Jeff Franklin
2015 Chairman of the Board
I’ve seen it all too often the past month or so. I say “Have you heard about the Grand Valley Drainage District (GVDD) new fees on businesses?” and am immediately met with a blank stare. No one, me included, was paying much attention to this special district or their charge to mitigate flooding impacts through a series of drainage ditches until August. That was when many of us heard for the first time that the Drainage District Board was contemplating assessing a fee on the 44,000 properties within their boundaries, many of them owned by businesses. To be fair, the District contends they have been sounding the alarm for a long time about the inadequacy of our ability to handle major flood events.
Raising $3 million annually while assessing businesses a fee for current structures of $36 for every 2,500 square feet of building and paved parking and a $500 impact fee for every 2,500 square feet of expansions did get the attention of the economic development partners…in a hurry as we looked at how we could become more attractive to future business expansions and locations.
As with many fees, this one is simply a compounding of the fees that will be charged on a single family residence. It is easily defendable, but is it the right thing to do? While some of the 100 largest annual fees will be assessed against government and chain stores the reality is that of the 43,900 other property owners many are homegrown businesses that will see annual fees in the thousands of dollars. Businesses are already paying way more than their “fair share” of the mill levy that has sustained the GVDD for 100 years and we think there is a better way to approach the problem and the solution if we all work together.
I am happy to report that the GVDD leadership has agreed to participate in a roundtable discussion with businesses on November 13th, 12:00 PM at Ute Water. I urge members to attend. The Chamber has been your voice on this topic for several months, but now is the time for you to get involved and help us determine how to move forward. There is no cost to attend and Bank of Colorado is helping underwrite the luncheon costs. We do, however, need an accurate headcount for lunch, so register online at www.gjchamber.org. If you have any questions prior to November 13th, feel free to contact Diane at the Chamber office ([email protected], 970-263-2915) or me.
Jeff Franklin
2015 Chairman of the Board
Click here to download full version of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce November 2015 Newsletter.