Sep 17, 2026 · 1 hr 2 min · 11 segments
Who gets to build a life in a Colorado mountain town when housing costs keep rising? In this episode, Ashley Kappel and Jessica Chariton sit down with Wayles Martin, Mayor Pro Tem of the City of…
Really, you've become like a spokesperson for affordable housing because of your personal experience, and you also serve as an elected official in Salida.
And what do you think that people most misunderstand about affordable housing and our housing challenges in Salida or even – you can speak to Chaffee County in general – Like, who are we trying to house? And are we building the right kinds of housing? And how do we make it affordable? Is there going to be one big thing that fixes all of it?
Um, as we're seeing with all, you know, a lot of like grants and stuff, they just aren't as available this year.
So it's been, I know really difficult for, uh, different agencies like the housing trust and housing authority, um, as well as just all of our nonprofits here in the community.
Um, and, But I think that something that might get lost in translation when it comes to affordable housing and subsidized housing is that people think that it comes with...
I think there's assumptions of the personalities of the people who move in and maybe their work ethic and...
I think for me, it's really important for me to be on council to show, like, hey, I'm a general manager, I'm a council member, and I also live in subsidized housing.
And when it comes to like, yeah, what kind of housing are we building and who are we building it for? I mean, it's ideally being built for the local workforce here.
You know, our teachers, our boys in blue, girls in blue, all of them, service industry workers.
We have so many people, especially, you know, you think about All the recreational activities that we have out here, there are people who are guiding all those things.
Really, you've become like a spokesperson for affordable housing because of your personal experience, and you also serve as an elected official in Salida.
And what do you think that people most misunderstand about affordable housing and our housing challenges in Salida or even – you can speak to Chaffee County in general – Like, who are we trying to house? And are we building the right kinds of housing? And how do we make it affordable? Is there going to be one big thing that fixes all of it?
Um, as we're seeing with all, you know, a lot of like grants and stuff, they just aren't as available this year.
So it's been, I know really difficult for, uh, different agencies like the housing trust and housing authority, um, as well as just all of our nonprofits here in the community.
Um, and, But I think that something that might get lost in translation when it comes to affordable housing and subsidized housing is that people think that it comes with...
I think there's assumptions of the personalities of the people who move in and maybe their work ethic and...
I think for me, it's really important for me to be on council to show, like, hey, I'm a general manager, I'm a council member, and I also live in subsidized housing.
And when it comes to like, yeah, what kind of housing are we building and who are we building it for? I mean, it's ideally being built for the local workforce here.
You know, our teachers, our boys in blue, girls in blue, all of them, service industry workers.
We have so many people, especially, you know, you think about All the recreational activities that we have out here, there are people who are guiding all those things.
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