County Road 32 Improvement Project

72% of the 93 respondents through May 1, 2006 favor the paving project.

From June 1, 2005 poll . . .

Poll on Paving Project -- The Indian Mountain Property Owners Association has been asked by some owners in the subdivision to look into the subject of road improvements.

Property owner and part time resident Les Younger agreed to do this and this report reflects what he learned.

The stretch of gravel road between the Jefferson-Como fire station on Elkhorn Road and the entrance to Indian Mountain is the biggest road concern to date. Even though it is graded weekly, that road has washboarding, dust, rocks, curves that slope the wrong way, etc. It is not just a nuisance to drive, it can be dangerous. The County says that the traffic on this road now averages about 700 vehicles a day.

Park County says it has no funds to pave any roads in the County. This is a result of taxation issues in the State and is not expected to change in the short term. There is money for road maintenance, but not new construction.

This position angers many property owners, but it seems to be beyond our control. There was a recent meeting sponsored by the County to discuss alternative ways for rural subdivisions to pay for road improvements. The County is encouraging such steps because of the shortage of funds. The meeting was well covered in the Flume newspaper and had an IMPOA representative. There are four basic steps envisioned in the County's process, as follows.

First, a group of people has to decide that it wants to improve a particular road. That group could be any description, but the Indian Mountain subdivision is a logical choice for a group to support the road improvement described above.

Secondly, the group has to petition the County Commission to form what is called a Limited Improvement District. The third step is that the County Commission has to approve the Limited Improvement District. If there is no strong opposition, the Commission would likely do this in a timely way.

The fourth step is that the LID can put a bond issue on the election ballot to pay for the road improvement. Such an election could be held as early as this November. If the bond issue passes, then money would be collected by the county in the form of a new property tax within the LID.

The Road and Bridge Division of Park County has estimated what it would cost to improve the road with what is called chip and seal - a surface that is the same as the road from Route 285 to the fire station. Their estimate is about $350,000 for the 3.6 miles of road. That amount would include new culverts where needed, road straightening, etc.

There are about 2500 lots in Indian Mountain. Dividing $350,000 by 2500 yields $140 per lot. If the bond issue was for 10 years at 5.5% interest, the total cost to each lot owner in additional taxes would be about $18 per year for 10 years. This seems a reasonable price, certainly less than one replacement windshield or front end repair in 10 years.

No one has done anything yet to form a Limited Improvement District for this particular road. First we wanted to see what people thought of the idea. We took a straw poll at the Memorial Day luncheon and the people there were about evenly spit on the issue. Now we want you to say what you think here on the web site so we can take the pulse of a broader segment of the community.

Please answer ALL of the following questions:  Send your answers here.

1. Do you have a home in Indian Mountain?

2. Are you a full time resident of Indian Mountain?

3. Are you registered to vote in Park County?

4. Do you favor paving the road from the fire station to the entrance to Indian Mountain on Albino?

5. Would the increase in property values associated with the improved road justify the $18 per year per lot for 10 years?

6. Have you any comments you would offer?

Your responses to these questions will be treated anonymously, so please tell us frankly what you think. We look forward to your response.