I attended the COHVCO meeting at Fay Myers on East Arapahoe Road. This may be a bit rambly, I typed as we talked.
There were more people from COHVCO then Clubs. Colorado Land Cruisers was here and a crawler group. Stay the trail was also there. 18 people were present. There was a call in and a link to follow the presentation so not sure who else was online.
There was also a person representing Trails Preservation Alliance (TPA) ColoradoTPA.org They are a 100% volunteer org composed of motorcycle trail riders to prserve trails in Colorado
The purpose of the meeting was for State and Wildlife to help figure out funding sources for projects
There was a discussion on pay to play where the mountain bikers were the biggest complaint. Most of the 4 WD drive clubs help with trail maintenance. ATVs buy an OHV stickers. Some trails require an OHV sticker for trucks as well.
Possibly a new sales tax, reallocating an existing sales tax or adding a registration fee to use the trails.
there is about $4.3M available in grants each year. There are typically 50 competitive applications. They typically fund about 30-35. Stay the trail is funded out of the available $$ Colorado Parks and wildlife uses the $$ from the OHV stickers and Colorado gas task (Fed Tax $300K).
These don't do all that is required to maintain the trails
So Bikes don't buy gas or get OHV stickers and they use our trails without contributing. Our $$ can't be used on non vehicle trails per state laws
The presenter was 30 minutes late. She is with the meridian institute hired by Colorado Parks and wildlife to do a study
Outdoor recreation is big in Colorado and growing with lots of conflicts.
They are going to talk to all groups and issue a report end of Sept. Includes bird watchers, bike riders, hikers, offroad etc
The report will provide a list of ideas on additional funding mechanisms. That is what this was all about.
These ideas will include additional fees, taxes, licenses, voluntary contributions, donations etc.
discussed model in other states were 1/8 of 1% sales tax goes to this area. They said it is challenging with Tabor.
They discussed re-allocating existing tax from outdoor gear to go for this. Need to clearly define gear. Potential to add tax
Reallocate or add tax generated by people moving into the state. A Hotel and resort tax or allocation
Tabor kept coming up as holding back all these ideas
Then they discussed FEEs using park passes, vehicle registration fees.
One idea would add a fee on car registration and not require a parks pass for Colorado registered car. They do this in Montana
A discussion on fees had to do with Recreational shooters who have become a problem with cleanup. Trails and campgrounds are getting cleaner
Someone suggested a Ski tax, but other mentioned they have a strong lobby that would shoot that down.
Potential idea to buy a $5 sticker for any outdoor activity
Then a short discussion bonds and not being the right choice due to complex tax laws
They discussed Corporate sponsorships and getting donations. Donations is something Rising Sun does well.
The club members here said our priority is to gain access, the study is about generating revenue with no description how it would be used.
A member of Colorado Parks and Wildlife threw out a what if to purchase access if you want to go somewhere, no real description on this.
A couple of us (myself included) stated raising revenue with no discussion on how it would be used was a non starter. meaning if we raised a $1M how would we know it would be spent on keeping trails open vs marketing to bring more out of state tourists in or closing a trail except to hikers.
After a few dirt roads we came back to adding purchase fees for boats, bikes etc. Complaint is we pay for the trail with gas, donations and maintenance and they use the trails with no skin in the game.
They then discussed how they feel 56% of the Forest service budget is allocated to fire fighting and maybe get FEMA to pick that up.
The bottom line is this company has a charter to define how to create additional funding sources and that is what the report they will submit will focus on and not what things we feel we need them to do for the trails with the $$.
There were more people from COHVCO then Clubs. Colorado Land Cruisers was here and a crawler group. Stay the trail was also there. 18 people were present. There was a call in and a link to follow the presentation so not sure who else was online.
There was also a person representing Trails Preservation Alliance (TPA) ColoradoTPA.org They are a 100% volunteer org composed of motorcycle trail riders to prserve trails in Colorado
The purpose of the meeting was for State and Wildlife to help figure out funding sources for projects
There was a discussion on pay to play where the mountain bikers were the biggest complaint. Most of the 4 WD drive clubs help with trail maintenance. ATVs buy an OHV stickers. Some trails require an OHV sticker for trucks as well.
Possibly a new sales tax, reallocating an existing sales tax or adding a registration fee to use the trails.
there is about $4.3M available in grants each year. There are typically 50 competitive applications. They typically fund about 30-35. Stay the trail is funded out of the available $$ Colorado Parks and wildlife uses the $$ from the OHV stickers and Colorado gas task (Fed Tax $300K).
These don't do all that is required to maintain the trails
So Bikes don't buy gas or get OHV stickers and they use our trails without contributing. Our $$ can't be used on non vehicle trails per state laws
The presenter was 30 minutes late. She is with the meridian institute hired by Colorado Parks and wildlife to do a study
Outdoor recreation is big in Colorado and growing with lots of conflicts.
They are going to talk to all groups and issue a report end of Sept. Includes bird watchers, bike riders, hikers, offroad etc
The report will provide a list of ideas on additional funding mechanisms. That is what this was all about.
These ideas will include additional fees, taxes, licenses, voluntary contributions, donations etc.
discussed model in other states were 1/8 of 1% sales tax goes to this area. They said it is challenging with Tabor.
They discussed re-allocating existing tax from outdoor gear to go for this. Need to clearly define gear. Potential to add tax
Reallocate or add tax generated by people moving into the state. A Hotel and resort tax or allocation
Tabor kept coming up as holding back all these ideas
Then they discussed FEEs using park passes, vehicle registration fees.
One idea would add a fee on car registration and not require a parks pass for Colorado registered car. They do this in Montana
A discussion on fees had to do with Recreational shooters who have become a problem with cleanup. Trails and campgrounds are getting cleaner
Someone suggested a Ski tax, but other mentioned they have a strong lobby that would shoot that down.
Potential idea to buy a $5 sticker for any outdoor activity
Then a short discussion bonds and not being the right choice due to complex tax laws
They discussed Corporate sponsorships and getting donations. Donations is something Rising Sun does well.
The club members here said our priority is to gain access, the study is about generating revenue with no description how it would be used.
A member of Colorado Parks and Wildlife threw out a what if to purchase access if you want to go somewhere, no real description on this.
A couple of us (myself included) stated raising revenue with no discussion on how it would be used was a non starter. meaning if we raised a $1M how would we know it would be spent on keeping trails open vs marketing to bring more out of state tourists in or closing a trail except to hikers.
After a few dirt roads we came back to adding purchase fees for boats, bikes etc. Complaint is we pay for the trail with gas, donations and maintenance and they use the trails with no skin in the game.
They then discussed how they feel 56% of the Forest service budget is allocated to fire fighting and maybe get FEMA to pick that up.
The bottom line is this company has a charter to define how to create additional funding sources and that is what the report they will submit will focus on and not what things we feel we need them to do for the trails with the $$.