October 2020

Hey everyone – here’s my update for things going on in and around Superior for October 2020.  Read on for a deep dive into the Town’s 2021 Budget, affordable housing, commercial vacancies in Superior, and election information.

Election

November 3 is Election Day.  Voters should receive their ballots in the mail mid-October.  There is a ballot box located in the parking lot at Town Hall where you can safely drop off your ballot (without the need for postage) up to 7pm on election day.  You can sign up for Ballot Track through the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder and see that your vote is counted!  Sign up for Ballot Track here.

This year, three Trustee positions will be up for election.  Trustees Kevin Ryan and myself are running for re-election.  The other candidates for Trustee are: Tim Howard, Paige Henchen, Chris Ochs, and Gladys Forshee.  If you are interested in learning more about the candidates, consider watching the Superior Chamber of Commerce “Face the Chamber” event which was held on September 30, 2020 or the League of Women Voters candidate forum which was held on October 1, 2020.

Please remember to vote.  

Town Budget & Finances

**DISCLAIMER**  The Town Budget presentation is nearly 200 pages long.  This is my best attempt to simplify a complex and detailed document, but obviously there is plenty in the budget that is being left out of this post.  If you are interested in seeing the actual budget documents, please follow this link. 

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The Town Board will be considering and voting to approve Superior’s 2021 Budget on October 12, 2020.  We’ve already held two meetings to review the preliminary budget and here are the highlights.

The total budget for 2021 is $53.7 million, which is broken down into several buckets:

• Town of Superior – $28.4 million
• Superior Metro District #1 (town utilities) – $12.2 million
• Superior Urban Renewal Authority (Superior Marketplace/Downtown Superior) – $11.8 million
• Superior McCaslin Interchange District – $1.3 million

For 2020, sales tax projections are up 15% vs 2019, due mainly to COVID-19 stockpile buying.  Sales/Use Tax Revenues are critical for town operations and represent 55% of General Fund Operating Revenues.  Not surprisingly, since we all started working from home and stopped commuting as much, 2020 vehicle use and gas tax revenues have dropped.  Vehicle/Gas revenues in total generate 10% of General Fund operating revenue.  

No changes are proposed to the Town’s sales tax rate of 3.46%, which is categorized as follows:

•  2.7% Town General Fund
• .3% Capital Improvement Fund
• .3% Open Space Fund
• .16% Superior/McCaslin Interchange Metropolitan District (SMID) – Expires 12/31/2022

As to property taxes, while the property taxes that we all pay vary depending on where you live in town (for instance SMID mills are only assessed against properties located in and around the Superior Marketplace and the diverging diamond bridge over US-36), it is important to note that Town of Superior property taxes generally amount to only about 9% of the total property taxes that you pay.

For example, here’s a breakdown of the property taxes that we pay in Rock Creek: 

• BVSD – 47%
• Boulder County – 23%
• Rocky Mountain Fire District – 20%
• Town of Superior – 9%
• Urban Drainage & Northern Co. Water – 1%

Although the Town of Superior is authorized to collect up to 12.127 mills, the Town Board has historically reduced the total amount assessed and this will continue into 2021.  As a result, the property tax rates that you will pay in 2021 will remain constant and are calculated as follows: 

• Town General – 7.93 mills (reflects a mill levy reduction of 4.197 mills)
• Town Library – 1.5 mills
• Superior/McCaslin Interchange District (SMID) – 22.97 mills

There have been discussions recently amongst the Board members about increasing the “Town General” mill levy above 7.93 mills, which would provide the Town with funds to advance additional Capital Improvement Projects (road construction projects, etc…).  I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on whether you would support increasing our mill levies/property taxes so we could do additional infrastructure projects sooner rather than later.  Personally, I’m concerned about raising taxes during the COVID-19 recession and in a time of economic uncertainty.  

