I heard the Metex meeting is at 5:30 Thursday, September 20 at Remington Elementary. Is anyone going? Is this time correct?
I liked this article and thought we needed it posted here. Others may have missed it.
Gazette Mon., August 20, 2001
ON THE BEAT
Real estate by Rich Laden
(Rich Laden can be reached at
636-0228 or rladen@gazette.com
Special improvement district
in limbo over Powers plans
Developers and retailers aren't the only ones anxious to know more about the Colorado Department of Transportation's long-term plans to transform Powers Boulevard on Colorado Springs'east side to a freeway.
The Metex Metropolitan District wants to know Powers' fate, too.
Metex is the 1980s special improvement district that financed, designed and constructed four lanes of Powers from Woodmen Road to Platte Avenue. A special property tax on land fronting Powers goes to pay off bonds the district issued to fund the work.
But like other districts at the time, Metex ran aground financially. New development along Powers was counted on to generate revenue to retire the debt. But the economy soured, development slowed, and a handful of landowners were saddled with repaying the district's entire debt.
Compounding the problem: A federal agency overseeing a bailout of the nation's savings and loan industry refused to honor guarantees made by three failed thrifts, which had promised to lend money to Metex.
Metex survived, in part, thanks to a bailout from Colorado Springs and El Paso County governments. Now, with hundreds of acres of new developments along Powers, Metex is healthy. Its tax base rose 120 percent in the past four years alone, said Colorado Springs attorney Peter Susemihl, who represents Metex and several other special districts.
Now, along comes the state Transportation Department with plans to extend Powers from Interstate 25 north of Colorado Springs to Interstate 25 just south of Fountain. A series of interchanges and over-passes to control traffic along Powers also are planned as part of the upgrade.
Developers and retailers want to know how the work will affect consumers' ability to reach their stores and offices along Powers.
But Metex is fretting, too. If the state gobbles up more land for its upgrades, the property would disappear from the tax rolls and slow the growth in Metex revenues, Susemihl said.
''It's fine to take the land and compensate the owners for it,'' he said, ''but that doesn't help the bond deal.''
Metex still owes about $17 million; that includes the bonds, interest and payments to the city and the county for their bailout of Metex.
What's more, Susemihl said, the original agreement creating Metex called for Powers to be an expressway -- not an interstate-like freeway. He said he hasn't seen the Transportation Department's final plans for Powers and is still awaiting a meeting with state and city officials.
Now that Metex is financially sound, Susemihl said the district could repay the city and county by 2006. At that point Metex will decide whether to lower its tax rate and pay off its bonds as scheduled by 2016, or keep the rate unchanged and retire the debt five or six years early.
I liked this article and thought we needed it posted here. Others may have missed it.
Gazette Mon., August 20, 2001
ON THE BEAT
Real estate by Rich Laden
(Rich Laden can be reached at
636-0228 or rladen@gazette.com
Special improvement district
in limbo over Powers plans
Developers and retailers aren't the only ones anxious to know more about the Colorado Department of Transportation's long-term plans to transform Powers Boulevard on Colorado Springs'east side to a freeway.
The Metex Metropolitan District wants to know Powers' fate, too.
Metex is the 1980s special improvement district that financed, designed and constructed four lanes of Powers from Woodmen Road to Platte Avenue. A special property tax on land fronting Powers goes to pay off bonds the district issued to fund the work.
But like other districts at the time, Metex ran aground financially. New development along Powers was counted on to generate revenue to retire the debt. But the economy soured, development slowed, and a handful of landowners were saddled with repaying the district's entire debt.
Compounding the problem: A federal agency overseeing a bailout of the nation's savings and loan industry refused to honor guarantees made by three failed thrifts, which had promised to lend money to Metex.
Metex survived, in part, thanks to a bailout from Colorado Springs and El Paso County governments. Now, with hundreds of acres of new developments along Powers, Metex is healthy. Its tax base rose 120 percent in the past four years alone, said Colorado Springs attorney Peter Susemihl, who represents Metex and several other special districts.
Now, along comes the state Transportation Department with plans to extend Powers from Interstate 25 north of Colorado Springs to Interstate 25 just south of Fountain. A series of interchanges and over-passes to control traffic along Powers also are planned as part of the upgrade.
Developers and retailers want to know how the work will affect consumers' ability to reach their stores and offices along Powers.
But Metex is fretting, too. If the state gobbles up more land for its upgrades, the property would disappear from the tax rolls and slow the growth in Metex revenues, Susemihl said.
''It's fine to take the land and compensate the owners for it,'' he said, ''but that doesn't help the bond deal.''
Metex still owes about $17 million; that includes the bonds, interest and payments to the city and the county for their bailout of Metex.
What's more, Susemihl said, the original agreement creating Metex called for Powers to be an expressway -- not an interstate-like freeway. He said he hasn't seen the Transportation Department's final plans for Powers and is still awaiting a meeting with state and city officials.
Now that Metex is financially sound, Susemihl said the district could repay the city and county by 2006. At that point Metex will decide whether to lower its tax rate and pay off its bonds as scheduled by 2016, or keep the rate unchanged and retire the debt five or six years early.
