Rudy Hemmann

The Surveyor

The Rose Farm Metropolitan District came before the board again. At the last regular board meeting the trustees asked for more information concerning metropolitan districts. The developer of the single-family section of Rose Farm, located at Berthoud Parkway (Larimer County Road 17) and Spartan Avenue, and is comprised of 123 lots, has made a request for consideration of a Metropolitan District. Such districts are allowed under state statute if approved by the jurisdiction they are within. If approved the Rose Farm Metropolitan District would be allowed to issue debt for the construction, planning, design, etc., of public infrastructure as provided in the metropolitan district’s service plan, in the amount of $6,957,349, as well as maintenance of any common properties within the boundaries of the district.  

The amount of debt borrowed by the district cannot exceed the $6.9 million improvement cost estimated in the service plan. The proposed metropolitan district would then be allowed to levy taxes generally through property taxes (levied on the purchasers of the lots), for the repayment of the estimated public improvements and maintenance costs approved in the service plan.

Trustees Maureen Dower, Tim Hardy and Brian Laak were not in agreement with some of the specific line items the service plan would collect taxes on and wanted to amend the agreement. Trustee Pete Tomassi and Mayor Pro Tem Hindman were in agreement with the plan. Hindman suggested approving the existing agreement and instructing the town not to approve any additional metro districts until the board had developed a policy regarding residential metropolitan districts. Tomassi offered a motion approving the Rose Farm Acres Service Plan as it was written. Dower chimed in with an amendment to the motion in an effort to strip some of the funding requested from the proposed service plan. The amendment to the motion was quickly seconded by Hardy. Following more discussion Hindman stated a recess was needed to consult with the attorneys and determine the best course of action. Following the recess Dower withdrew her motion. This left Tomassi’s original motion the last one standing, and it is this motion which was ultimately unanimously approved by the board.

A Colorado Surplus Asset Fund Trust (CSAFE) representative Bob Krug gave a brief presentation concerning the components of the fund. According to an information sheet provided, “It is the opinion of town staff, CSAFE would be a viable option for increased investment return. (The town) currently has fund balances held within a checking account. CSAFE would offer a greater rate of return versus the traditional interest rate offered by the checking accounts.”

Senior Accountant Cindy Leach stated the interest rate given by the bank is typically .9 percent. Krug reported his organization was currently offering 2.2 percent on funds invested with CSAFE. Town Administrator Chris Kirk stated investing in the fund would be a “good deal” for the town. CSAFE is overseen by the Colorado Securities Commissioner. The pool’s investment adviser is Morgan Stanley. U.S. Bank National Association, Co. serves as the pool’s custodian. Oversight for the pool is provided by a board of trustees, which is comprised of nine members who are, or have been, finance officers of participating local government entities.

A motion authorizing the town to become a participant in CSAFE was made. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.

The firm which developed the master plan for Berthoud Reservoir, Wenk Associates representative Nicole Hoist, presented the results of the public meetings, an open house and a web survey to the board. She revealed the respondents favored phase one and, additionally, restroom facilities were a top priority.

Kim Nelson of Stanley Consultants presented the trails master plan. Included in her presentation were cost estimates and maps which indicated the interconnectivity of the proposed trail system.

A motion to approve both master plans was made, seconded and approved unanimously.

As stated in an information sheet, the Board of Trustees convened as the Board of Adjustment, to act on a Site Plan appeal of the June 8 2017, Planning Commission decision to deny the Bargain Storage Site Plan. As an appeal, the Board of Trustees is charged with deciding whether the decision the Planning Commission made was correct based on the standards in place at the time of the hearing (Development Code and Comprehensive Plan). The board’s role in this matter is not to decide whether the Site Plan should be approved or not; it is to consider whether there was an error or mistake in the Planning Commission’s decision based on their determination of the denial of the Site Plan based and their application of the requirements of the Development Code and Comprehensive Plan.

Russel Eason, owner of the Bargain Storage, gave an extensive review of the facts as he saw them, but the board members were unimpressed and denied his request to have the planning commission decision overturned.

As an appeal, all evidence from both the town and the applicant must be presented at the meeting, not before. In addition, to overturn the decision of the Planning Commission on appeal, a Supra-majority of the board will be required (five out of seven members). The trustees voted four to one against the appeal.

The trustees approved an Ordinance Adopting 2018 International Fire Code by Reference.