Here’s an overview of several big projects (and their price tags) that are coming up in 2021:

1. Road Construction — McCaslin Boulevard mill and overlay (from Coalton south to Highway 128) – $4.2 million
2. US-36 Bike Trail extension from Avista under 88th Street to Flatirons Crossing Drive ($1.45 million with $1.05 million coming from DRCOG/federal government grants)
3. Wastewater Treatment Plant & Drinking Water Treatment Plant Improvements.  Wastewater Treatment Plant improvements – $6.7 million, which includes replacement of WWTP Headworks (for odor control) and WWTP Equalization Pond Liner.  Water Treatment Plant Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection upgrades – $1.8 million, which will result in less chlorine in our drinking water and better pathogen and virus control.
4. Windy Gap Firming Project – $367,500 (increasing to $1.6 million per year in 2022.)  This item is related to the construction of Chimney Hollow Reservoir ($600 million project – Superior’s contribution is $31.5 million.)  This will secure our drinking water for the future.
5. Town Hall expansion – $4.885 million.  Currently, town staff operates out of 4 separate locations, which results in inefficiencies for staff and in delivering services for our residents.  An addition to the west of Town Hall on Town owned property is proposed to resolve these issues. Final design ($385k) and begin construction ($4.5 million) in 2021. Funding through a 15 years loan ($400k annual cost). 
6. Purple Park playground equipment upgrades – $200,000
7. Tennis Court new lighting system – $175,000
8. Xeriscape improvements ($125,000) & Tree planting ($230,000)
9. North pool replastering & South Pool deck repairs ($70,000)

As always, I take an approach towards our Town’s budget that balances the needs and wants of our community against the need to be fiscally responsible.  In general, I do not support increasing our property tax mill levies or our sales tax, notwithstanding the fact that the Town is actually authorized to collect more taxes than it currently does.  Any time the Town would seek to increase the taxes that our residents will pay, I believe we should ask the voters first.

Affordable Housing Ordinance

This September, the Town Board considered Superior’s first-ever attainable housing ordinance.  If adopted, it would impose a requirement of all new developments to deliver a percentage of all residential units as permanently, deed-restricted, affordable housing.  The Town Board will continue our discussion on this topic in October.  If you have an opinion on this matter, we’d love to hear from you.  Please write to the Town Board at townboard@superiorcolorado.gov. 

Commercial Vacancies

As many of you have already noticed, several restaurants have left the Rock Creek Village plaza (Delvickio’s, Pizza Hut, Subway.)  There are several vacancies at the Superior Marketplace as well.  And Old Chicago closed earlier before the pandemic.  The Town has made over $300,000 in CARES Act funding grants to our local restaurants, but government funding can’t be the only answer.  We must support our local businesses/restaurants if we want them to survive.  

This year, I’m supporting providing the Superior Chamber of Commerce with $30,000 in funding to help support our local businesses.  The Town is also continuing to meet directly with the major commercial landlords Brixmor (Superior Marketplace) and J&B (Rock Creek Village) to better understand their plans on how to fill their vacancies.  J&B already has interested possible tenants for some of their vacant space, which is good news. A cookie business will be opening next to Panera in the Marketplace and Corrective Spine Care of Colorado just had their ribbon cutting in the Rock Creek Village shopping center just this past week. We are also increasing our economic development budget for 2021 and hiring a full-time economic development manager to assist with business development.

Pickleball Courts

Work continues on our new Pickleball Courts in Autrey Park.  Leveling and groundwork for the courts is complete and the courts have been poured.  Fencing will now be constructed while the courts cure.  Footings for two new shade structures have been placed, one near the courts and one near the skate park. I previously wrote about our Pickleball Courts in July 2020 and September 2019.  It’s always great to deliver a new amenity to the community!

#MinuteWithMark

From now until Election Day, join me for 60 seconds every Sunday to hear about my views on important topics for Superior.  Please see my Facebook page to watch them all.

Low Down with Trustee Lacis

Would you like to meet with me one-on-one to discuss anything related to the Town of Superior?  If so, consider signing up for a “Virtual” Lowdown with Trustee Lacis. We’ll set up a Zoom Meeting.  Please shoot me an email at markl@superiorcolorado.gov and we’ll find time to meet.