Estes Park board approves ordinance adding certain town properties to Northern Water subdistrict

The Estes Park Town Board voted Tuesday to accept Ordinance 09-26, adding certain properties within the Town of Estes Park to Northern Colorado Water Conservancy’s municipal subdistrict. The measure is part of a long-running effort to clean up mismatched town and district records so properties served by the town are properly included in the subdistrict tied to Windy Gap water administration.

Mayor Gary Hall and Trustee Bill Brown described the ordinance as corrective cleanup. Brown said he received about nine calls after the May 12 hearing and told residents the action was meant to fix paperwork problems. He said every caller he checked was already paying Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District charges, and that residents he spoke with were pleased the town was working through the issue.

Special water counsel Greg White said earlier attempts fell short because the town and district did not have matching property records. Improved GPS-based mapping now lets both sides identify parcels accurately, he said. Hall, calling it good to clean this up "for the, what, third time," asked what would prevent the problem from happening again. White said town and district GIS staff compared records before the ordinance came forward and also included undeveloped areas inside town so future water customers are already enrolled.

White told the board the ordinance covers one of four remaining categories of properties needing attention. He said the in-town ordinances would next go to the district and subdistrict boards and then to district court for an order formally including the parcels. Separate work will follow for properties outside town limits that are not yet in the district or subdistrict, he said, and that process will require petitions signed by at least 5% of affected property owners.

Brown also questioned the practical difference between the district and the municipal subdistrict. White said the subdistrict was created in 1974 to administer Windy Gap water rights owned by six cities, including Estes Park, rather than by the federal government. Because the town delivers a mix of water sources to customers, he said, properties must be included in the relevant entities even though residents do not receive separate streams of water.

No one spoke during the public hearing on Ordinance 09-26 before the board approved it. The board then opened a separate hearing on Ordinance 10-26, concerning the inclusion of certain properties located within the town of Estes Park in Northern Colorado Water Conservancy’s district.