost while also finding funding for the project through grants and other programs.

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Schafer also gave a update regarding partnerships and other funding sources for the housing project. This includes the Fraser River Valley Housing Partnership and the Middle Income Housing Authority who will assist with financing the for-rent units. The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority has also expressed interest in assisting with the for-sale units.

Schafer said that the town has been working with a modular construction company, Vederra Homes, whose been able to lower the cost per square foot. Schafer said that some of the benefits of working with the modular home model includes lowering the cost of building, saving construction time and energy efficiency.

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Schafer presented some renderings provided by Vederra Homes of the planned 12-unit condo buildings.

The assistant town manager said the town’s goal is to get people living in homes by next year and getting grading, sewer infrastructure and other initial construction done is imperative in order to be eligible for more funding opportunities next year.

Naming the Highway U.S. 40 workforce housing project

Schafer presented a selection of names to the board for them to pick, teasing that it was the “most important” thing on the agenda.

“The rodeo-apartments-workforce-housing-Highway 40 project is not an easy name to roll of the tongue,” Schafer said.

In a collaboration with Destination Granby, the town collected names from the community while town staff worked to narrow down the 140 submissions recieved. The names were cross referenced with other location names in Grand County in ensure there were no conflicts for emergency services. The name will also dictate the theme of the entire development.

The board picked from the following options and gave short decriptions for each suggestion.

• The Traverse at Ten Mile Creek — speaks to the voyage from peak to peak, traveling across a mountain face. It also symbolizes the home ownership journey and the act of moving from one stage to the next.
•  Rodeo Ridge Homes — the theme of rodeo was popular with staff and housing partners. This speaks to both the location of the parcel and the western heritage of Granby.
• Saddle Hill — this connects with the heritage of western rodeo culture and provides a geographical reference to the “saddle” on the eastern edge of the parcel.
• Notch 8, Granby — this is connected with the 1950s railroad history of Granby. The word “notch” is from the early diesel engines where the throttle was spring loaded and fit into a slot called the notch. Notch 8 allows for maximum engine speed and the position where maximum horsepower is available.
• Nuche Village — Ute call themselves Nuche, which roughly translates to “mountain people,” a term connected to substance, meaning and soul. This speaks to the heritage of the first modern indigenous tribe to occupy the region.
• Red Tail Ridge — Red tail hawks are the most prevalent bird of prey in Grand County and always seen independently soaring above the Granby Valley. These birds can be identified by their white underbelly and bright red tails when mature.

Several community members spoke out in favor of some names and in opposititon to others.

For several board members, the name “Rodeo Ridge Homes” sent chills down their spine. Mayor Joshua Hardy said that mention of rodeo made the hair on the back of his neck stand up a little bit. Trustee Chris Michalowski suggesting dropped the name from the list of names to consider.

“Rodeo Apartments fell through like five years ago, we had to go to court,” Michalowski said somberly.

Trustees Sharon Silva and Jeffrey Sneddon along with Hardy said they both favored the names Notch 8 and Nuche Village. The board selected Nuche Village as the favored name with Notch 8, Granby being the runner-up.

Schafer said that she would contact a nearby Ute tribe to see if they felt that the name was culturally appreciated. If Nuche Village is not selected then the development will be named Notch 8, Granby.

The board also accepted a bid for an access road from U.S. Highway 40 to the workforce housing project from JARCCO. The board approved the bid with the condition that the project not exceed $1.6 million.

A bid offer from L4 Construction wasl also accepted for critical infrastructure work that includes the construction of 1,500 feet of 10-inch sewer main, connections to existing sewer main and services and revegetation. The bid for the project was $264,135.

In other business:

• The Downtown Grant Advisory group made up of Seth Stern, Monica Fuqua, Devon Jarrell, Joshua Hardy and Town Manager Ted Cherry, presented their selections for the Downtown Grant Awards for 2024. There were a total of nine applications and more information on the grants is available on the town’s website. Granby Heat and Sheet received $50,000, Granby Business Center HOA received $19,959 and High County Motors received $30,041. The board approved the recommendations made by the group.  
• The board approved Destination Granby’s request to use Polhamus Park for the Music & Market events this summer. The event’s liquor license permit application was also approved.
• The board approved a request from Grand County which asked the town to share water infrastructure information for emergency response purposes. The GIS data of water infrastructure such as treatment facilities, diversion structures, wells and more would be shared with the county. Water Quality Specialist Kayli Foulk presented at the meeting. The board passed the request.
• Grand County resident Tish Linke-Krempin asked the board for a third time to pass a resolution declaring Granby a non-sanctuary town. “I am back to implore you and ask you to put it on your agenda and take action to make Granby a non-sanctuary city,” Linke-Krempin said during the public comment period. “I fear that some of you are afriad of what might happen, get your name in the paper with degrading comments.”
• The board entered executive session to discuss security arrangements for the town on and around June 4, 2024.