Delta County Independent, July 27, 2017

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NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

SPACE TO CREATE

Paonia selected for creative workforce housing program, B1

SPORTS

CITIZENS COMPLAIN

AN EYE ON THE GOAL

Water rate hike sparks outcry from Cedaredge users, C1

DELTA COUNTY

Delta leads 3A WSL soccer race after posting two more victories, B5 SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 VOL. 134, NO. 39

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

County pulls request for second DURA seat BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

The intergovernmental agreement between Delta County and the Delta Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) has been finalized, but it came down to the wire. On the evening before a 30-day extension was set to expire, the DURA board officially accepted the most recent proposal from the county. The county agrees to submit 100 percent of the property tax increment generated in the plan area, but made several substantial changes to the rest of the agreement: • The county has withdrawn its request for a second seat on the board. According to the minutes of the Sept. 11 DURA meeting, Tom Huerkamp said he would not resign the seat the county was eyeing. Huerkamp was appointed by Mayor Ed Sisson as the ninth member of the board, creating the odd number of members required by state statute. The board is made up of five Delta City Council members, Huerkamp and three representatives from the other taxing entities — Delta County, the school district and an individual who represents the smaller taxing entities participating in the tax increment revenue agreement. • The county will consider appropriating, on an annual basis, the county sales tax revenue generated in Phase 1 of the project area, specifically the 10-acre site designated for hotel development. Participa-

tion starts at 100 percent and declines 12.5 percent every five years, ending at 50 percent. • If DURA has not issued bonds or otherwise initiated the project within five years, the agreement will be terminated and DURA shall return to the county any funds that have been collected. The county has no interest in funding city urban renewal projects outside of the hotel development, county commissioner Don Suppes said after the meeting. • The county’s agreement to share sales tax will cease if DURA or the city acquires any property for the project by eminent domain. The agreement was approved 8-1, with the understanding White would be tweaking some of the legal language with the county attorney. Gerald Roberts cast the “nay” vote because he wanted to see the completed agreement.

Photo by Hank Lohmeyer

Color Sunday

Green and gold and white were the featured colors on Grand Mesa for Color Sunday on Sept. 24. This weekend promises more spectacular fall colors, with a smaller chance of rain and snow that marked Color Sunday.

Financial analysis falls short BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

The Delta Urban Renewal Authority has reached agreement with Delta County, but is falling short of the total pledges needed to meet bond obligations anticipated for a hotel development. DURA may have to scale back site development, which could jeopardize negotia-

tions with a hotel developer, or pursue other projects in the plan area, which includes downtown Delta and property adjoining Confluence Drive. A “pro forma,” or financial analysis developed by Better City anticipated firstyear tax increment revenue at $220,462, an amount that would increase annually to cover yearly bond payments

of $170,080. But anticipated revenue has taken several hits, including $30,000 in lodging tax from Delta County. The county’s special counsel advised the county commissioners the lodging tax can only be used for marketing and promotion, not for infrastructure. Additionally, Delta County modified plan boundaries and

committed county sales tax at a level that declines every five years. Property tax contributions from the mosquito control district and the fire district, which total nearly $12,000, are off the table until mediation takes place. That brings anticipated revenue down to $178,028, which FINANCIAL ANALYSIS TO A3

County endorses DMEA grant request BY HANK LOHMEYER Staff Writer

The Board of County Commissioners officially endorsed a request by DMEA for grant funding to help with the build out of its broadband fiberoptic network. In a letter to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) the county commissioners stated: “The Delta County Board of Commissioners is sending this letter for the purpose of our official support for DMEA’s request for grant funding from the Colorado High Cost Fund.” According to Becky Mashburn, marketing supervisor for DMEA, “We are pursuing grant funding to help assist with the build out of our fiber network in a few zones across the service territory. The goal is to secure funding to help build fiber in places where factors like terrain and/or low [population] density result in higher build costs. “We have identified some of what we consider our highest cost zones and have submitted them for consideration. Our selections were based on multiple criteria and one

