By Corinne Winthrop
While educators spent most of the meeting talking about school lunches, three residents during the Poudre School District Board of Education Meeting Tuesday commented about the issues surrounding the change in address of an assisted living home for 18-21 year-olds living with disabilities.
The Cooper Home Learning for Living is looking to relocate its services to another house in a residential community. Currently, it is operating out of a house at 740 E. Stuart St. This home does not allow for adequate handicap maneuvers, according to Poudre School District Board of Education President Thomas Balchak. With a new location, the Cooper Home is hoping to make living situations for the young adults more handicap accessible. The home prospects the new address to be on Stover and Lake Streets, near Lesher Middle School.
Part of the PSD Transition Services, the Cooper Home works with young adults with disabilities transition into adulthood. Its ultimate goal is to help promote job skills and independence within a community after two years in the home.
“The home being located within the community is a crucial part of the program,” Balchak noted.
Fort Collins resident David Krueger, during the community comment portion of the board meeting, voiced his concerns about the relocation. Krueger stated how the home would be moving from a “mixed-used to low density residential area.” In addition, he said he was worried about how 25 students living near him would affect his time at home on weekends and evenings.
On the other hand, Jerry Wilson, superintendent of schools, stated neighbors living around the house on Stuart Street now have grown accustomed to the atmosphere that the Cooper Home brings. He said it is “practically unnoticeable after a certain time.” If the program were to move forward with the relocation, other parts of the process would include zoning and appropriation matters, Wilson commented in an interview during a break in the meeting.
A vote deciding the future of the Cooper Home will be in March.
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