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Colorado Springs Utilities Community Focus Fund has approved a grant for $1,000 to be used for our Sustainable Parks Initiative. The Community Focus Fund is a community outreach program that provides financial assistance, used computer donations and employee volunteer hours in support of local educational and nonprofit organizations. TOSC will use the money to move our Sustainable Parks Initiative forward. We are conducting regular meetings with elected officials, stakeholders and neighborhood groups as we seek to find the right "park district model" for our community.
The Regional Service Authority (RSA) model was selected by the SPI committee, composed of participants at last December’s SPI public meeting. The RSA would be county wide and incorporate all elements of the existing City and County parks systems. It has been reviewed by most Colorado Springs City Council members and there is a general level of support for moving forward, primarily because Council members do not believe that the City will be able to adequately fund parks anytime soon. Review by the County Commissioners has begun.
The Legislative District Model. Support for a hybrid model incorporating the best elements of the RSA, the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA) and the Fountain Creek Watershed District is emerging from the Commissioners. This model would require that the legislature create the new Parks District. The main purpose of the District would be to provide operations and maintenance funding. Capital projects would be identified, prioritized and constructed similar to the PPRTA model. More public official representation could be incorporated into the governing Board of Directors than exists in the PPRTA or the Fountain Creek Watershed District, thus maintaining lines of communication between the City Council members/Commissioners and the new Pikes Peak Parks District (P3D). IGAs would be used to facilitate the formation, administration and asset management and to effect economies of scale. The property tax or the sales tax could be used to fund the District, to meet the current estimated need of $24M. Capital funding would sunset and O & M funding would not sunset. One all encompassing ballot issue would be presented to the voters in Nov. 2011.
The TOPS 2 Model. Using the very successful City TOPS program as a model, a county wide TOPS 2 program could be put before the voters in Nov. 2011. TOPS 2 would be a separate stand alone task and funding approach that would allow the City and the County to retain their existing Parks Departments. It would provide ongoing O & M funding for all parks and parks department owned facilities. Money would be distributed on a population basis between the City and the unincorporated County using and IGA. TOPS 2 would be administered by City Staff with input from the TOPS Working Committee, Parks Board, and City Council approval. TOPS 2 for the County be administered by staff with input form the County parks board and the Board of County Commissioners. TOPS 2 funds would be earmarked for specific purposes and be placed in a separate fund, ie: not part of the General Fund. Approximately 90 % of funding would go to O & M and 10% to administration. The small municipalities would not become involved in TOPS 2 except to the extent that a decision would have to be made to pass or not pass down proportional tax money to the small municipalities, similar to what was done with the Road and Bridge money under PPRTA.
Simultaneously TOSC is meeting with the city's parks department and other "conservation partners" to come up with a plan for an increased volunteer effort to meet the needs of our open space in light of drastic budget cuts. Both efforts are time-intensive. Thanks to help from the Community Focus Fund and a very generous contribution from the Pikes Peak Conservation Fund, staff is able to invest significant time in these challenging, but vitally important efforts. To make a contribution to our Sustainable Parks Initiative:Click here to donate and support the sustainable parks initiative.
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