After weeks of growing scrutiny surrounding the Yampa Valley Housing Authority and its privately managed affordable housing complexes, City Council members on Tuesday agreed to hold a public meeting next week with YVHA and Mission Rock Residential and Overland Property Group — the developer and property management companies, respectively, behind several troubled housing sites in the city.

Set for 10 a.m. Jan. 14, the meeting aims to produce an immediate corrective plan addressing maintenance and safety and quality‑of‑life concerns at YVHA‑developed projects such as Anglers Four Hundred and Alpenglow Village, where tenants have described filthy common areas, chronic understaffing and frustratingly inconsistent enforcement of parking and occupancy rules.

Council President Steve Muntean said he and City Manager Tom Leeson, YVHA Executive Director Jason Peasley and Board Member Mark Halvorson toured the Anglers property last week, where they encountered staff from both Mission Rock and Overland Property Group. 

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What they found, said Muntean, was “a relatively bleak picture” of short staffing and poor oversight.

“I’m sure most of you are aware of the unacceptable living conditions that are occurring at several YVHA projects,” Muntean told council on Tuesday. “They are the result of many things: mismanagement by those who run these properties, lack of personnel on site to handle even simple maintenance issues, expectations that are set below our standards, lack of compliance with regulations.” 

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“This situation needs our immediate attention,” Muntean continued. “It’s not acceptable to continue to discuss these issues and not have a plan that resolves them. It’s not enough for us to state that we aren’t responsible for managing these properties.”

“The community will not and should not find that an acceptable answer, despite what contractual agreements say,” he added. “We — meaning the city and YVHA — must hold accountable the property management companies for providing a safe and livable space for residents.”

Debate over public access

Part of Tuesday’s discussion centered on whether the Jan. 14 meeting should be open to the public. Nearly every councilor favored transparency, agreeing to livestream the session via Zoom — without public comment during the meeting itself.

Councilors Amy Dickson and John Agosta also advocated for full access, with Dickson suggesting a more informal setup to encourage dialogue rather than a dais-bound format.

Council members agreed to that approach. Muntean said questions will be finalized this week and circulated to YVHA, Mission Rock and OPG in advance of the meeting.

Councilor Bryan Swintek supported the public format but pressed for allowing public comment.

“I just think it’s odd that after our council goal meeting, we had this lengthy conversation about public comment in work sessions, and I don’t see how this is different than a work session,” said Swintek. “None of us have that lived experience.” 

Muntean, along with Councilor Gail Garey, reiterated that the focus had to remain on immediate problem‑solving. 

“If we take public comment, we could end up getting far off track,” said Muntean. “We want everyone to be able to hear what’s going on, but we have to make progress.”

Barnes calls for accountability — and Peasley’s resignation

Councilor Dave Barnes, a frequent critic of YVHA leadership, expanded the conversation into a broader critique of the authority’s management and legal responsibilities. 

Barnes argued YVHA has long misrepresented its inability to intervene at third-party-managed properties such as Anglers, Alpenglow and Sunlight Crossing.

“YVHA leadership has repeatedly stated that they don’t have access to compliance information or the ability to force that information from those properties,” Barnes said. “That’s not correct.”

As a co‑developer and partial owner of those projects, Barnes continued, the housing authority holds “the legal right to access full compliance documentation” — from tenant income and occupancy records to parking permits and lease compliance — through the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, which oversees the federal Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit program.

“That ownership interest also gives YVHA the authority to file formal noncompliance complaints,” he said, blaming “years of reliance on this false premise” for what he called widespread noncompliance and deteriorating conditions.

“The solution isn’t for City Council to become a housing regulator,” Barnes said. “The solution is leadership and accountability at YVHA, having them enforce compliance through CHFA under YVHA oversight and local professional property management with on-site staffing.”

He then issued a direct rebuke, calling on Peasley to step aside.

“I’m not calling for the removal of Jason Peasley — I’m asking him to resign,” Barnes said. “Give somebody else the ability to fix what he’s clearly shown no interest in fixing.”

Barnes pointed to YVHA’s financial growth, noting a 63% increase in operating revenue last year from mill levy collections — about $700,000 in what he referred to as unanticipated funding.

“Some of that money,” he said, “should have been used to represent and protect the tenants of these buildings that they were built for.”

