Winter Park officials outline urban renewal plan, seek Grand County role in proposed regional transportation authority

Winter Park Town Manager Keith Reesberg and legal counsel Carolyn White briefed the Grand County Board of County Commissioners on May 6 on a recently formed Winter Park Urban Renewal Authority and a proposed Regional Transportation Authority that would help finance and operate an aerial transit system linking the resort base to the town.

The presentation said Winter Park generates a disproportionate share of county taxable sales and assessed value — roughly 28% of county gross taxable sales and about 20% of the county’s assessed property valuation — and that planned resort redevelopment and Cooper Creek Village are expected to generate the incremental tax base needed to pay for public infrastructure tied to the project.

Town officials said the URA will use tax increment financing (TIF) for public improvements and that a separate RTA would be structured to own and operate the aerial transit system and to issue debt to pay for capital costs. Carolyn White, the town’s bond counsel, told commissioners that "you can use tax increment funding to pay for improvements that are located outside the boundaries of a plan area so long as you are addressing the blighted conditions that have been identified in the plan." The town described two initial URA plan areas: the base village at the resort and the Cooper Creek Village downtown area.

Town and private speakers described the gondola as the URA’s highest-priority public infrastructure item and said the RTA would be the likely public owner/operator of the aerial system. The RTA — created by intergovernmental contract among member governments and approved by voters in the RTA boundary — would be authorized under Colorado law to finance, construct, operate and maintain transportation systems, including aerial transit. Presenters said the RTA could obtain financing without placing debt directly on any single member government's balance sheet.

Reesberg and counsel described the sequence the project team expects to follow: finalize the URA plan and supporting impact report, negotiate intergovernmental revenue-sharing agreements with impacted taxing districts, circulate a draft RTA formation contract for member review, and hold public hearings and a voter election on RTA formation and any TABOR-related ballot questions. Presenters said they are aiming to consolidate major approvals and a public election in late 2025 so the RTA could issue financing in 2026 if voters approve the plan and financing.

Commissioners asked about the geography of plan and RTA boundaries, whether public improvements located outside a plan area can be funded by TIF, and how operating and maintenance costs would be covered. White and town staff said boundaries for the URA plan and the RTA need not be identical but must be drawn consistent with statute; they also emphasized TIF is meant for capital/public infrastructure while the RTA or other revenue streams would address ongoing operations and maintenance. The town said additional specifics and dollar figures will be circulated to county staff and the county attorney in the next 30 days for review and negotiation.

Next steps: town staff said they will send draft URA/RTA documents and financial assumptions to the county attorney and BOCC for review; no formal county approval was requested at the meeting. The county indicated it wants its county attorney involved as draft agreements are prepared.