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Grand County approves $3 million OLRT emergency grant to Hot Sulphur Springs to protect 110 acres
Summary
The Grand County Board approved a $3,000,000 emergency grant from Open Lands, Rivers and Trails to the Town of Hot Sulphur Springs to buy 110 acres of the Vara family property, preserving river frontage and agricultural water rights; commissioners debated appraisal, pace and conservation-easement assurances but voted to fund the acquisition.
The Grand County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve an emergency Open Lands, Rivers and Trails (OLRT) grant of $3,000,000 to the Town of Hot Sulphur Springs to acquire 110 acres of the Vara family property and its approximately 0.36 miles of Colorado River frontage.
Anna Drexler, OLRT administrator, told the board the town’s request — submitted Nov. 3 — would cover roughly 83% of the project cost and includes two cubic feet per second of water rights to support continuing agricultural use. Drexler said the advisory committee recommended full funding by a 7–1 vote, with the lone dissent citing concerns about cost per acre, the hurried application timeline and limited outside matching funds.
Commissioners pressed town representatives and OLRT staff about why the request qualified as an emergency, whether a current appraisal supported the price, and the status of a planned conservation easement. A town trustee said the property was being marketed and that an interested buyer had emerged, creating a narrow window to conserve it. OLRT staff said an appraisal existed from 2021 and that recent comparables provided additional valuation context; staff also noted the town intends to pursue a conservation easement and that OLRT rules would return funds to the program if the property were later sold for incompatible uses.
Commissioner discussion emphasized the project’s alignment with the OLRT ballot language to protect open space, water and recreation while acknowledging long-term trade-offs: “I just think that the voters chose to preserve open space,” one commissioner said, and another raised concern that the frontage on Highway 40 could be significantly more valuable in future years.
The motion to approve the emergency grant, moved by a commissioner and seconded in the meeting, carried by voice vote. OLRT staff said the award would reduce the 2016 OLRT land-acquisition bucket from roughly $5.5 million to about $2.5 million but that other OLRT funds and recently collected revenues would keep the program solvent for additional projects.
Next steps noted in the meeting packet include completion of the conservation-easement work and ongoing administrative coordination between the town and OLRT staff.
Provenance: The discussion and vote appear in the meeting record beginning with the OLRT presentation and Q&A (topicintro SEG 2078) and concluding with the motion and vote to approve the grant (topfinish SEG 2620).
