Estes Park voters disband agency
Town officials say the dispute over the Urban Renewal Authority isn’t over.
By Monte Whaley
The Denver Post
Estes Park voters overwhelmingly decided to disband the town’s Urban Renewal Authority after a heated campaign that pitted residents against their elected officials.
But town officials say the issue isn’t dead yet.
The ordinance abolishing the Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority – EPURA – passed by 60 percent of the vote Tuesday, with 1,338 saying yes and 869 voting no. The ordinance also stipulates that any future urban renewal authority must be subject to a public vote.
The mail-in election drew 45 percent of eligible voters, one of the highest turnouts in the town’s history.
“It was an important issue for people and they took the time to learn about the issues and their voices were heard,” said resident Bill Van Horn, who helped spearhead the campaign against EPURA.
Voters approved its creation in 1983 to fund flood-control measures near downtown and to attract new businesses and tourists.
But Van Horn and others claimed the authority had outlived its mission and was being used to fund town projects without consent from the public.
They said over the past 25 years, EPURA collected over $50 million in sales and property taxes. Of that, $18 million went toward urban renewal projects and $32 million was siphoned into the general fund. The authority abused its powers, they said, by bonding and undertaking major commercial construction projects without consent from residents.
Van Horn said he thinks the vote will prompt other communities to rethink the role of their urban renewal authorities.
“The voters have spoken, and prefer funding our schools and special districts over private developer subsides,” he said.
But several local officials, including most of the town trustees, wanted to keep EPURA because of its ability to attract new business and form vital public-and-private partnerships.
“The authority is a very, very important funding mechanism for improvements to our commercial area,” Mayor Bill Pinkham said.
Pinkham said the trustees will meet soon to discuss whether to challenge the election results in court.
“Stay tuned,” he said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907
Well here’s your problem, dear fellow Estes Parkians.
