The Aspen real estate market has been on fire. The first half of the year is usually a quiet time for the local real estate industry but sales have sizzled so far. Transactions in the Roaring Fork Valley through the Aspen Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service have topped $652 million already in 2004. The record of $1.2 billion in sales was established in 2000.

With the traditionally busiest months of the year still to come, real estate agents expect the record to fall.

The downvalley real estate market also bounced back over the past year, but not as strong as the Aspen area. There were 538 sales of homes, condos and land in the Basalt, Missouri Heights and Carbondale markets for the 12 months ending June 2004. That was up 19 percent from the prior 12- month period. Sales of property in those areas hit $258.65 million for that period, up 48 percent.

Edited from article by Scott Condon, 7.1.2004, www.aspentimes. com

It's going to a vote -- sort of.

While Garfield County Commissioners agreed to put a question on the November ballot asking voters outside city limits to decide if Garfield County should join the Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA), the Rifle City Council declined the request from RFTA. The decided against a transportation ballot question because there are already too many tax issues in the November election, including a citywide lodging tax and another mill levy override by the Re-2 School District.

Garfield County Commissioner Trési Houpt explained that putting the question on the ballot puts the decision of whether Garfield County should join RFTA squarely on voters.

Joining RFTA would result in a 0.4 percent county sales tax in unincorporated areas, and a yearly $10 fee for residents of unincorporated areas registering their vehicles in Garfield County.

In Rifle, however, the timing didn't feel right.

"If the taxpayers see too many questions on the ballot, they'll just say no-no-no," said Mayor Pro Tem Judy Builteman.

Councilor Beth Bascom said she felt the city would revisit the issue in the future.

"I think it's only a matter of time that we'll be sitting at the table with you, but now is not the time," Bascom told RFTA CEO Dan Blankenship.

Edited from articles by Carrie Click, 7.13.2004, www.postindependent.com

If passed, the tax would be paid only by those staying in the city's hotels and motels - most likely tourists - and not by residents.

Lodging taxes are coming increasing popular in the region with voters in the Towns of New Castle (2.5%), Carbondale (2.0%), and Basalt (2.0%) overwhelmingly approving lodging taxes in 2003 and 2004. The City of Glenwood Springs has had 2.5 percent accommodations tax for several years and the City of Aspen passed a 1.0 percent lodging tax in 2000. Rifle is looking at a possible 2.5 percent tax.

If the tax is passed, the city would collect the tax, but the chamber would be responsible for distributing and using the money for promoting the city.

Edited from article by Heidi Rice, 7.8.2004, www.postindependent.com

In November, the Roaring Fork School District will put a bond question on the ballot. If the bond passes, more than $83 million would pay for reconstruction and renovation of Re-1 schools in Carbondale, Glenwood and Basalt.

The district is also considering putting a $1.5 million mill levy override on the ballot. The mill levy override is being proposed to help pay for technology and teacher salaries. If the levy is passed and more teachers are hired, class sizes will decrease because the ratio of teachers to student will increase.

Figures for the bond issue and mill override are estimates. Exact figures for both issues will be available after the board meets in mid-August.

Edited from article by Ivy Vogel, 7.20.2004, www.postindependent.com

The Pitkin County Library will ask voters for a raise in November.

County commissioners agreed Tuesday to put a property tax hike before voters that would fund additional staff and some equipment upgrades for the library. The 0.23 mill increase - a 20 percent hike - would generate about $385,000 a year in additional property tax revenues to support the library. An existing tax of 1.131 mills provides about $1.86 million annually to run the facility.

"What we're asking for now, primarily, is funding for added staff," said Kathleen Chandler, county librarian. The library's staff has roughly doubled since 1979, she noted, but its circulation has more than tripled.

The library last received a tax increase in 1993. The latest hike would increase taxes on a $1 million home by $18.31.

Edited from an article by Janet Urquhart, 7.28.2004. www.aspentimes.com

The Watershed Collaborative Water Committee held a meeting on June 16th. There was diverse representation, including county planners, various agency and town government staff, water resource engineers, and others. The Roaring Fork Conservancy presented an update on its Stream Flow Survey Project, and briefings on various other water-focused initiatives in the Roaring Fork were shared among those attending.

The next meeting will be held later in the year. For more information on this water- oriented group, please contact Cindy Houben, Pitkin County Community Development Dept., 920-5097 or cindyh@co.pitkin.co.us)

The 10,000-square-foot store will be owned by Bill Solinger, a Silt-area resident and former longtime manager at Safeway in Glenwood Springs. Solinger is purchasing the 1.25-acre property from local developers Kelly and Michael Lyon Family LLC. The Lyons will also act as the building contractors on the project.

The town almost saw a grocery store in 1998, when Columbine Market out of Gypsum planned to open one. However, the company was requiring significant tax incentives that voters overwhelmingly turned down in a general election.

Lyon says the details of the deal are still being worked out, but there's a "90 percent chance" it will go through. If so, construction would begin as soon as possible, with an opening date by the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays.

Edited from an article by Heidi Rice, 7.18.2004, www.postindependent.com

Garfield County has never had precise regulations regarding gas pipelines, or even a definition of what a pipeline is, according to Mark Bean, director of the Garfield County Building and Planning Department.

With natural gas exploration booming in the county - 700 wells are estimated to be built in 2004 - new pipelines are on the way so Garfield County commissioners, the Planning Commission, industry and the public have discussed the pipeline regulations for the past five to six months, Bean said.

"My ultimate goal is that we are able to maintain local control on land use issues as they pertain to pipelines," said County Commissioner Trési Houpt.

The regulations will focus on land-use issues that surround the building of a pipeline. Although state agencies oversee most oil and gas activity, they do not regulate pipeline activity, making it the county's responsibility. The rules will encompass where pipelines are placed, impact on land and revegetation, and the timing of pipeline placement, among others.

The proposal will go first to the Planning Commission and then to the county commissioners. The new Energy Advisory Board will possibly review it as well.

Edited from an article by Christine Dell'Amore, 7.22.2004, www.postindependent.com

Hecksel has been city manager of Monmouth, a city of 8,200 people with an annual budget of $19.3 million and 47 full-time employees, since 1998. Glenwood Springs has a population of 8,200, a yearly budget of $35 million and 162 full-time employees.

Hecksel verbally agreed to a yearly salary of $104,000 plus instant seniority, which gives him four weeks of vacation per year. He has a master's degree in public administration from Arizona State University and a bachelor's in local government administration from Central Michigan University.

He's slated to start work on Sept. 7.

Meanwhile . . .

The Carbondale Trustees have narrowed the town manager search four finalists. The candidates are (in alphabetical order) former Basalt town manager Tom Baker; current Carbondale acting town manager Bentley Henderson; Chuck Stearns, who recently resigned as Mount Crested Butte's town manager; and Ed Young, administrator for Seward County, Kan.

The Carbondale Trustees hope to make a decision in the coming weeks.

Adapted by and article by Greg Masse, 7.1.2004, www.postindependent.com

Conexíon Comunitaría will provide a venue for open dialogue, networking and sharing of resources. If you have an interest in leadership, education, and intercultural understanding, we welcome your participation. Facilitated by Heather Stone of Roaring Fork Leadership and Design Workshop. Sopris Room 100 Wulfsohn Road Light Dinner and Refreshments will be served from 5:30 - 6:00pm.

Dinner and Refreshments contributed by the Unitarian Universlist Congregation of Glenwood Springs.

To RSVP or for further information call Rob Morey at 920-9319.

Join the Colorado Office of Smart Growth, Colorado Municipal League, Colorado Counties Inc., and the Colorado Rural Development Council as they tackle a number of important questions at two smart growth workshops this summer. Key questions include:

• How can a community meet workforce and other affordable housing goals?
• How can a community obtain and share geospatial data to improve planning and policy-making?
• How can local governments set development application and permit fees that adequately cover the direct and indirect costs of running the planning and building departments?
• And finally, how can local governments engage citizens and more closely involve them in the planning process?

The workshops will be held in the following locations:

• August 20 - GRAND JUNCTION, Whitman Building, 248 S. 4th Street
• August 27 - DENVER, Colorado Municipal League, 1144 Sherman Street

Lunch and written materials are included in the $40 workshop registration cost. A detailed agenda and registration materials can be obtained on the Office of Smart Growth web site at www.dola.state.co.us/smartgrowth or by calling Andy Hill at 303.866.3785.

This public meeting of the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) is your chance to learn and share opinions about our future water supplies. How much water will we need over the next 25 years? Will it be enough? How will we get it? What will we do if we don't have enough? These and other issues will be discussed in a public forum following an update on this important state study. The public is encouraged to attend to learn about and help shape our water future in the Colorado Basin and Colorado.

OUR WATER FUTURE
Wednesday, August 25
Glenwood Springs Community Center
100 Wulfshon Road
Glenwood Springs
6:30 - 8:30pm

For additional information, please contact Kristine Crandall, Roaring Fork Conservancy, 927-1290 or birke@comcast.net).

The Colorado Watershed Assembly (CWA) is hosting its 5th Annual Conference on September 9th and 10th in an atmosphere of historic charm at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. The theme for the Conference is "Planning for the Future".

As in past years, the date for the Conference was selected to directly follow the annual Colorado Nonpoint Source (NPS) Forum, which will take place at the same location on September 8th. Conference planners have worked hard to design a program that will draw from and complement the theme of the NPS Forum - the 'nuts and bolts' of watershed planning. The CWA Conference will focus on addressing critical issues facing watershed groups in Colorado, and on building healthy watershed groups that will successfully navigate the challenges of the future.

Need more information?? See www.coloradowater.org or call Chuck at (970) 259-3583 or Sarah at (970) 513-8340 x 221 Please call during regular business hours, and NOT after 9/2/04.