Board Meeting 03/17/1980

• Board Meeting Date: 3/17/1980
• Description: Agenda and Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD
823 State Centennial Building
1313 Sherman Street
Denver, Colorado 80203

March 11, 1980

M E M 0 RAN DUM

TO: Representative Walt Younglund

FROM: Bill McDonald

SUBJECT: H.B. 1039 and H.B. l040

You have asked that I determine whether the funding which
these two bills would make available to the Board's construction fund
can be used in a timely manner.

1. We can spend no more money in FY 80-81 than can be committed to
previously authorized projects or to projects to be authorized
this session by S.B. 67. This amounts to $15-16 million. For
FY 80-81, we already have this much money ($10 million from
S.B. 537, $2 million from FY 80-81 mineral leasing act revenues,
and $3.6 million carry-over of unexpended funds from FY 79-80).
Thus, both bills need to be amended in such a way that they do
not appropriate money to the construction fund until FY 81-82.

2. We estimate that we could spend about $20-25 million in FY 81-82
based upon the applications which we now have in hand (see attached
table). We are limited to this amount for FY 81-82 since we must
finish feasibility studies by NOv., 1980, in order to present proj-
ects to the legislature for authorization in January, 1981. Thus,
any applications received later this calendar year cannot be
readied for legislative consideration until January, 1982 (for
initiation of construction in FY 82-83).

3. By FY 82-83, enough feasibility studies could be completed to
initiate construction with just about any amount of funding which
the legislature may provide. ~is is simply because we will have
enough lead time between now and then, if we know that money is
coming, to initiate the necessa~ engineering studies.

4. A further problem we face is that 37-60-122(1) (c) limits our
expenditures for feasibility studies to $150,000 per fiscal year.