The newspaper reached out to Peasley on Wednesday morning to request a response to Barnes’ comments, including his allegations that YVHA has falsely claimed its lack of authority to step in at properties run by third-party managers, the uptick in operating revenue and his demand for Peasley’s resignation. 

Peasley opted not to respond to Barnes’ comments specifically. 

“I’m looking forward to an open conversation with Mission Rock, Overland Property Group, Councilmembers Muntean and Barnes, and Commissioner (Angelica) Salinas to directly address management issues at Alpenglow Village and Anglers Four Hundred properties, get answers to the issues YVHA has long identified, and establish a clear path forward for residents who deserve better,” wrote Peasley. 

YVHA Board President Kathi Meyer also provided a statement.

“The YVHA board stands behind Executive Director Jason Peasley and the work our organization is doing to achieve its mission supporting our local economy by creating housing opportunities for our community,” she wrote.

“We continue to identify ways to improve and be more collaborative with the community so everyone can understand the complexities, challenges and accomplishments of delivering affordable housing,” Meyer added. 

Public weighs in

During public comment on Tuesday, Steamboat resident and former council candidate Kelly Phillips pressed city leaders to determine whether YVHA “doesn’t care, or just doesn’t have the bandwidth” to hold its property managers accountable. 

Phillips, who also applied to be a YVHA board member late last year, said he contacted the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority directly and confirmed multiple routes by which the YVHA could legally compel compliance.

“If YVHA is a 1% owner of any of these properties … there’s a lot of things they can do — full state agency compliance reviews … management agent corrective action plans … asset management monitoring reports,” Phillips said.

“On several different occasions, speaking with (YVHA Deputy Director) Elliot Lawrence personally, he’s told me they have no ability to deal with the management companies,” he continued, “which I found is wrong. Which is a little disconcerting to me.”

Calling Mission Rock’s record “not a one‑off,” Phillips said enforcement, not dialogue, is the only language the management firm will respond to.

“It’s time for the city to stand up for the citizens if YVHA can’t or won’t,” he said. “YVHA is a great organization — they’ve just outlived their leadership.”

Muntean said the city is evaluating other points of leverage, including the tax‑credit agreements that structure YVHA partnerships, and that city officials will “have to be ready to apply whatever’s in our toolkit, if necessary, to ensure compliance.” 

Asked to confirm the accuracy of Phillips’ comments and provide insight on who is accountable to enforce compliance on tenant-raised property management issues, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority on Wednesday gave only general information as to its oversight role and did not address the specifics of Phillips’ comments.

“While we don’t mean to imply that any remarks at the City Council meeting were inaccurate, we are unable to confirm that the conversation referenced by Mr. Phillips occurred with a CHFA employee,” wrote CHFA Public Relations and Communications Specialist Matt Lynn. “Generally speaking, rights and responsibilities relating to an owner of a property supported by Housing Tax Credits are subject to applicable ownership agreement(s) for that property.”

“CHFA’s role with properties that are part of the Housing Tax Credit program is to serve as the monitoring agency to ensure the property complies with rent and income restriction requirements, health and safety requirements, and other regulations and policies established by the program,” he continued. “This includes working directly with the owner/operator of the property as well as the property management to ensure the program regulations are followed.”

“Please note that the Housing Tax Credit program does not designate parking requirements, which are typically established by local zoning codes,” he wrote.

“Finally, CHFA offers a Tenant Hotline (303-297-7442) to speak with residents regarding any concerns they wish to discuss,” he added. “Through the hotline, CHFA refers tenants to appropriate resources to find solutions in partnership with the property management when possible or appropriate.”

Next steps

By the end of Tuesday’s meeting, council reached consensus: the Jan. 14 session will be public, hosted in a roundtable format, and be accessible via Zoom with no public comment. 

Written public comments will be accepted beforehand, and Muntean and Barnes — the city’s two YVHA liaisons — will represent council in the room alongside YVHA leadership, Overland Property Group, Mission Rock Residential and city staff. 

Councilors agreed to revisit broader questions of YVHA governance, accountability and board evaluation after the operational meeting concludes. 

Swintek added that structural change must accompany short‑term fixes. “How do we make sure a situation like this doesn’t happen again?” he asked. 

Muntean replied that YVHA recently completed a self‑evaluation survey of its board, the results of which he expects to see next week.

For now, Muntean said, the immediate goal is action — not another round of discussion.

“We can’t keep kicking this can down the road,” he said. “We will not have much patience here. We need to see immediate results.”