Being at the epicenter of Brown Ranch planning and funding has the gravity of what feels like a lifelong decision for our entire community. The issue, as presented, is pressed as a binary in-or-out decision with annexation and a multi-decade imbalanced funding request, exceeding our entire current capital budget, wrapped into a single proposal.

Whether you are on one side or the other, there are many questions that are brought to us and we, as City Council members, ask many as well.

When blocked with unresolved complexity, immense financial commitments and imbalanced budgets, wouldn’t a prudent path forward entail more narrowly defined steps, phased processes, assured near-term success and an ability for reassessment if there are failures?

I assure constituents of Steamboat that I am approaching this decision-making process with the utmost care as a steward for our community growth and delivering housing solutions for our community. I have asked questions throughout the process, and as it appears to be winding down for this election cycle, there are pressing questions which remain unanswered.

1. There is a $119 million capital gap for horizontal construction which neither the city nor the Yampa Valley Housing Authority has yet to figure out how to bridge, beginning as soon as the next 10 years. Our current city budget does not have the means to fill this gap. Under the current proposal, the only way to fill this financial gap is an additional Brown Ranch targeted tax within the next 10-20 years.
2. The YVHA has stated it will be going back to the voters to ask for an increase to its mill levy within the next two years. This again is another tax ask the community will be voting on.
3. The Steamboat Springs School District will need to build a school before the completion of the project. The school district too will be asking the voters a taxing question in the next 10-20 years — not only for a facility, but also for the staffing to serve the additional students.

If you’re keeping track, that’s three tax increase questions in the next 10-20 years.

• What happens when the voters do not approve these tax increases? Will the project halt? Where will the funds come from, if not taxes?
• This project, upon completion, will be the size of Winter Park and Fraiser combined. From my experiences viewing other mountain resort community’s affordable housing projects, all have been scaled and phased in a smaller manner, and all have been over budget. Could we, as Steamboat, annex the first phase only, scale it down, prove the timing and costs, prior to undertaking a large risk as submitted? What type of metrics will the city have to ensure this development doesn’t get ahead of itself?
• The collective bargaining between the YVHA and city has shown that YVHA will provide micro transit, like the yellow line internally for Brown Ranch. Yet the claim is the transportation corridor on U.S. Highway 40 will be reduced by almost 15% because of a “robust” transit system. The yellow line system to the SST bus stop at the entrance to 40 will not produce a 15% reduction. How is YVHA making this reduction claim?
• A large portion of city expenditures will be to U.S. 40 improvements. We have been told that this project will trigger these improvements to occur sooner than if there was no development. U.S. 40 improvements are a $52 million project from the Brown Ranch entrance to 13th Street. How will the city pay for this? CDOT has no funding available for this specific project, and all projects on U.S. 40 are agreed upon in a regional manner.
• Why are we rushing a public vote for 75% of the STR tax to be placed on the ballot this year with conspicuous imbalances in the budgets? YVHA has stated they will not be seeking bonding as the interest rates are too high and not fiscally responsible. We, as City Council, can guarantee 75% STR tax funding to YVHA for this year and next, through our budget process. Do we have to place this on the ballot this year? Should we slow down the process and ensure we have a thorough annexation agreement?

As our meeting progresses, we hear from the public, the housing authority and some City Council members that we can just “figure the funding out” in the future. As your elected representative, this is not fiscally sound. There has been no time in my eight years on council where we have made decisions and “figured out” the finances later.

Please understand that housing is HUGE and we’ve made this issue a foremost effort of this council.  There is little deviation from the consensus that we do have a problem, that all communities in Colorado have this problem. We are not alone. What makes us different is our intellect and wherewithal to ask the important questions, to have the capacity to ensure the decisions we make today, will not fail the community of tomorrow.

I am hoping that you will continue to engage with City Council. Please show up on Tuesday and be heard. We will be deciding if we want 75% of the short-term rental tax revenue on the ballot for the next 18 years. The annexation in general is not part of this and could be decided upon by seven Council members.

Let us know your thoughts. Reach us via email at CityCouncil@steamboatsprings.net. It’s never too late to be heard.

Heather Sloop is the District 3 representative on Steamboat Springs City Council. Although she is a City Council member, her opinions are her own and may not be shared by other council members.