§ 32-11.5-205 — Powers of district

Colorado § 32-11.5-205

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 32: Special
• Art.: Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control,

Text

(1) The district, acting through the board or
through other persons to whom the board has delegated any of its powers as
authorized by this article, has the following general and administrative powers:

(a) To have perpetual existence;

(b) To sue and be sued;

(c) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its
business;

(d) To fix the time and place at which its regular meetings shall be held
within the district and to provide for the calling and holding of special meetings;

(e) To adopt and use a seal;

(f) To maintain offices at any place within the district it may designate;

(g) (I) To appoint a secretary and a treasurer of the board. Each position may
be filled by a director or by another person, and both positions may be filled by the
same person.

(II) The secretary of the board shall keep a record of the minutes of all
meetings, ensure that all notices required by law are duly given and posted, serve
as the custodian of board records, attest to documents as the need arises, and
perform such other functions as may be prescribed by the board.

(h) (I) Subject to the provisions of section 32-11.5-203 (1)(b) and
subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (h), to hire and fix the compensation of officers
and employees and hire or retain other persons, including but not limited to
professionals such as engineers, attorneys, accountants, and other financial
professionals.

(II) (A) No director, officer, employee, or agent of the district shall be
interested in any contract or transaction with the district except in his or her official
capacity or as is provided in his or her contract of employment with the district.

(B) Neither the holding of any office or employment of a public body or of the
federal government nor the owning of any property within the state, within or
outside the district, shall be deemed a disqualification for membership on the board
or employment by the district or deemed a disqualification for compensation for
services as an officer, employee, or agent of the district.

(C) A director shall not vote on any issue with respect to which the director
has a conflict of interest as required by sections 18-8-308, 24-18-108.5, and 24-18-110, C.R.S. An appointing body may name an alternate director to cure the
temporary disqualification, and the alternate may vote in place of the disqualified
director.

(i) To appoint a technical advisory committee of technical experts to provide
recommendations to the board regarding public policy or expenditure of funds for
the benefit of the watershed and to carry on technical and other investigations of
all kinds, make measurements, collect data, and make analyses, studies, and
inspections pertaining to facilities, projects, and related property both within and
outside the district;

(j) To appoint a citizens advisory group representing various interests
pertaining to the watershed to consult with and offer advice to the board regarding
the management of the watershed;

(k) To appoint one or more persons to act as custodians of the moneys of the
district for purposes of depositing the moneys in any depository authorized in
section 24-75-603, C.R.S. Custodians shall give surety bonds in such amounts and
form and for such purposes as the board requires.

(l) To designate an official newspaper published in El Paso county and an
official newspaper published in Pueblo county and to publish any notice or other
instrument in any additional newspaper or newspapers as the board deems
necessary;

(m) To enter into contracts and agreements, including, but not limited to,
contracts and agreements with any public body or agency thereof or with the
federal government;

(n) (I) To trade, exchange, purchase, condemn in the manner provided in
articles 1 to 7 of title 38, C.R.S., and otherwise acquire, operate, maintain, and
dispose of real and personal property, including interests therein, within or outside
the district.

(II) If the construction of any project or part of a project authorized in this
article requires the removal and relocation of any public utility facility or any park
or utility facility owned or operated by a public body or an enterprise of a public
body, whether on private or public right-of-way or otherwise, the district shall
cooperate with the public body to determine the necessity of the removal and
relocation and, if necessary, the appropriate reimbursement to the owner of the
park or public utility facility for the expense of the removal and relocation,
including the cost of any necessary land or rights in land and any other resulting
costs.

(o) To institute, maintain, and administer a systematic and uniform program
of preventive maintenance in the district;

(p) To promulgate such resolutions and issue such orders as the district
deems necessary or convenient for the operation, maintenance, management,
government, and use of facilities and any other drainage and flood control facilities
under its control, whether situated within or outside or both within and outside the
territorial limits of the district;

(q) To promote, construct, and manage the protection and improvement of
the watershed to prevent and mitigate flooding, erosion, and sedimentation,
improve drainage and water quality, address water quantity, provide a healthy
riparian habitat with recreational amenities, including, but not limited to, open
space and trails, improve wildlife and aquatic habitat, and restore, enhance,
establish, and preserve wetlands;

(r) To prepare and submit ballot language to place one or more funding
measures before the affected electors in Pueblo and El Paso counties; and

(s) To provide information to educate the public concerning the purposes and
benefits of the district.

