Laserfiche WebLink
<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />MR VANDEMOER: If the other money doesn't come. you wouldn't even <br />be using the 175; is that correct? <br /> <br />MR. DUNCAN: That is right. <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: I might elaborate on that. Herb. <br /> <br />The Governor is fully aware, and the Colorado General Assembly is <br />fully aware. of the situation in which Ridgway has been placed. The <br />Dallas Creek Project is now on its way. Land acquisition has been <br />initiated. Construction will shortly be initiated on part-of the <br />project. This will be an extremely attractive reservoir from a <br />recreational viewpoint, since it is situated in the heart of the <br />population center of the Uncompahgre Valley. The building of summer <br />homes will increase dramatically in the Ridgway area as the dam is <br />completed and the reservoir filled. If we cannot secure all of the <br />federal funds that are necessary, there are other sources of funding <br />from the state in the way of grants that the Governor has some dis- <br />Cretion about. The Mineral Leasing Fund, for instance, the interest <br />on that money is allocated by the Governor and the General Assembly <br />annually. We have considerable confidence that we will work out this <br />financing plan for Ridgway one way or another. <br /> <br />MR. LEINSDORF: Mayor, would you elaborate on your efforts to receive <br />financial assistance from the Bureau of Reclamation? <br /> <br />MR. DUNCAN: Yes, we have had meetings. The Bureau of Reclamation <br />has come to Ridgway. We have had public meetings and given input to <br />different people, Harris Sherman and different ones. We went to <br />Grand Junction to a meeting. We have beento quite a few different <br />meetings. One in Montrose at the Elks was the latest, where they <br />would help us when the time came. But when we write a letter to <br />them, we haven't received a letter back from them at this time. <br /> <br />MR. LEINSDORF: I think that is a pervasive prOblem, Mr. Chairman. <br />It is not peculiar to projects sponsored by the Bureau of Reclamation <br />but is really a secondary impact of a lot of federal pOlicies having <br />to do with federal lands in general. The payments in lieu program <br />helps a lot of counties with federal lands in their jurisdiction, <br />but it really doesn't zero in on those areas that are undergoing an <br />extraordinary amount of growth because of energy and other policies <br />having to do with use of federal lands. I think this Board needs to <br />examine the particular extent to which the federal agencies are stimu- <br />lating growth in various parts of the state in general and the West- <br />ern Slope in particular, the extent to which those federal agencies <br />ought to be participating more with more financial assistance for <br />these federal projects which were the direct outgrowth of federal <br />land use pOlicies. <br /> <br />MR. DUNCAN: The majority of the people in the Ridgway area want the <br />Dallas Creek Project to happen; although they realize that growth is <br />going to burden the town. This hasn't changed at all. <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: As was already mentioned, originally the Town of Ridgway <br />would have been inundated by the Ridgway Reservoir. There was <br /> <br />-15- <br />