Legal Counsel Search

Our district's outside legal counsel has resigned. This is the second law firm to resign from the district in the last three years.

The board interviewed two law firms last week, both with experience representing special districts like ours, and they hope to interview at least one more firm before choosing new counsel at or before the September 11 meeting.

No Brick Wall Update

One thing was notably missing from this meeting: any discussion of the brick wall project. We asked why, and were told it's because legal counsel was not present.

A Property Tax Question

A resident brought up a property tax question in public comment that's come up before. It centers on something called a mill levy, the tax rate our district uses to calculate how much property tax each of us owes. The higher the mill levy, the more we pay.

That connects to a bigger question we've covered before, involving Colorado's TABOR law. TABOR limits how much tax revenue a local government can collect and keep each year. If a government collects more than that limit, it's required to refund the extra to taxpayers, unless voters approved an exception. TABOR actually sets two separate limits: one on how fast property tax revenue can grow year to year, and a separate limit on total revenue collected.

Our district points to a 1996 vote as its exception to these limits. That vote addressed the growth limit. Whether it also addressed the total revenue limit is still an open question.

As a quick reminder, the Metro District is funded entirely through our property taxes. If you check your tax bill, the district is actually the second largest line item you pay (see example below).

In this meeting, a resident pointed out that the district manager has previously said our mill levy should be at 25 mills, because we're an established community with no debt. Right now, we're at 33 mills.

The resident tied that discrepancy directly back to the TABOR refund question: should some of that money have come back to residents? With a new legal firm search underway, it looks like we'll need to wait and see what the new firm has to say about all of the TABOR questions.

Willow Creek Trail

The Willow Creek Trail project is not yet finished. Lighting, electrical work, and security still need to be installed.

The board approved roughly $30,000 last week for the security portion of the project, covering cameras, access control, and a motorized gate hinge. That cost wasn't part of the project's original budget, and this isn't the first time a cost has grown on a project after the fact.

The board is also looking at adding boulders and steps to help with foot traffic that cuts through the trails switchbacks.

Overlook Pavilion

Construction on the Overlook Pavilion is moving forward, with completion expected in early November.

Landscaping

The neighborhood is looking remarkably better with our new landscape and sprinkler companies. Sustainable Roots is also looking at updating the medians, and may put in a test median this fall (example below) before rolling out any further changes.

Roads

Our annual crack sealing is planned for mid to late September.

MyQ Community App

The district manager continues to field a high volume of calls and questions about the MyQ community app. The app has been in place for nearly a year, and the district has held regular live webinars throughout that time to help residents get comfortable with it.

Even so, the volume of phone and email questions billed the Metro District nearly $7,000 for security and gate support last month alone.

If you haven't already, it's worth watching the how-to video or attending one of the upcoming live webinars. A recording of the webinar is also expected to be posted soon.

And we’re happy to put together a how-to blog post on common questions if that would be useful. Let us know in the comments.

As a reminder, your fobs still work, and guests can also use the kiosk to call you so you can let them in that way.

That's all for this month!

Remember, the Metro District board meets the second Friday of every month at 8:15 AM in the clubhouse and via Zoom. Public comments are welcome at both the beginning and end of every meeting.

We hope to see you there.

Thanks, Friends!

-Jill Clark & Katie Braden