Decision expected soon on Fountain neighborhood erosion

State officials will decide Tuesday whether 30 neighbors must move from their mobile homes because of serious erosion along Fountain Creek.

El Paso County needs permission from the Colorado State Housing Board to assume responsibility for the Riverside Mobile Home Park and relocate the residents.

The park is at the edge of a bluff above Fountain Creek in Fountain and has been threatened by erosion for several years.

County officials said if they acquire the park, they’ll tear down 26 mobile homes and four houses, move the residents to new homes and rehabilitate the bluff to reduce future erosion.

The estimated cost $2 million will be paid by the state, if approved.

Bud Calhoun, Riverside’s owner, said 25 of the 26 mobile homes are too old to be safely moved to other locations.

“They have to be built after 1991 to be allowed to be moved,” he said.

Several organizations are working to provide affordable housing for the residents.

Many of the residents, such as Marci Cokeley, agree with the need to move out for their safety.

“(But) it’s going to be hard to find another place because there’s such a high demand for housing here,” she said. “So I might wind up having to move back out of state.”

Calhoun said he understands the strong sense of community there and will try to keep the residents together if possible.

“They’d prefer to stay in Fountain,” he said. “(But) if there was a place available that I could buy and move everybody in it, like an apartment building, that would be a possibility, too.”