Castle Rock voters told the metro-area transit service to take a hike and then punted on support for Denver’s football stadium Tuesday.
Residents voted nearly 4-to-1 against a citywide 1-cent sales tax to support the Regional Transportation District. They also rejected, by more than a 9-to-1 margin, a tax of one-tenth of a percent for Invesco Field at Mile High.
Mayor Ray Waterman said he was surprised the margins were even that close. “I’m glad we’re out of RTD,” he said. “We support mass transit, just not that particular offer.”
The town is working on long-range plans that include a variety of public transportation, he said.
The taxes would have raised about $5 million a year for the eight-county transit system and $500,000 to repay construction loans for the stadium. The town stood to gain about $2.4 million in new facilities and services from RTD. Residents apparently didn’t see the benefit of helping to pay for a stadium 30 miles away.
Only about 20 percent of the town was included in each of the tax districts. The ballot question asked if all the town should be included or excluded.
A 1994 deal allowed the town to opt out of the tax districts, but annexed parcels were automatically included.
Resident Elaine Jones waited Tuesday afternoon for a city shuttle to pick her up at the Outlets at Castle Rock.
Though a supporter of mass transit, the nondriving retiree opposed the tax deal for RTD.
“We’ve just about taxed ourselves in the hole,” she said. “It’s time we use the money we have from the taxes we already have for the good of the people.”
About 7,000 of Castle Rock’s 10,500 registered voters cast ballots. The town has a population of about 35,000.
The proposed tax increases would have placed the town and its bustling retail economy among the most heavily taxed municipalities in the state, according to opponents.
RTD officials did not campaign for passage of the ballot measure, preferring to let voters decide on their own.
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-820-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
