MEEKER | Following last month’s initial proposal from the Eastern Rio Blanco Metropolitan Recreation and Park District asking the Town of Meeker to transfer ownership of the town’s park properties to the district, the boards from both entities met again last Tuesday for another work session.
At the previous meeting, the ERBM board said they were concerned about the current lease agreement, in effect since 2011, wherein the Town gave the rec district authority for park maintenance and upkeep. Citing concerns about their mill levy and legal language, the rec board told trustees the transfer of park ownership was their only acceptable option.
During last week’s workshop, the rec board took a different approach, admitting that reduced property tax valuation along with increased costs have put the district in a difficult financial position.
“Our revenue went from $3.6 million in 2024 to $2.6M, $2.7M this year, and we’re anticipating it’s going to be about $2.3M next year,” said ERBM board president Kent Walter. We’re seeing deficit spending from about $360,000.”
The district’s operational costs for park maintenance is approximately $350,000.
“So I guess what we’re saying is we’ve really come full circle from 2011 when the town came to us. It’s just not a sustainable scenario where we’re at.”
Following Walter’s explanation, and some comments from trustees and board members, the discussion shifted into possible scenarios for raising additional revenue to support the parks, including having the town take on a portion of the operations expenses for parks maintenance from their budget, or pursuing a sales tax increase or mill levy increase with voters. The town already covers utilities — water and electricity — for the parks, averaging about $100K a year.
Both entities agreed that finding a way to continue partnership and collaboration is beneficial for all concerned. Additional workshops are being scheduled for more discussion.