Thank you for your feedback!
Below are the results of the NCA Subdivision Road Survey.
Based on the feedback from the road survey, the letter below was sent to Boulder County Commissioner Deb Gardner. NCA President Dick Piland had met with commissioner Gardner on Nov-03 to express the NCA stance on this issue and to say that membership feedback was coming.
7 November, 2014
Commissioner Gardner:
As promised, please find attached two documents. (Survey Data and 31 Comments) Nothing has been edited, including one member’s comment suggesting I resign.
There were 89 of 398 current family memberships who responded, or 22.4%. This participation rate is probably about average for any survey. But, not enough, in our view, for us to make drastic changes to the way we do business. The poll is not scientific. There are no security protections. Anyone surfing the web, could enter our web site and complete the survey.
The survey consists of four statements…each was designed to stand alone. Our interpretation of the results of each statement is as follows:
- #1: The majority of our respondents want the NCA to “stay in the game” and represent their needs on this important issue.
- #2: Although, 67% of our respondents felt that we should actively endorse/support BoCoFIRM, the Board felt that it would be just as effective to have two groups working independently to achieve the same desired positive result for all residents living in subdivisions throughout the County.
- #3: 60% of the respondents could support a bond issue on the Nov. 2015 ballot, as long as the county services the debt with current revenue streams. (No new taxes)
- #4: Very interesting result. Even when the County would provide 50% in matching funds to repair our roads, 60% of the respondents would not vote for or support another PID on the ballot. (Remember, I mentioned this when we met for coffee. Voters were educated by the results of the LID lawsuit. You lost more than a lawsuit…you lost many of those who earlier were ready to pay more for road maintenance.)
NCA Board Decisions:
- The Niwot Community Association will stay in the game!
- Our position on this subject is that the spending priorities currently in place do not provide for adequate public road maintenance, especially in some 119 subdivisions of Unincorporated Boulder County. We also feel that this lack of proper spending on road maintenance is in violation of Colorado State Statutes. We are strongly urging you to return to the budgetary priorities of yesteryear, when mill levy funded road maintenance and the number of mills applied were adjusted annually, depending on the condition of roads in our County. We would like to go back in time when road maintenance throughout the County was one of your highest spending priorities. We suggest you allocate a minimum of 9 mills to kick off the 2015 budget year.
- What about a loan (bonding)? At this point the NCA can support a bond issue, providing the majority of you Commissioners recognize that this would be a “short term fix”, and that you agree to allocate mill levy money to the Road and Bridge Fund in the out years, after the bond money has repaired 150 miles of public road. Without a continuous funding of subdivision roads, the roads will decay again. I do not have to tell you that withholding funding for road maintenance is very expensive, indeed! Allowing the Transportation Department to create a long term service plan, combined with the properly funding of that service plan, will save money in the long run. (A stitch in time saves nine! B. Franklin)
- Sixty-seven percent of the respondents wanted the NCA to join forces with BoCoFIRM. BoCoFIRM is a grassroots organization made up of citizens, who suffer from being a “minority group” of voters in the County. They cannot force this issue at the ballot box. They have petitioned their local government for redress, without success, so now they are petitioning the courts to uphold the law. It is their constitutional right to do so, and how much more “Americana” could this be? It seems to me that when you interpret what I have just mentioned in the above two paragraphs, that our goals and objectives are almost identical. It is only our operational methods that truly differ. So, now you have two, independent groups offering the same arguments; that is, we are strongly suggesting you repair and then maintain our public roads. For what it is worth, I also sit on the Subdivision Paving Advisory Committee. This “hand-picked” cadre of citizens was selected from throughout the County, and they too are making recommendations that parallel those of BoCoFIRM and the NCA.
Here are three options as, we see them:
- Fund the road and bridge fund at a minimum of 9 mills for the 2015 budget year. This is your best option…hands down. The voters just provided you with $60 million to help with flood damage…is the budget really that tight? So, you drop a program or two. That doesn’t mean they are gone forever. You can put them on next year’s ballot. If the voters turn down their funding…then perhaps they should not have ever been created to begin with.
- Do nothing and wait for the Court to decide. I would hope you would not choose this option. Some decisions are more difficult than others, and your predecessors really set you up with a tough one. If you want to just wait for the judge to tell you what to do…well then we will just have to sit and wait. But, it is weak leadership in my view. (Please, don’t be offended…you ask for our advice, remember?) Don’t forget that time is our worst enemy. Another year of hesitation will add significantly to the overall cost.
- Study carefully the prospects of borrowing to provide a “short term fix” to the problem. This option is “iffy” at best, because you do not know what the voters will agree to. Remember, you might be avoiding the pass-back of funds to the metropolitan areas…how will “the city folk” view this? Besides, the lawsuit will most likely be adjudicated before next November, rendering this option obsolete or “overcome by events”.
The NCA looks forward to a resolution of this issue. We are willing to continue to work toward that resolution with you and your staff.
Good Luck!
Dick Piland
NCA President