(2) The district has the following financial powers:

(a) To provide funding derived from both El Paso and Pueblo counties to
support the district;

(b) To provide cooperation and financial and technical assistance throughout
the Fountain creek watershed;

(c) (I) Subject to the requirements of subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (c),
to finance the acquisition, construction, operation, or maintenance of projects and
any other lawful operations of the district through:

(A) The establishment of service charges within the watershed management
area pursuant to part 3 of this article;

(B) The imposition of mill levies, levied at a total rate of no more than five
mills, on all taxable property within the district and the issuance of bonds pursuant
to part 4 of this article;

(C) The creation of improvement districts and imposition of special
assessments on all property within an improvement district pursuant to part 5 of
this article;

(D) The acceptance of gifts, grants, and donations from public, private, and
not-for-profit sources;

(E) Certificates of participation; and

(F) Any other lawful means authorized in this article.

(II) (A) No action by the district to establish or increase any special
assessment authorized by this article and, in accordance with section 20 (4)(a) of
article X of the state constitution, no action by the district to establish or increase
any tax or mill levy authorized by this article shall take effect unless first submitted
to a vote of the eligible electors of the district or, in the case of a special
assessment, the eligible electors of the improvement district in which the special
assessment is proposed to be collected.

(B) No action by the district creating a multiple-fiscal year debt or other
financial obligation that is subject to section 20 (4)(b) of article X of the state
constitution shall take effect unless first submitted to a vote of the eligible electors
of the district or, in the case of improvement district bonds to be paid with revenues
from a special assessment, the eligible electors of the improvement district in
which the special assessment is proposed to be collected.

(C) The questions proposed to the eligible electors under sub-subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of this subparagraph (II) shall be submitted at a biennial election of the
district, a general election, or any election to be held on the first Tuesday in
November of an odd-numbered year. The action shall not take effect unless a
majority of the eligible electors voting on the question at the election vote in favor
thereof. Elections shall be held and conducted, and the results determined, in the
manner provided by articles 1 to 13 of title 1, C.R.S. No district moneys may be used
to urge or oppose passage of an election required under this section.

(d) (I) Subject to the limitations specified in part 3 of this article and
subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (d), to impose service charges for the availability
or use of the facilities of the district, pledge service charge revenues for the
payment of bonds, and enforce the collection of service charge revenues by civil
action or by any other means provided by law.

(II) The power of the district to establish service charges is limited to the
areas within the counties of El Paso and Pueblo that are within the Fountain creek
watershed management area.

(e) To obtain financial statements, appraisals, economic feasibility reports,
and valuations of any type pertaining to the facilities or any project or any related
property;

(f) To deposit moneys of the district in any depository authorized in section
24-75-603, C.R.S.;

(g) To create special funds and accounts as a source of repayment for bonds,
including reserves required or desired for that purpose, or for payment of project
acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance, or other related costs;

(h) To invest or deposit any district moneys in the manner provided by part 6
of article 75 of title 24, C.R.S., and to direct a corporate trustee that holds any
district moneys to invest or deposit the moneys in investments or deposits other
than those specified by said part 6 if the board determines, by resolution, that the
investment or deposit meets the standard established in section 15-1-304, C.R.S.,
the income is at least comparable to income available on investments or deposits
specified by said part 6, and the investment will assist the board in the financing,
construction, operation, or maintenance of its projects or facilities;

(i) (I) Subject to the limitations set forth in subparagraph (II) of this
paragraph (i), until such time as the district has sufficient funding to operate
independent of funding from the represented public bodies, to request from the
represented public bodies appropriate staff, resources, and funding support. The
represented public bodies may fund independent staff or pledge to support the
district with their own employees or contribute funding in any manner deemed
equitable and appropriate by the represented public bodies and the district.

