R
EDSTONE R •E •V•I •E •W
LOOK FOR REDSTONE REVIEW AT ISSUU.COM / SDCMC
VOLUME 21, NUMBER 7
LYONS, COLORADO
RESIDENT / OCCUPANT PRSRT STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID LYONS, CO PERMIT No 2053 $.50
AUGUST 19 / SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
B •R •I •E •F •S Dinners and workshops at Farmette cancelled LYONS – After much deliberation and thought, we have decided to cancel all of our farm dinners and workshops this year. We want to be responsible business owners and this is just not the summer to have gatherings for the public. Farmette dinners are well loved for many reasons and they’re also all benefits for wonderful causes and deserving nonprofits. I’ve listed everyone below. Stay home, enjoy a glass of wine and consider donating. Thank you. • Blackbelly & the Boulder County Arts Alliance& Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission • Mountain Crust and the Lyons Community Foundation • Jacaranda and SOIL • A Spice of Life and PRIDE • Idea Wild Benefit • Cured and Growing Gardens • Sugar Pine and People and Pollinators • Butcher and the Blond and SOSVV • GB Culinary and the Colorado Haiti Project • Forage Sisters and the Water Shed Center and MAD Agriculture
The Second Avenue Bridge construction begins this fall LYONS – The Second Avenue Bridge replacement project was put out to bid for construction in late July. Pending final scheduling with the selected contractor, construction is anticipated to begin in September 2020. See all Town of Lyons Open Bids.
Slow the flow sprinkler check-up LYONS – Just like a car, your sprinklers need an occasional check-up to make sure they’re watering your lawn as efficiently as possible. Get your system checked with a free sprinkler consultation by Resource Central. Consultations last about 90 minutes and can help you save thousands of gallons of water each year. It’s easy to sign up and get long-lasting results! Simply call (303) 999-3824, or schedule your appointment at resourcecentral.org/sprinkler. Continue Briefs on Page 2
issuu.com/sdcmc Like us on Facebook
I •N •D •E •X LYONS
2
TRUSTEES’ CORNER
3
EDUCATE
4
OPTIONS
5
INTEREST
6
INSIGHT
7
A&E
8
SUMMERTIME
9
FORWARD
10
ISSUES
11
LOOK AHEAD
12
WHAT’S COOKIN’
13
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) The Problem We All Live With 1963. Illustration for Look magazine, January 14, 1964. Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom, exhibition on view at the Denver Art Museum through September 7, explores themes and events in American history that still resonate today. Showcased are Rockwell’s post-war artworks from the 1960s, which address civil rights, human rights, and equality for all. One of Rockwell’s most iconic images of the Civil Rights Movement, The Problem We All Live With, is featured.
Town Board finds it has more water shares than they thought and they discuss other issues By Susan de Castro McCann Redstone Review Editor LYONS – For the last few months the Lyons Town Board has been grappling with water issues. There was some confusion over what properties had dedicated water shares attached to them when they applied for building permits and some confusion over water taps vs. dedicated water shares, the size of water taps, what constitutes a water share and other issues. The issue came up after a building permit was issued and it was thought that no water share was awarded to the town for the permit, which is required by the town. This caught the board’s attention, because it was thought that the town was nearly out of the water shares that were required by Longmont (the town of Lyons water supplier) with each new water tap. After digging back into a monumental amount of information with gaps in record keeping over many past years, Utilities Director Aaron Caplan gave a report to the board on Aug. 18 that explained much of what happened over the last 17 or 18 years and found out that the town is not out of water shares, but in fact has 21.2 water shares available that have not been used and can even be leased out to another town or entity to raise more revenue for the town. Before the research done by Director Caplan, the town board thought that there was only .2 water shares left in reserve.
Usually developers buy up a large plots of land and put in roads, curbs, water and sewer pipes, electric lines and subdivide the land into plots. Each plot has a water tap, so that homes have running water and toilets and all the tap fees and utility fees are paid to the town up front and that price is part the sale price of the house when the homeowner buys the home. In Lyons new homes also have a water share dedication attached to the property. A water share is a little complicated. All water in Colorado is regulated. Water shares are bought and sold by entities such as ditch companies, water conservancy groups, etc. Usually contractors buy up a bunch of water shares to go with their lots from these water groups. The prices vary since the shares are bought and sold on the open market. In January 2020 the price of a CBT (Colorado / Big Thompson) water share was about $60,000. Back in 2003 Lyons signed an intergovernmental agreement with Longmont to bring water to Lyons; it sits in a holding tank just east of town with a little red barn type structure next to it. This is where Lyons gets its water from Longmont. In 2003 Lyons owned 598 shares of Colorado Big Thompson Water. As part of the intergovernmental agreement with Longmont, 500 of those shares were dedicated to Longmont each year as part of the price of water that Lyons paid to Longmont. Therefore 98 of the 598 CBT shares were not
dedicated to Longmont and were kept by Lyons. There were 736 service connections in 2003, but 31 were subtracted because they were sewer taps and not water taps, leaving 705 water taps. Caplan said, “It was believed these 98 shares (that the town kept) would cover the existing lots or parcels that were in town or that might connect to the water system. These are called pre-existing commitments.” He went on to say, “If you look at the ratio of 500 shares to 736 service connections you get .679 shares per connection. If you take .679 shares for 705 services you get 479 shares that should have been used in the original calculation not 500. This is the very critical part of the shares issues.” He added, “Every year the town has started with the original dedication requirement to Longmont of 500 CBT. When five new properties annexed into town we needed to dedicate five more CBT shares so it went up to 505, etc. etc. Over the years the town added more service connections and as of Nov 1 2019 we had 931.8 service connections, (not yet sure where the partial connection came from). The town has 727 CBT shares as of Nov 1 2019. Using the original 500 number and adding all the new connections up until last year it was believed we had to dedicate 726.8 of our 727 CBT shares to Longmont.” “If we start with the original dedication of 479 and added all the new connections over the years it turns out we only need to
dedicate 705.8 CBT shares. So we did not gain any new shares. We have the 727 shares we have had. It turns out we only need to dedicate 705.8 and not 726.8,” Caplan said. Trustee Kenyon Waugh spoke out saying that the perceived missing water shares were worth over a million dollars and cost the town a lot of money because they were lost for a period of time. Trustee Mark Browning said that the water shares were never really missing, they were always there and the town did not lose any money from not having all the shares accounted for. Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen said that the staff was in transition during part of the time and good records were not kept. There was an interim town administrator in place, just filling in until and new administrator could be hired. The Longmont Water Resources Director Ken Huson was at the Aug. 18 meeting and he said that in the past the Longmont engineering department kept the water share records and each year a letter was sent out to the communities purchasing Longmont water. The letter was updated each year, but the research was not kept up. He apologized to the board and said that now they keep track of everything. “I compliment Lyons on their water management. Their water portfolio looks really good.” In other water related matters, Finance Director Jill Johnson told the town board that the water fund will go over budget by about $350,000. Utilities Director Caplan mentioned some of the utility projects including a $60,000 water pipe line that was Continue Town on Page 14
