Denver’s Department of Housing Stability has a unique connection with its biggest and newest homeless shelter provider, as well as some of its troubles.

Jeff Kositsky, HOST’s deputy director of shelter and stability, was Urban Alchemy’s chief growth officer for two and a half years, working on “national expansion, organizational development, financial management and fundraising,” according to his LinkedIn profile.

He also briefly served as the San Francisco-based nonprofit’s acting chief financial officer, leaving Urban Achemy in May 2024 to accept a position in Denver with HOST.

Kositsky, along with three other Urban Alchemy employees, was also named in a since-withdrawn notice letter by Portland, Oregon City Auditor Simone Rede, citing the organization’s failure to file and report itself as a lobbying entity.

According to the letter, on June 28, 2023, the city’s fraud hotline referred a complaint to the city elections office alleging that Urban Alchemy engaged in lobbying violations during the 2022 calendar year.

The elections office investigated Urban Alchemy’s activity between Jan. 1 and Dec. 19, 2022, the time leading up to the city’s Dec. 20, 2022, solicitation of bids for a temporary alternative shelter provider.

In Portland, for each calendar quarter in which a lobbying entity spends $1,000 or exceeds eight hours lobbying city officials, the entity must register with the auditor and file quarterly reports.

According to the letter, Kositsky engaged Portland city officials multiple times to discuss the services Urban Alchemy could offer.

During a two-day visit to Portland, the letter notes, Kositsky and three other senior Urban Alchemy employees incurred $3,949 in expenses.

Among those Urban Alchemy employees was Ian Clark-Johnson, who is currently leading the outfit’s new Denver operation.

Shortly after the visit by Urban Alchemy staff, Portland approved a five-year, $50 million contract.

The Denver Gazette asked HOST to discuss the auditor’s findings.

“It is our understanding that an advocacy group filed a claim to the City of Portland that Urban Alchemy had engaged in lobbying,” a HOST spokesperson stated in an email. “The City of Portland determined that Urban Alchemy did not lobby government officials.”

Rede withdrew the letter of notification to Urban Achemy, most likely to avoid legal action from the nonprofit.

“Because of recent council actions that we believe could cause a protracted dispute about the interpretation of the lobbying code, which we do not believe to be in the public interest at this critical moment in the transition to a new form of government, we withdraw the finding of a violation of the lobbying code and the official warning we issued Urban Alchemy,” Rede said.

The Denver Gazette requested an interview with Kositsky regarding the matter, but a HOST spokesperson said that, “based on his schedule,” he did not have time.