Repaving LID BALLOT

Comment

Comment by The Rotary Club of Niwot on August 20, 2010 at 3:09pm

(The following is not a Rotary Club opinion.) Kirk Stewart--I am voting NO.

The LID is a back-door method of for the Commisioners to avoid doing their job and either prioritizing the existing money for legitimate needs or following the proper state and local governmental avenues to increasing the funding for county roads. More LIDs seem to be an in-vogue method of circumventing TABOR-type limitations, which, whether you like them or not, were passed by the majority of Coloradoans, and for good reasons.

We out here (west of Niwot) have a neighborhood group which has been active in this issue and we have written communications from a former county emplyee who was around when the commissioners "developed" their opinion that subdivision roads would, in the future, not be their responsibility and slipped the language in to decision they now are quoting. He is of the opinion it was improper and is "putting it to" the county tas payers.

As mentioned in an earlier comment, the $130/yr is by no means the end of this. And, the strong-armed approach to convincing us to "pay now" for part of the problem is shortsighted. It does not properly solve the problem and just baiting the hook for further hits, more "fees", and a proliferation of overlapping government entities.

Vote this LID down!

Comment by NCA Secretary on August 12, 2010 at 10:43am

I too will not vote for any mill levy increase that doesn't address maintaining our public infrastructure.

Comment by Curt Parker on August 11, 2010 at 2:20pm

I think much has now been written on the pro's and con's of the proposed LID, but there are some facts people should consider before voting:

1) This will be an "assessment" and not a "tax". It will not be deductible on your federal tax return as a state and local tax.
2) Although it is not a tax, the County is proposing to to use the money collected as if it was from a mill levy (by "paying" the county road maintenance division to perform much of the repair work). This will allow the county to allocate to other budgets true mill levy income, and once again not make the hard (and publically evident) political decisions regarding expenditures.
3) The proposed LID is not a sustainable solution. Well before the 15 years are up, road conditions will change as infrastructure (not just pavements, but also bridges, culverts, sidewalks, etc.) continue to deteriorate. We may be faced with perpetual and increasing "assessments".
4) We now need to pay for the "pound of cure" because the County Commissioners decided 15 years ago not to fund the "ounce of prevention". The Commissioners need to restore the "once of prevention" budget so that we don't just pass the problem down the road (pun intended) for another 15 years.

I intend to vote No on the proposed LID, and will be voting No this fall on any mill levy increase that doesn't address maintaining our public infrastructure.

Comment by Elaine C. Erb on August 11, 2010 at 10:49am

I do hope local citizens will vote yes on the repaving LID. The county has actively met with and worked with concerned citizens to come up with the best way to address the condition of these roads sooner rather than later. A No vote will only cause delay in any action for the roads.

As noted by the NCA, the road and bridge mill levy on our tax bills is quite low. This is money collected from every resident in the county. There are costs associated with living as dispersed as we do in the unincorporated county. For residential roads throughout the county to be adequately restored, don't you think it's worth the additional $130/year? The county has made every effort to fix up the roads without having to charge impacted residents $1000 and higher fees when that happens.

Comment by Renae Dahiya on August 10, 2010 at 10:17pm

My personal opinion on this is we need to vote down the repaving LID. I agree we need road improvements, but I disagree with this as the means to solve this issue.
The two things that influenced me most were:
a) When I read this article http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15722819. The fact that this type of LID has never been implemented this way before is a red flag to me!
b) When the county told me at the NCA meeting that homes on private roads would not be included in the LID, then I found out later that this was not the case. So my home on Dry Creek Court on a private road will be charged:
1) approximately $180 annually for the private road repaving (to my HOA).
2) $130 to the LID to help pay for the feeder road used to access my home (Meadowdale).
3) plus what I pay for property taxes that go into the road maintenance fund.
I'm paying into 3 buckets to fund road repaving.

This is not reasonable in my view and makes me wonder, what will be next?

I also believe this LID will have a negative impact on my property value. So, if you think your road being in disrepair is a concern, wait until the LID is passed.

Really, does it have to be this way? I don't think so. I think we can do better.

