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<br />MR. STAPLETON: These charges are then agreed to between the staff and <br />the community involved? <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: Yes. <br /> <br />MR. STAPLETON: As they are shown here, is that .r~ght? <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: That's correct. <br /> <br />MR. STAPLETON: So they know what your standards are on a zero to four <br />scale and they are willing to get the project built on the zero to <br />four or whatever is the agreed upon figure? <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: After we review the feasibility report on these various <br />projects, we then present to the community a summary, much like you <br />'f have in your folders there. We ask them to determine whether or not <br />the arrangements are satisfactory. So far as we know, these are <br />satisfactory. If they're not, then the people that are here repre- <br />senting the sponsors will let us know today. <br /> <br />MR. STAPLETON: Just as an example, how do you put Trinchera as priority <br />two and Brighton at five? Just give us some idea to think about. <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: Trinchera is an economically depressed area. The per <br />capita income down there is quite low. Welfare payments are quite high. <br />They have an inadequate water supply for the irrigated farm land. The <br />economy there is based almost entirely upon farming and ranching. Their <br />water system is old and they are losing much of the available water. <br />The average loss for a ten-year period was about forty-nine percent of <br />the water diverted from the stream. The upper regions of the canal <br />runs through some very porous material. <br /> <br />There needs to be some rehab work done on the farms themselves and on <br />the control structures. Many of the control structures are badly <br />deteriorated. The water use efficiency is quite low. We believe that <br />the area needs some assistance. This plan has actually been prepared <br />by the Soil Conservation Service. We are anticipating that some four <br />hundred thousand dollars in federal funds will be made available. <br />This is mostly on a grant basis. Those are hard working people down <br />there, but they simply lack the financial means to improve their own <br />system. We gave them a fairly high priority because of the relatively <br />low incomes in Costilla County. <br /> <br />Brighton's economy is better. There is quite a bit of industry now <br />thriving in Adams County and it I s just not economically as bad off as <br />COS,1iilla County. These are some of the things which goes into our <br />evaluation. <br /> <br />MR. STAPLETON: The reason I asked about priority, I would assume that <br />the. legislature in appropriating would want to know what the considera- <br />tions of the priorities were. It seems to me that they are pretty up <br />in' the air and whether or not the legislature would buy that. If you <br />were a legislator from Adams County, you would certainly want to know <br /> <br />-4- <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />