Ron Trunk, CEO of locally based Citizens for Affordable Housing, advised the Pahrump Town Board Tuesday on how the town could best handle the issue of affordable housing.

Trunk, who was a member of the Hawaii Task Force for Affordable Housing, said he learned a lot of lessons in Hawaii that he believed could effectively be applied to Pahrump.

"I don't have all the answers," Trunk told the board. "But I do have some."

Trunk's focused on five main suggestions as to how the town could best pursue and attain affordable housing.

First on the list -- creation of a forum of Pahrump residents to discuss the issue.

Trunk said the forum "must include" specific members and leaders of the community to be effective.

He emphasized that the forum should include for-profit developers, major employers, community leaders, environmental groups, the superintendent of schools, the Nye County sheriff, hospital administrators, utility company representatives, and town and county board members, as well as other interested parties.

"If you bring all of these people together, we found in Hawaii, it's much easier to pass because of the consensus that is achieved during this forum," said Trunk. "So above all, that's what I would suggest the town board do."

He added that "there are many places in Pahrump that are very conducive to affordable housing."

Trunk's next suggestion was a down payment assistance program for civic workers such as firemen, sheriff's officers and school district employees.

Trunk pre-empted one question he knew might be on the minds of some: Why should those particular people receive assistance for housing?

"These are the people that protect your safety on a day-to-day basis, and they cannot afford to buy homes in your community because of the costs," Trunk said. "This has been proven in many cities throughout the country: Albuquerque, N.M., Honolulu, Hawaii, Boston, Mass. ... These are the people who protect your safety, and they above all should get some type of assistance."

He emphasized that he was not suggesting the town should buy housing for such workers, but merely that it look for ways to assist these employees in buying a home.

"I'm not suggesting a giveaway program," said Trunk. "Make them pay it back. But help them."

Truck then went on to suggest that the down payment assistance program be funded by a 1 percent transfer tax, again stressing to the board that this was not just free money.

"This is not a giveaway. The money is paid back by that home builder or home owner," explained Trunk. "And you can combine this with state funds, down payment assistance funds that are paid back."

He also added that this would help the community to gain more buyers for homes.

Vice Chairman Ron Johnson commented, "I think our fire and law enforcement people are able to buy homes, and I think it would be a disservice to the community to give them some notion that that's not the case."

Trunk also suggested that any excess funds from the transfer tax could be used to help fund affordable housing for senior citizens -- an increasingly pressing problem facing the nation.

He also explained the benefits of giving a density bonus to for-profit developers, which is a win-win situation. He gave the board an example, explaining that if it were to approve a project for 200 homes on 8,500-square-foot lots, they could make the lot size 8,000 square feet and come up with 220 homes.

"Make (the for-profit builder) build 20 extra homes that meet HUD (Housing and Urban Development) low-income requirements," said Truck. "He doesn't lose any money; he actually helps to build affordable homes in your community."

Lastly, he suggested providing county land to non-profit organizations for the construction of single-family, multi-family and senior units.

He gave the board an example of how effective this could be, explaining how he purchased 32 acres of land from the Hawthorne recently for $3,000 per acre. That land yielded 67 single-family homes, 104 multi-family apartments and 48 senior homes.