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CNCC maintains mill levy rate

Board gearing up for sunset of taxing district in 2009

Lois Wymore

The Colorado Northwestern Community College board set its mill levy rate for the coming year Tuesday and debated whether to paint the exterior of the college-owned Trapper Health Club.

The CNCC Affiliated District Board of Control agreed to continue the mill levy rate at 3.0 for the next fiscal year, which has been the same rate for the past several years.

Dean Hollenbeck, vice president of the Craig campus, told the board that the Moffat County Assessor’s Office estimated revenues for the district next year to increase by about $127,000.



“That is a little bit of good news,” Hollenbeck said.

He told members that enrollment increased 18 percent this fall at the Craig campus but reiterated that the college still would look at ways to cut the budget to meet state guidelines.



Last year, the college collected $965,287, a decrease of $85,020 from 2003.

Hollenbeck presented several bids for painting Trapper Health Club and fitting it with vinyl or steel siding. He said all the bids for painting were about $6,200 to $6,800. Bids for siding replacement ranged between $19,000 and $23,000. All of the bids stipulated that repairs were not included.

“We have enough for paint, but for steel or vinyl we would have to tap the reserves,” Hollenbeck said. “We may have missed our window with winter.”

Discussion about the health club ended in a vote to rework the scope of the bids to include building repairs and paint.

“I think we need to look at long-range plans before we jump into paying for steel or vinyl siding,” board member Dana Gregory said.

Hollenbeck also shared information with the board about the 2009 sunset of the taxing district.

“It will require action by the state Legislature,” he said.

According the state community colleges system’s legal counsel, the Legislature will have to reauthorize the creation of the college district before taxpayers vote on whether to continue the mill levy.

“We need to get with our legislators and get moving on the process,” board chairwoman Barbara Pughe said. “We went down this road before, and we can do it again.”

Hollenbeck said that with the failure of the fire district’s request for a mill levy increase, he thought the board should begin working on this soon.

“We need to have all our ducks in a row on this one,” he said.

“This is huge, and I think it should be a regular agenda item,” Dana Gregory said.

The board will meet at 5 p.m. today with The Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees at the Visiting Nurse Association to discuss the potential of building the new hospital on land owned by CNCC.


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