MONTROSE (Colorado) DAILY PRESS

March 25, 2007

Dorm reform
 

Robert Allen, Daily Press Writer

OLATHE — A farm worker dormitory about a mile north of Olathe can only fill 12 of its 72 beds because of legislation in the federal Housing Act of 1949.

As it stands, U.S. citizens or aliens admitted for permanent residence may live in the dormitory, which was built in 1992, Montrose Housing Authority director Tim Heavers said.

"Since that time, the farm labor situation has changed. Traditional (permanent) workers have moved on to other industries, and those who do stay in agriculture prefer hotels, motels, rental homes, RVs and even substandard housing in lieu of dormitories," Governor Bill Ritter said in a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns.

The letter, dated March 15, asks Johanns to lift restrictions preventing workers entering the United States on temporary visas from living in the dormitory. As of Thursday, the governor's office had not received a reply from Johanns, governor's spokesman Evan Dreyer said.

However, Montrose County Commissioner Bill Patterson received a reply two weeks ago to a similar request.

"We got a 'too bad, so sad, not gonna happen' from the secretary," Patterson said. "He felt that he did not have the authority to grant a waiver."

The situation may only be changed through federal legislation.

"(U.S.) Senator (Ken Salazar, D-Colo.) is studying the issue but also working on a comprehensive immigration bill that would hopefully solve that issue," Cody Wertz, Sen. Salazar's spokesman said.

The AGJOBS bill, which streamlines the H2A visa program, would include several provisions helping farmers across the nation cope with difficulty obtaining laborers outside the U.S. The bill will be introduced to the U.S. Senate some time this year, Wertz said.

In the mean time, about two of the workers living in the farm worker dormitory work in agriculture. The others are eligible to live in the dormitory so long as there is room for farm workers in need of residence. All tenants must pay a percentage of their wages to live there, Heavers said.

"Montrose County's dormitory space is going largely unused, and the county housing authority is struggling to make payments on the construction loans from the fees charged," Ritter said in his letter.

However, another issue exists regarding workers' incentive to live in the dormitory. Numerous guidelines have caused some tenants to look elsewhere.

"They're not allowed to have cooking appliances in their rooms," farm owner Kerry Mattics said. "Some of the people I've talked to won't stay there."

The dormitory has a kitchen area, but some of Mattics' workers said they wouldn't eat the meals provided because they weren't their preferred cuisine. In addition, tobacco and alcohol are prohibited inside the dormitory.

"Since day one they have complained about alcohol (rules) because we've seen that some of the farm workers really do like to drink," Heavers said.

These regulations have been in place since the dormitory was built. Because the number of occupants is low, Heavers said he told the managers that unless at least half of them ask for the daily meal, they aren't required to provide it.

"This kind of one size fits all deal sometimes doesn't work as easily as we'd like it," Mattics said.