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Back Page ................. D10 Business .......................A10 Church ........................... D8 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-7 North Fork Times ........B1-8 Obituaries ..................... A8 School Zone ............... A6-7 Service Directory ........ D9 Sports ..........................B5-7 Surface Creek News ...C1-5 TV Listings ..................C3-4

of the most important factors we evaluated, along with our consultants, was choosing zones we believe have the best chance of being funded. The county commissioners’ endorsement letter notes the same obstacles to fiber-optic build out as noted by Mashburn. “It is a continuing challenge to provide our [Delta County] citizens with services in these remote communities given the distances involved and low population densities. We realize that these are the same challenges faced by internet providers when they evaluate these towns for services. With the high up-front costs and comparatively low returns of building broadband infrastructure, it can be difficult to make a good business case for capital investment in these rural communities.” According to internet information sources, the Colorado High Cost Fund was established originally some years ago to help provide telephone voice service to remote areas. A posting from the 2017 Colorado General Assembly explains a bill to update the High Cost Fund’s new use for broadband: “The bill updates

Open house planned

The Technical College of the Rockies is hosting a community open house complete with tours, free lunch and program presentations. The open house celebrates the new name of the college, as well as the new director, Michael Klouser. The open house begins with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:45 a.m. and continues until 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Popcorn, a free lunch of hot dogs and drawings are planned. Stop by the student services center in the main building to get started. The Technical College of the Rockies is located at 1765 Hwy. 50, south of Delta.

language regarding the use of money from the High Cost Support Mechanism (HCSM) for broadband deployment grant applications approved by the broadband deployment board to have money transferred directly from the HCSM to approved broadband deployment grant applicants. The public utilities commission is directed to determine the amount of HCSM money available for broadband deployment and related administrative costs, and the bill requires that amount to be held in a separate account [from the basic voice fund].” Though supporting the DMEA request for funding from the High Cost Fund, the Delta County commissioners on Sept. 18 declined a similar request from CenturyLink for an endorsement of its bid for state broadband funds. Noting what he considered to be drawbacks to the CenturyLink request, Commissioner Don Suppes voiced concerns about the “form letter” the company had apparently mailed to other counties in the state. Suppes said the request “was not in the county’s best interest” adding

that the CenturyLink broadband proposal “doesn’t cover the entire county.” Commission Chair Doug Atchley agreed with Suppes’ assessment, calling the CenturyLink proposal “very little, very late” and noting also the county’s commitment to participate in the Region 10 middle mile broadband project which the county promised to support before DMEA decided to enter the fiber-optic broadband business. According to a Denver Post article, CenturyLink, the state’s largest phone company, in 2013 was in line to receive over $48 million from the HCSM when it was devoted to basic voice communication services only. The commissioners in their letter to DORA also stated, “We have partnered with DMEA on countless projects through the years and are currently working with them as they build their high-speed fiber network throughout the county. “Many of our smaller communities and rural households have access to broadband only through fixed wireless facilities or satellite delivery

No construction hours

The City of Delta has decided not to limit construction hours on weekends, early morning hours and evenings. The matter came up for discussion after a resident of Stone Mountain Village complained about paving in his neighborhood early on a Sunday morning. The Delta Planning Commission reviewed construction hours for the communities of Eagle, Aspen, Boulder, Pueblo and Lone Tree. After discussion, the planning commission decided against restricting construction operations. That recommendation was endorsed by the Delta City Council. The planning commission is also discussing zoning for marijuana establishments, should a ballot initiative be placed before voters in April.

systems. The fixed wireless services rely on line-of-sight, which [is] all but impossible in many areas of our mountainous county. Satellite services are unreliable and many times cost prohibitive for our rural families.” Noting the county’s commitment to the Region 10 middle mile system, the commissioners’ letter states, “DMEA’s last mile fiber build complements the efforts of Region 10 and our broadband strategy for the region.” Delta County government sees broadband service in general as important to economic development here. The commissioners’ letter explains, “Efforts to diversify and grow the economy continue to be front and center in Delta and Montrose counties. But any successful regional transformation will require the involvement of both government and large organizations like DMEA.” Word on whether DMEA will receive a grant from the High Cost Fund is expected by year’s end, DMEA’s Mashburn explained, “The application period ends [mid-September] GRANT REQUEST TO A3

Grant awarded Delta County Joint School District has been awarded a $680,000 Economic Development Administration grant to develop programming for the ENGAGE Center in the old City Market building. Funding will be spread over three years and will be used primarily to hire a facility coordinator who will bring together the collaborative vision that revolves around energy, agriculture and business innovation.


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