The Steamboat Springs City Council held its first public hearing Tuesday on the possible formation of a Regional Transportation Authority, which would aim to expand and improve transportation throughout the Yampa Valley.

The hearing was part of a state statutory requirement that two public hearings must be held per each participating jurisdiction in order for the intergovernmental agreement to proceed as a resolution. 

Bill Ray, the hired consultant for the RTA’s formation committee, began the hearing by giving a presentation on the “nuts and bolts” of the RTA and its formation process. Ray explained how the agreement requires two minimum jurisdictions, Routt County and Steamboat Springs, to approve the formation of the RTA. Otherwise, the formation of the RTA will not proceed. 

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Each of the six member jurisdictions — Routt County, Steamboat, Craig, Hayden, Yampa and Oak Creek, as well as Steamboat Resort — appointed an elected official (a non-elected, non-voting representative in the case of the resort) to the formation committee to create an intergovernmental agreement detailing how the RTA would work and the breadth of its taxing powers. 

“We have these public hearings, tonight is our very first one. We’ll be in Yampa tomorrow, Hayden on Thursday, and many more next week, and then we’ll do it all over again in April,” Ray said. 

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The formation committee voting members are Commissioner Sonja Macys, Routt County; Councilor Michael Buccino, Steamboat Springs (Bryan Swintek as an alternate); Councilor Randy Looper, Craig; Mayor Ryan Banks, Hayden; Mayor Stacey Geilert, Yampa and Mayor Melissa Dobbins, Oak Creek.

The intergovernmental agreement, Ray said, defines officers appointed by the board, which include a chair, vice-chair, treasurer, secretary and executive director, with the executive director being the sole non-elected officer. 

The agreement also contemplates funding for the RTA. Ray said that the formation committee is still discussing various funding mechanisms, which could include a sales tax, motor vehicle registration fees, service fees and tolls, private contributions, and federal and state grants. The potential sales tax would use the state model, meaning it couldn’t be applied to groceries or utilities. 

The possibility of funding regional transportation, at least partially, through a lift-ticket tax at Steamboat Resort has also been discussed by council.

Ray added that the committee is opposed to a property tax as a funding mechanism and made that explicit in the agreement. 

Ray then explained the eight service goals of the RTA: 

1. Increase the number and frequency of buses on U.S. Highway 40 between Craig and Steamboat. The RTA would take over operation of the existing Regional Steamboat Springs Transit route between Steamboat and Craig. SST would still operate existing routes and services within the city of Steamboat.
2. Establish a new circulator bus route within Craig that would serve both local transportation needs within Craig and serve as a connecting service to the U.S. 40 bus route, which Ray referred to as a “collector to get people to the bus.”
3. Offer new bus routes to unserved areas such as Stagecoach, Oak Creek and Yampa “to get more people out of their car and offer the ability to use the bus to commute to work and other activities.” 
4. Provide new ground transportation options from both Craig and Steamboat to and from the Yampa Valley Regional Airport.
5. Improve existing bus stop amenities and first-last mile connectivity to transit access points and develop new bus stops along currently unserved corridors.
6. Create new park-and-ride lots for commuters accessing the U.S. 40 bus routes and other potential new routes.
7. Support roadway safety improvements such as crosswalks and wildlife crossings through planning, coordination and possible financial support through matching funds toward state or federal grants. 
8. Establish the RTA as a stakeholder in commuter and regional rail discussions and planning. The RTA may choose to provide financial support in the form of matching funds toward state or federal funding.

Feedback received during the hearings from council members, elected officials and the public will then be shared with the formation committee members. Once the agreement is approved by the member jurisdictions, the committee will submit it to the Colorado Department of Transportation and neighboring jurisdictions for feedback and approval. The committee will then spend the summer doing community outreach. 

“This is Day 1 of community outreach and engagement, but we’re going to have a very good process of a stakeholder committee. We want to get our businesses, nonprofits, educational, environmental groups, residents, everyone, involved in this process,” said Ray.

Member jurisdictions will have until August to make changes to the agreement before creating ballot questions and submitting it to voters in November.

“In Eagle Valley three years ago, we did the heaviest lifting on the IGA in July, because we got so much great feedback from the community and member jurisdictions,” Ray said.

Ray concluded his presentation by encouraging the public to attend the hearings to make comments or to submit feedback online at SteamboatSprings.net/RTA. 

Why not Craig?

Councilor Dakotah McGinlay asked why Craig was not included with Routt County and Steamboat as a minimum member jurisdiction. 

“Craig, we know, is the catalyst for us having our transportation to Craig, but we don’t know what they’re going to vote for,” said Councilor Michael Buccino. “So this is one of our ways to say at least at a minimum, we can get the RTA off the ground, and then down the road if they wanted to vote back in or out, they could do that. And Yampa may have the same thing.”

Steamboat City Manager Tom Leeson mentioned that in the case of the Eagle Valley RTA, Gypsum did not pass the tax, but the RTA decided to provide services to the town nonetheless. He added that this could be a possibility for Craig, with the hope that they would pass the tax at a later date. 

“If Craig did not vote affirmatively to join, but it was still important to have that circulator, Craig could contribute from their general fund or have another funding revenue source, and then ask the RTA to provide that service within the city of Craig,” said Ray. “If Craig doesn’t join, it would be up to the RTA board what services to provide in Craig.”

McGinlay and Steamboat resident Bill Pass voiced concerns over Steamboat residents being double-taxed by both the city and the county as the two minimum member jurisdictions. Ray clarified that if the RTA were to proceed, it would be one tax levied across the entire authority. 

Steamboat resident Luke Phillips voiced strong support for the RTA and noted “every person who continues to choose transit means one less car competing for road space and parking,” prompting a discussion among council members as to whether benefits to automobile drivers should be explicitly noted in the intergovernmental agreement as a service goal. 

Councilor Bryan Swintek said that “less is better” and that incorporating congestion relief as a service goal “gives people something to poke at.” Councilor Steve Muntean disagreed, saying it is a “great advertising message” for the RTA, and Councilor Joella West added that it “sure can’t hurt.”

Council President Gail Garey recommended that they return to that conversation during the second public hearing, set for council’s regular meeting scheduled for April 18.