An update on the Springs' urban "blight". Educate yourself Logan County, a Metro District may be coming. My testimony to the CDOT Board of Commissioners about their lack of transparency.

An update on the Springs' urban "blight"

The KRCC article linked first below is an update to an earlier post I did (see the second link below for context if you want/need it) about Colorado Springs forming an urban renewal authority so they can condemn a "blighted" section of downtown and gift it to a developer. A developer with plans to bring in a new skyscraper.

According to the article, things are moving ahead apace. Quoting with link intact:

"City Council members voted 7-2 Tuesday on three measures creating a new urban renewal district for the proposed site of the 300-foot-tall OneVela mixed-use apartment complex. This urban renewal designation would allow developers to recoup about $11 million of the costs of the $202 million tower from its eventual tax revenue. Without that, the developers said they would not be able to secure financing for the ambitious project."

This latest step is not the end of the process. Up for debate (I gather by my reading on the topic) is the form the apartment complex would take. Many residents are worried about the new building's height and that has yet to be approved. Quoting again:

"The Tuesday vote was a major step in the process but not an approval of the overall development plans. Those were submitted to the city’s planning department earlier last week for formal review."

https://www.cpr.org/2024/12/11/colorado-springs-inches-closer-toward-approving-a-new-tallest-building/

https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/blighting-perfectly-good-property?r=15ij6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Educate yourself Logan County, a Metro District may be coming.

Sage Pointe, a neighborhood just outside of Sterling, CO in Logan County might have a Metro District coming. Since such things might be new to a lot of people out here, I thought it worth taking a minute to hit the high notes on Metro Districts.

Before anything else, let me take a second to say that nothing of what I write below should be taken as an accusation against anyone in Sage Pointe, nor as any sort of alarm call. Metro Districts have been and can be problematic, but they don't have to be as long as you're informed.

The Journal Advocate article linked first below details a recent decision by Logan County Commissioners that allows Sage Pointe residents to circulate petitions in their neighborhood, and, if sufficient signatures are collected, to have a special election to form a Metro District (Metro Districts are a particular kind of the more general class of Special Districts: tiny government entities which have certain powers like the ability to tax and issues bonds, another example would be a water conservancy district). If it passes the signature-gathering stage, the special election to form the district would be next March.

For a map of the proposed district, see the attached screenshot (from the JA article).

As I mentioned above, Metro Districts can issue bonds and that's precisely why some in Sage Pointe want to form one. The state is requiring updates to this neighborhood's water and sewer system, updates which would bankrupt everyone living there if they had to be paid for all at once. By creating a Metro District, the neighborhood can pay for these improvements over time, lowering the amount homeowners have to pay to manageable payments.

The devil with Metro Districts, however, lies in how things are done and who does them. In order to give you (whether you live in Sage Pointe or not) some resources so you can study up on the topic, I put a bunch of links below.

The first and second are to Denver Post articles on the topic. Say what you will about the Post, they did a masterful series on the topic of Metro Districts. I singled out a particularly informative one (the third link) which is a reader Q and A.

The fourth and fifth links are to some government resources on Metro Districts. They should be good jumping off points for you to find information.

The most important things you can do with Metro Districts is to inform yourself and get involved. The reason being that the biggest problems creep up when the board is stuffed with people who have flexible ethics, who won't be paying the bills, or who have resources enough to be insulated from high costs.

Again, this is not an accusation against anyone in Sage Pointe, it's more a call to attention for those that live there or for those that live in other Metro Districts (or are thinking of buying into one).

When the issue comes up to vote for a Metro District, carefully consider what's being asked for and who's doing the deciding. If and when the district gets formed, get involved. Go to meetings, share information with other residents, and consider getting on the board (see the 6th link below for different forms you can use).

Educate yourself, speak up, and be involved.

https://www.journal-advocate.com/2024/12/10/commissioners-ok-sage-pointe-special-district-plan-with-amendment/

https://www.denverpost.com/tag/debt-and-democracy/

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/12/16/metro-districts-question-answer/

https://metrodistrictreform.org/research-resources

https://engagedora.org/metropolitan-district-homeowners-rights-task-force

https://dlg.colorado.gov/special-district-election-forms

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My testimony to the CDOT Board of Commissioners about their lack of transparency.

I have been at CDOT for a while now trying to get more information about some rumors that I keep hearing regarding their using their right of way to run power lines from the Plains to the Front Range and/or running fiber optic cables in them.

See my earlier newsletter linked below for more context on fiber.

For as much as I've asked, CDOT has ignored. Or I'll get to talking to a human and then that human disappears.

I signed up and delivered virtual comment at CDOT's Commissioner meeting yesterday. My script for the testimony is linked below (I won't guarantee it's word for word what I said, but the themes and a lot of the phrasing is there).

I will stay on top of the issue and bring updates as I have them. My state senator Byron Pelton is also pushing hard on them.

My hope is that between the two of us, with others watching, CDOT will be more forthcoming with the people who are paying their salaries and footing the bill.

Testimony below the link.

https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/update-on-the-upk-rules-and-curriculum?r=15ij6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true




Hello,

My name is Cory Gaines. I am a resident of Sterling.

I work as a teacher full time, but I do some writing on the side and part of what I like to write about are issues of concern to the people that are my neighbors.

One issue of great concern out here is getting broadband internet to the far flung areas of the state and also where and how the proposed electrical transmission lines to carry power to the front range will go.

As such, I've tried multiple times to get information from your organization on both. Multiple times I've been ignored or stymied.

I want to pause here to be fair and note that, after I submitted the written draft of these remarks to your admin, I got a call back from your legislative liaison and now have an appointment to get information about fiber and powerlines in your right of way.

The liaison said that my email in November got lost and she lost track of it, something we have all done at one time or another. I appreciate her getting back to me.

Still, prior to my sending the testimony, and prior to November, emails have gone unanswered.

I have lived long enough to understand that things take time and plans may be years in development. I understand some projects may not have enough information to share, but if this were the case, why not communicate that and give an approximate date for when information will be available as opposed to not answering emails?

CDOT needs to do much better at answering queries by everyone from ordinary citizens to state legislators (I here refer to a CIA-worthy redacted document about your secret, four company "bidding" process a former state senator shared with me).

I hope to see responsiveness like I received today will continue in the future.

Thank you,

C