Dear Editor,

If you could find a way to have the casinos, the quarries, the new distillery, and other industries pay 75% of the bill to keep the Rec Center open, would you go for it? If so, vote “Yes” on 1A.

Residential taxpayers, the primary users of the Community Center, will pay less than one-quarter of the taxes collected. Businesses, (primarily casinos) will pay approximately 61% of the mill levy funding. Oil/gas, mining, industrial and vacant land will pay another 17%. Residential properties will pay only 22% of the cost.

So, if you would like to see the “locals” receive a benefit from these industries, vote “Yes” to continue the mill levy for the Community Center. And if you are concerned that this is a new tax, legally it is. The current property tax you are paying for the Rec Center will go away. When 1A passes, it will be replaced with this new tax. While the law says it’s “new,” it’s technically not an additional tax.

By comparison, continuing the 2.570 mill levy is inexpensive. Most of our neighbors in Jefferson County also pay for their Recreation Districts: Evergreen: 6.246 mills; Prospect (west-central Jeffco): 6.6 mills; Apex: 4.618: and Foothills Recreation runs from 6.855 – 9.498 depending on which portion of the district you live in.

Nancy Larson

Golden Gate Canyon, Gilpin County