Town Leaders May Roll the Dice in Efforts to Attract More Tourists
Rick Langenberg
Local residents in Green Mountain Falls will soon get an opportunity to have their say on the potential of more proposed tax increases for the purpose of providing current and future services and settling the ongoing debate over whether to fund a full-time, permanent town manager.
The November special election is dubbed as a critical juncture for the town for what could become one of the more important ballot proposals confronting residents in years. But to date, few details have been released regarding the specifics of the pending ballot issue. Officials, though, have agreed to use the expertise of a familiar elections’ consultant, GovPro Consulting, on a limited basis.
At issue is a way to generate more tax revenue to foot the bill for services, such as maintaining the town’s extensive network of gravel roads and upkeeping parks and expanding the pool park and paying salaries. The town could have a full plate of projects, but face the challenge of supporting these pursuits
Another idea getting traction by the new town manager, Caleb Patterson, is to develop a more aggressive approach on the economic development front and explore ways to attract more tourists and visitors. As part of this effort, the town wants to seek grant funds to renovate the old marshal’s office and possibly lease it out to potential businesses or uses that could provide a benefit to the community.
Special Election
At a March 6 GMF Trustees meetings, rescheduled due to the weather, the trustees agreed to set the wheels in motion by setting a number of town hall meetings to generate more public input regarding the forthcoming November special election. The first public comment session is tentatively scheduled for April 1 from 6 to 6:45 p.m. The town then plans to hold a number of similar town hall meetings, scheduled before the regular trustees’ sessions.
Mayor Todd Dixon stressed that these forums are designed to hear from the public. The trustees at a previous workshop cited the importance of orchestrating a public education plan to get more public support for the need to obtain more tax revenue to help pay for current and future services.
But the first step involves generating public input. The topic of a town manager has been a hot issue, aired on social media, but it has generated little discussion at local meetings. “We want to start getting feedback from the public,” said Dixon. Opinions have been quite mixed on the town manager situation, based on correspondence the town has received previously on this subject.
Most trustees support the concept of continuing along the path of having a town manager form of government. The main question raised deals with funding this position on a permanent basis.
The outcome of these public session could play a key role in what type of question appears on the Nov. ballot, or if a tax question is even proposed. The trustees have been quite vague about the specifics of the ballot language but have hinted that it may deal with potential sales or property tax hikes.
A Push for More Tourists
At the March 6 session, Patterson, the former town manager for Westcliffe, also raised the ante a little by suggesting the need for a more aggressive economic development plan, aimed at generating more businesses and capturing more tourist traffic. These ideas have been thrown out in the past and even recommended in the town’s latest master plan. But they have never really been pursued.
The idea of more economic development sparked a slight discussion at the recent trustees meeting.
Trustee Don Walker lauded the idea. But he also noted that a definite anti-growth sentiment exists among some residents who don’t want things to change. “There is a downside to this. There are a lot of people (in GMF) who are anti-growth,” said the trustee. As a result, he urged the town leaders to consider an education process regarding this issue.
Walker stressed the financial challenges facing the town. “I understand economic development.” Moreover, he noted that the town’s current financial realities dictated a choice between “cutting your expenses, or raising your revenue.”
Both he and other trustees cited efforts to generate more tourism as a plus. They noted that if efforts are made to generate revenue from outside sources, this could create more support for the town’s pro-economic development pursuits. “Our long-term health depends on capturing more tourists,” concluded several trustees.
Patterson didn’t delve into details regarding specifics of the economic development plan, but this is a topic he reiterated when he assumed the position as GMF’s town manager.
One project he did make a plug for involved the renovation of the old marshal’s office on Ute Pass Avenue, located almost directly across the street from the post office. He cited the possibility of a $100,000 grant, with a $20,000 match from the town. He also mentioned the Kirkpatrick Family Fund as another grant source.
If this does occur, the pathway could open for using this facility for a variety of purposes. More notably, the project could rehab an old building that has sat idle for years
This is one grant the town is currently lobbying for.
On the downside, one of the town’s largescale federal grant pursuits, a nearly $8 million infrastructure bid for replacing the Ute Pass Avenue main bridge into town, has struck roadblocks due to related cutbacks and the mandatory review of programs, requested by the new federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOG), established by President Donald Trump. However, Green Mountain Falls’ officials my seek other grants that assist with other phases of this project.