I think the first step should be to put a county wide mill levy increase to repave subdivision roads to a vote. We are asked to vote for open space increases all the time, and every piece of land purchased is not in our community, so I say let the people vote.

Those are my views. I wish you all the best in making up your minds on this one. It's not an easy decision.

Comment by Jennifer Morrison on August 10, 2010 at 10:35am

Here's a good opinion that was posted in the Daily Camera:
http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15722819

Comment by NCA Secretary on August 10, 2010 at 10:06am

Summery of and facts leading to the August 3, 2010 Memo from the Boulder County Commissioners RE: Creation of a local improvement district (LID) to rehabilitate public paved roads in unincorporated Boulder County subdivisions, by Will Hentschel.

Proposal Description: The County is considering creating a local improvement district that would repave and chip seal coat each public paved road in unincorporated county subdivisions. However, we will not create such an LID without first seeing an indication of support by potentially affected property owners.

The Niwot Community Association has collected miscellaneous facts on the current proposal. This memo does not reflect an official response, rather it constitute a centralized summery of the facts surrounding the current ballot. The Niwot Community Association does not hold a position positive or negative for this ballot.

Basics

• Ballot to be postmarked by August 17, 2010
• A Local Improving District (LID) will not be created by a positive vote of the County Commissioners without a majority support from affected property owners.
• The Ballot has been sent to Subdivision owners of properties that use a public paved road in an unincorporated subdivision for any portion of their primary access route. These properties will constitute the district.

Facts & Numbers
• 150 miles: the amount of paved roads in the more than 100 subdivisions that exist in unincorporated Boulder County
• 70 percent of those roads are in poor or fair condition
• $25 million: the cost to bring those roads up to good condition in the next 15 years
• $1.5 million to $2 million: the added cost each year of delay
Proposal details
• Plan: Create a local improvement district that would pay the cost to repave and chip-seal each public paved road in unincorporated Boulder County subdivisions.
• Cost for each property: $130 a year for 15 years, a total of $1,950 over 15 years
• Total resident contribution: $20.6 million
• County contribution: $4.3 million
• This LID will be on top of any HOA fees that currently burden the affected properties.
• This LID will show on your property tax statement but will not be tax deductible.
• It is uncertain that the change in definition of what repaving means by Boulder County was legal.
Current Maintenance Policy for subdivision roads in Boulder County
• Boulder County Transportation Department maintains subdivision roads — which includes patching potholes and removing snow, but not repaving or rebuilding.
• The County has no dedicated funding for repaving or rebuilding the Subdivision roads as a result of an update to the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan directed the County staff not to provide “urban services,” such as paving, in unincorporated areas.
• The services currently provided by the County include plowing snow and patching potholes. The ballot concerning creation of the LID is about how to pay for rehabilitation (repaving) of unincorporated county subdivision paved roads.
Evolution of the current proposal
• The current proposal came after months of meetings from a working group inclusive of County staffers and residents.
• Result of public meetings, a study session with the County Commissioners and a May resident survey.
• Initial consideration was aimed at fixing all the roads within five years, asking residents to pay $407 a year for five years or $219 a year for 10 years to cover the costs.
If the majority favors the current ballot
• The County Commissioners will use the information to make final decisions on the current terms to create a Local Improvement District (LID).
• The first phase: resurface the roads in the worst shape. Next would be chip-seal coating the roads in fair and good condition, extending their life by five to seven years.
• The second phase: roads that were initially resurfaced would receive a chip-seal coat, while those roads that were chip-sealed would be resurfaced.
If the majority does not favor the current ballot
• Current Policies will remain in place
• The County would continue to provide day-to-day maintenance services such as snow plowing and pothole patching as resources and pavement condition allow.
• Each subdivision will remain responsible for rehabilitating its own roads through an individual local improvement district or some other payment structure. To create an LID, individual or groups of subdivisions would need to submit a petition signed by a majority of property owners requesting that the Board of County Commissioners place on the ballot the creation of an improvement district. If the majority of property owners in the subdivision/s then support the creation of the improvement district, the commissioners could proceed with creation of an LID.

Additional information can be found at: http://www.bouldercounty.org/transportation/SubdivisionPaving/FAQ.pdf