Local officials from across Routt County, Craig and representatives of the Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. will meet later this month to discuss the formation of a regional transportation authority to communities in the Yampa Valley.

The March 20 meeting in Hayden will allow officials a chance to review the results of a study performed by the consulting firm Fehr & Peers that includes background information and cost estimates tied to the formation of the transportation authority and the services it might provide.

The officials will also discuss the authority’s proposed boundaries and membership for the authority, and how funding mechanisms might be introduced among the various municipalities to finance it.

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The attendees will include officials from Routt County, Craig, Steamboat Springs and the Steamboat Ski Resort, along with invited officials from the towns of Yampa, Oak Creek and Hayden.

“(The meeting) is so we can get all the other elected municipal figures and get the tone and tenor of whether they want to bring this to their municipal governments for a ballot initiative and talk about funding options,” said Steamboat City Council member Michael Buccino.

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Funded by Craig, Steamboat Springs, Routt County and the Steamboat ski resort, the 273-page Fehr & Peers study includes a list of proposed operational and infrastructure projects — such as expanded high-frequency bus service between Craig and Steamboat and ground transportation service from the Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

Other services proposed include a local Craig circulator bus service and transit services for communities in South Routt County.

On the infrastructure side, the study includes projects such as developing the Yampa River Core Trail, adding a safety fund for roadway improvements, and a fund for supporting passenger rail development and building and improving bus stops.

Depending on which projects and services are pursued, the study estimates total annual costs for local members to fund the regional authority between $5.8 to $10.6 million.

The study notes the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. has signaled it would be prepared to commit at least $1 million in annual funding for the transit authority.

In January, Sarah Jones, the resort’s sustainability and community engagement director, said the resort supports “the idea of a lift-ticket tax” to provide that funding.

Municipalities would contribute amounts based on their population size and transportation needs, and the study notes a list of potential funding mechanisms to provide revenue for the transportation authority.

For example, state law allows members of a regional transportation authority to levy a sales tax of no more than 1% of every transaction. Municipalities may also impose an annual motor vehicle registration fee of no more than $10.

Other options include a visitor benefit tax on those who purchase overnight accommodations within the regional transportation body’s boundaries of no more than 2%; issuing bonds or establishing a revenue generating enterprise.

Regional Transportation Authorities, of which there are currently six in Colorado, are allowed to impose a uniform mill levy of up to five mills on all taxable property within its territory of authority, but the study notes the provision of the law allowing for the property tax will expire Jan. 1, 2029.

“Each of the local governments has different tools they can employ as far as a taxing measure, or a funding measure, and they may or may not be all the same,” said Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys.

Macys added that officials would need to work to ensure that local and county taxes levied for the transportation authority would not overlap: “We don’t want double taxation.”

Routt County governments seeking to become members of the regional transportation entity must put the decision to voters for approval at either a general or special election.

Voters would also have to approve the proposed funding mechanisms to support the authority’s development and operations — a dynamic that could allow for a scenario where voters approve the question of membership to the transportation authority, but reject a proposed funding measure ballot question.

Those votes would follow public hearings to gain community input and approval from the Colorado Department of Transportation of a proposed contract defining the regional authority’s membership, functions and boundaries.

Local officials say the transportation authority is needed to address transportation issues in Routt County, where 74% of residents travel between 15 and 24 minutes on average to get to work, according to the Fehr & Peers study.

In Steamboat, where most people who work within the city boundaries live outside of the city, Buccino said the transportation authority is about “trying to get our friends and our workforce off of U.S. Highway 40 and give them options for bus rides from Oak Creek or Craig, or anywhere.”

The Steamboat Springs Transit service currently provides regional service between Craig and Steamboat, but Buccino said the idea would be to replace the city operated bus route and enhance its service and reliability with one operated by the regional authority.

“I have met people (in Craig) who have waited to get on the bus and the bus just flies by because they are already full,” Buccino said. “The RTA will help take the heavy load of some other stuff that the city is already doing.”

Macys agreed with Buccino, saying the biggest impact an RTA would have in Routt County is about “commuter movement and getting people out of their cars.”

“Expanding the bus system is a priority but not everyone is going to use it,” Macys said. “That is okay, those who use the bus are getting out of the car and leaving space to those who are driving.”

Ahead of the meeting between Routt County governments on March 20, the county will hold its own discussion on the Fehr & Peers study on March 18.

Craig held its discussion last week and Steamboat City Council members will discuss the topic at their workshop scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday.

“Hopefully people will pay attention (to the presentations) and give us feedback prior to March 20th — that would be awesome,” Macys said.