STEAMBOAT SPRINGS —The Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday night will discuss plans to improve the base of the ski area amid some tension with stakeholders who help to oversee the projects there.
Since 2007, the Urban Renewal Authority Advisory Committee has advised the council on millions of dollars worth of construction activities at the base area that have ranged from the addition of the popular promenade to major street improvements.
The council acts as the Steamboat Springs Redevelopment Authority when it oversees base area redevelopment issues.
But with property values in decline and limited funding available from the pool of tax incremental funding used to pay for the improvements at the base area, city officials are projecting the work of URAAC soon could wind down.
“I don’t see in any shape or form the elimination of that advisory committee, but it could slow down,” City Manager Deb Hinsvark said Sunday about URAAC adding that it continues to play an important role in base area redevelopment.
In a memo that will be presented to the council members at Tuesday’s SSRA meeting, city staff wrote that with “property values dropping, it can be assumed there will be little or no revenue for projects in the next 3-4 years.”
