The Boulder County commissioners have indefinitely tabled a proposal to dissolve the Gunbarrel Public Improvement District, or GPID, amid a wave of public backlash.

The GPID is a special tax district formed in 1993 in response to a petition from some Gunbarrel residents. Public improvement districts collect tax revenue from member residents and use that money to fund community goods and services.

The purpose of forming the GPID was twofold. One goal was to acquire, build and install open space. Another was to fund street improvements, such as paving and grading. Gunbarrel residents approved the issuance of $3.6 million in bonds to buy open space land and transportation improvements.

But in the years since the GPID was formed, other public improvement districts have sprung up in the Gunbarrel area. Last year, voters approved forming the Homestead Public Improvement District, which will fund paving in the GPID area.

The district partly or fully owns six parcels of open space. The Boulder County Parks and Open Space department has managed those properties since the GPID bought them as open space. But according to county staffers, the GPID has been “inactive” since 2007. The district has not bought land or paid for transportation improvements since at least that time, and its funding has been used up. It has not levied property taxes on residents in many years.

Staffers recommended dissolving the GPID because of its inactivity and because another public improvement district exists in Gunbarrel for funding road improvements. If the dissolution were to move forward, the open space property would need to be transferred to another entity, staffers said. Because Boulder County Parks and Open Space has already been managing the open space in the area, staffers proposed transferring the GPID open space parcels to Boulder County Parks and Open Space.

In a presentation last week, Olivia Lucas with the Boulder County Attorney’s Office said Colorado law discourages overlapping public improvement districts that share the same purpose. In addition, Lucas said, keeping the GPID intact uses county resources and staffer time.

Still, many residents have spoken out against dissolving the GPID and transferring ownership of the open space properties to be managed by Boulder County. More than 20 people signed up to speak at a public hearing on the issue on Jan. 16, many who were against dissolving the district. County officials reportedly received 176 emails ahead of that meeting.

Numerous speakers at the hearing said the county should not be allowed to transfer open space properties that belong to the taxpayers without their consent. They said the properties added up to 250 acres of land worth roughly $90 million in total.

“(Commissioners) may wish to transfer these properties to Boulder County, but it would be against the wishes of the electors of the district,” said resident Donna George. “The electors of the district want these properties to stay within the district.”

Other speakers, such as Juliet Gopinath, said it wasn’t clear if the open space properties would be protected if the GPID is dissolved and that the county would be stealing from taxpayers by taking ownership of them.

“If you could imagine what would happen if I walked into a bank, and I stole $90 million, do you think nothing would happen?” Gopinath asked. “… I wouldn’t get away with it because it’s not acceptable behavior, and it’s not following the law.”

Some speakers also disputed that the GPID district is truly inactive and has run out of funds. Ramona Farineau, the chief financial officer for the county, said according to audited financial statements, there were about $17,000 left in the GPID fund when the fund was closed in 2009. That money was then transferred into the county’s general fund.

Others expressed anger at an alleged lack of communication from county officials, saying they learned of the public hearing through a newspaper article in late December, and they felt officials legally should have provided more advance notice. Lucas said she believed the county’s communications had been legal, but she conceded they may not have been sufficient.

After public testimony concluded, Lucas said she wanted to research alternatives to dissolving the district completely. Those alternatives could include changing the boundaries or purpose of the district. A new ballot measure could also be brought back to residents for their consideration.

Commissioners agreed to table both the dissolution of the GPID and the transfer of the properties, saying they’d like more time to consider the options and hear from community members.

The Gunbarrel Public Improvement District open space parcels are:

•Heatherwood Notch (GPID fully owns)

•Jafay property (GPID fully owns)

•James Construction property (GPID fully owns)

•Coen property (co-owned w/ Boulder County)

•Johnson Trust property (co-owned w/ Boulder County)

•Churchill property (co-owned w/ Boulder County)