It was standing room only in the Marble Community Church Fellowship Hall for the Gunnison County Commissioners visit on May 21. Laura Puckett Daniels, Liz Smith and Jonathan Houck had made the long trip from the County Seat accompanied by Assistant County Managers Martin Schmidt (Public Works) and April Kroner (Community Development).
Wasting no time, Houck explained how the County’s current funding system falls short.
Road and bridge improvements, he clarified, cannot be funded with property taxes, and sales taxes can only be applied to capital projects, not to ongoing maintenance. Revenue has struggled to keep up with demand; the County has not increased its sales tax since 1978, nor has its Highway User Tax Fund seen any meaningful boost since the 1990s.
Costs, he summarized, had outpaced revenues for decades and the County now finds itself in the unenviable position of having to manage a $38 million backlog of deferred road and bridge maintenance.
To address the shortfall, the County is seeking to introduce a dedicated 0.5% sales tax. Houck argued that such a measure would ensure that visitors and seasonal users share the burden of maintaining the roads along with full-time residents. In an effort perhaps to soften the blow, Daniels pointed out that the new tax would have little impact on Marble residents who do most of their shopping down valley in Garfield County, and that the charge would not be applied to grocery, gasoline or utility bills.
An augmented and stable revenue source, she said, would allow the County to better leverage the extra funds with state and federal grants.
Schmidt added that poorly maintained roads are estimated to cost each motorist $831 a year, and that making the investment sooner would reduce the cost of more expensive reconstruction later, which he said can reach an eye-watering $3 million per mile.
Smith concluded that even if the measure were to be passed, the County would still be caught in “catch up mode.” The floor was then opened up to questions.
First up was Jerry Begly and his son Josiah, residents of Serpentine Trail high up on the North side of the Valley overlooking the town. They voiced their concern about the risk of mudslides and wildfires cutting off access to and from Marble at the point where Slate Creek crosses County Road 3.
The Beglys, who had produced a detailed handout including maps of the area, proposed the construction of a bridge at the junction of Serpentine Trail and West Village Drive to ensure the safety and security of Marbellites in the event of an evacuation order. They urged the County Commissioners to pursue funding for the project via the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program.
Martin Schmidt explained to the Beglys that the cost for a bridge would come in at several million dollars and that an alternative, engineered solution in the form of a concrete “creek channel” to run across the road and covered by a cattle guard was being explored.
The guard, he explained, could be easily removed and the channel cleared of debris. In his view, this would be a preferable and more economically viable solution than the installation of a bridge and a vast improvement to the current system of 15 culverts, 13 of which are blocked.
Town Councilman Dustin Wilkey made the curious suggestion that a fix might come in the form of a footbridge. The idea was given short shrift by Daniels, who replied that “even those are expensive.” Jonathan Houck reminded the audience of the necessity to focus on small, achievable and “digestible” goals.
“Take a look at our federal government where most of our money comes from,” he said, explaining the shift of responsibility from federal to state government. “Opportunities [for federal funding] are getting harder and harder. We chase every dollar we can get.”
Resident Greg Staple expressed his worry over a potential lack of emergency communication mechanism in the event of a power outage, and requested County funds for an urgently needed backup generator for the fire station.
“$50k should do it,” he calculated.
Staple also criticized the County for making the decision to open up the backcountry to Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) drivers, wresting control of the matter from the hands of locals. Daniels assured him that the County was monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis, adding that “all the residents [of Marble] would like to have OHV access for themselves but (for) no one else.”
The tightly-orchestrated and largely constructive meeting concluded after an hour with thanks and a warm round of applause for the Gunnison County Commissioners.