PROJ01988 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Town of Minturn 243 BoULDER ST POST OFFICE Box 309 MINTURN, co (970) 827-5645 FAX (970) 827-5545 ALAN D. lANNlNG TOWN MANAGER T_c-II MR. GoRDON FLAHERTY, MAYOR MR. DARELL WEGERT, MAYOR PRo TEM MR. JIM KLECiNER, CoUNCll.MAN MR. RON SPoRRER, COUNCILMAN MR. ROBERT KELL Y-Goss, CoUNCILMAN Ms. ERNlSTiNE DuRAN, COUNCIT.WOMAN MR. BILL BuRNETI', CoUNCILMAN {oo November 6, 2000 Colorado Water Conservation Board Attn: Mr. Bill Green 1313 Sherman St. Room 721 Denver, CO 880203 Dear Mr. Green, It is my sincere hope the CWCB Board will not de-authorize the loan granted to the Town of Minturn. The Minturn Town Council would certainly like to keep those funds available to the Town for the rehabilitation of the Bolts Lake dam. The Towll's ability tobegin work on the dam project is dependent on the pennission of the landowner. The ownership o(the Bolts Lake prpperty, along 'with the entire.Gilman property, has been and still is, the subject of protracted and hard fought legal battles. Although the Town and the property owner have held discussions, the property owner has been unwilling, or at least reluctant, to make commitments to the Town. The Town of Minturn has repeatedly been told Bolts Lake would in some fashion be available to the Town without requiring compensation. Accordingly, the Town is reluctant to go forward with a condemnation action and incur substantial expense and be required to pay fair market value when the possibility exists that it will obtain the property for free if it is willing to wait until the property owner is ready to talk. The Town finalized its decree for a water storage right in Bolts Lake. A new conditional water storage right for 320 acre feet, the estimated capacity after rehabilitation, was decreed by the Water Court in July 1999. Obtaining this decree involved a legal battle with the property owner, and although the property owner eventually stipulated to the entry of the decree, the Town was forced to incur additional, substantial legal and engineering expenses to get to that point. The above described events serve to demonstrate the Town's willingness to move forward, but cannot do so until it has the pennission of the landowner and sufficient funds to finance the portion of the rehabilitation not covered by the loan (or the contribution of the Colo. River Water Conservation District). The loan from the CWCB is essential to the Town's ability to pursue this project. Keeping the loan authorization in place is appropriate so the Town's limited resources don't have to be used to redo the work that has already been done and continues to justify the loan in existence. /J.