Conifer Area Recreation/Community Center Exploratory
Committee

Meeting Minutes July 31, 2008

Skip Shirlaw, presided over the meeting which was attended by approximately twenty five community members and six members of the Conifer Community Center (CCC) Board of Directors. Those directors were: Skip Shirlaw (president), Irv Saltzman (vice-president), Marilyn Saltzman, Ray Guerette (treasurer), Jeff Lindsay and Erika Armstrong (secretary).

Skip Shirlaw set the agenda/forum for the evening and reviewed information about possible district boundaries. He also discussed the type of land being sought and mentioned the possibility of purchasing land that is slated for housing developments. By doing so, the community center would secure more open space and ease water uses on land that was intended to be used for a housing development. That’s just one of many options being researched. He reiterated that Park County would not be included in the district boundaries.

Marilyn Saltzman presented an update on Public Relations/Fundraising activities past and in the future. She reviewed the booth at the Heritage Festival and discussed having a float in the Conifer Holiday Parade. She announced that the Community Center has joined the Chamber of Commerce. Marilyn also discussed the new Speaker’s Bureau Committee that would help educate the public by doing presentations at community gatherings such as Kiwanis, Rotary (etc). This committee is now seeking volunteers. The big news was the logo contest! The website has been updated with information about the contest. Submissions are due by August 31st and the winner will be chosen by the public’s vote during the month of September. The winner will be announced via press release and on the website.

Erika Armstrong had a Power Point presentation to give an overview of the entire CCC project. Within the presentation was specific information regarding what a mill tax levy is, how it’s calculated and the initial estimate for this project. Also included was information about the handoff to legal council, LEED certified project (“green”), census statistics, demographics and project goals. She gave an update on the special district formation and the non-profit organization that is running parallel with the project. Also discussed were options for other types of funding to alleviate tax requests.

After her presentation, the forum was opened up for questions. Community members had very good questions and hopefully everyone walked away with the answers they were seeking. One item that was mentioned, and we all agreed to research, is trying to include a “hardship” clause for those struggling to pay their taxes. The example given during the presentation was on a home valued at $275,000. That home would have a tax increase of .28 cents/per day according to the formula. Citizens proposed a possible age or income level opt out. [Since the meeting Marilyn Saltzman found these items: Under Colorado law, there are two possibilities:

1. Work-off program. (Sections 39-3.-101 and 102, Colorado Revised Statutes)Seniors over 60 or persons with a disability can perform work for the special district in lieu of payment of taxes. The taxpayer is compensated at minimum wage and the "paycheck" is sent to the county treasurer to apply to taxes. All that has to happen to get this program going is the special district board must adopt a resolution adopting the program and rules.

2. Homestead Exemption (Colorado constitution article X, section 3.5, codified at sections 39-3-201 in Colorado Revised Statutes) Qualified seniors/disabled vets are exempted from property taxation on 50 percent of the first $200,000 of actual value of the home. The owner/occupier must be 65 or older and have occupied the property for 10 years or must be a disabled vet with a service-connected, permanent disability rated at 100 percent. The county assessor sends notices every year about this, and eligible folks just apply. Even better, the special district gets reimbursed for all property taxes lost under this law.]

Other input from community members: It was pointed out that Silver Sneakers could be quite influential. It’s important to keep seniors in the loop of what’s happening with the community center. One member mentioned that Kaiser Permanente would actually pay for center memberships for qualifying persons. It was also pointed out that it’s important to know that if you’re spending money at a Conifer Community Center, that it’s also supporting Conifer in other ways. One gentleman from the opposition closed the session on a positive note by telling us all a joke! Thank you all for attending.