(II) In accord with the state constitution or any charter of a represented
public body, performance of a represented public body's obligations under this
article is expressly subject to annual appropriation of funds by the respective
governing body of the public body. If sufficient moneys are not appropriated for
performance of a public body's obligations under this article or appropriated funds
cannot be expended due to applicable spending limitations, performance of the
public body under this article shall be null and void by operation of law, and the
public body shall thereafter have no liability for compensation or damages to any
person in excess of the public body's authorized appropriation for the purposes of
this article or the applicable spending limit, whichever is less. A represented public
body shall notify all other represented public bodies and the district as soon as
practicable in the event of nonappropriation or in the event a spending limitation
becomes applicable.

(3) (a) The district has the following jurisdictional and land use powers:

(I) Within the corridor, to exercise full land use authority; and

(II) Outside of the corridor, but within the watershed management area, to
exercise advisory land use authority only; except that the district shall be entitled
to receive notice from all represented public bodies and to provide comments to
such represented public bodies regarding land use applications for projects located
outside the corridor, but within the watershed management area, that, in the
opinion of the applicable represented public body's planning director or planning
director's designee, will have a direct or indirect impact on the Fountain creek
watershed. Each represented public body shall send notice to the district
identifying its planning director or designee. The district may request to review land
use applications of any represented public body for projects located outside the
corridor that may directly or indirectly impact the watershed.

(b) Throughout the watershed management area, including within the
corridor, the district has the authority to accept and manage funding for the
management and construction of any stream improvement authorized by the
represented public body or bodies with jurisdiction over the area in which the
improvement will be located.

(4) The district has the following cooperative and miscellaneous powers:

(a) To provide for comprehensive planning and, where possible, coordinate
with all regional special purpose districts, regional multipurpose planning agencies,
local and regional planning commissions, and other multijurisdictional political
subdivisions operating wholly or partly within the district;

(b) To adopt a comprehensive program for the acquisition, construction,
operation, and maintenance of facilities;

(c) To establish, operate, and maintain facilities within the watershed
management area across or along any public street, highway, bridge, viaduct, or
other public right-of-way, or in, upon, under, or over any vacant public lands that are
or may become the property of a public body subject to first obtaining consent from
the public body having jurisdiction over the same, which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld, but may be contingent upon reasonable conditions being
met. The district shall cooperate with any public body having such jurisdiction, shall
promptly restore any such street, highway, bridge, viaduct, or other public right-of-way to its former state of usefulness as nearly as may be, and shall not adversely
affect the usefulness thereof.

(d) (I) To the extent consistent with the jurisdictional and land use authority
set forth in subsection (3) of this section, to adopt floodplain zoning resolutions and
orders pertaining to properties within the watershed management area that affect
the collection, channeling, impounding, or disposition of rainfall, other surface and
subsurface drainage, or storm and flood waters as it deems necessary or
convenient. If a district floodplain zoning resolution or order conflicts with a
floodplain zoning resolution or order adopted by any other public body, the more
restrictive resolution or order shall control.

(II) No district floodplain resolution or order shall be adopted or amended
except by action of the board after a public hearing held by the board at which any
public body owning drainage and flood control infrastructure or otherwise
exercising powers affecting drainage and flood control in the affected area,
whether directly or through an enterprise, and other interested persons have an
opportunity to be heard. The board shall provide mailed notice of the hearing to
each such public body and shall also publish notice of the hearing for the benefit of
other interested persons.

(e) To enter into cooperative or contractual agreements with any
government, as defined in section 29-1-202 (1), C.R.S., as authorized in section 29-1-203, C.R.S., concerning comprehensive planning or the provision of any function,
service, or facility authorized by this article, including, but not limited to:

(I) Joint operating or service contracts and agreements; acquisition,
improvement, equipment, or disposal contracts; personnel sharing agreements; or
other arrangements concerning personnel, any facilities, project, or related
property or any similar property or equipment owned by the federal government or
a public body; and

(II) Contracts and agreements for the provision and operation by the district
of any drainage, flood control, or recreational property or equipment related to
facilities or projects of the district in exchange for compensation sufficient to
defray the cost to the district of providing, operating, and maintaining the property
or equipment;

(f) To do all things necessary to be qualified to accept and to accept
contributions or loans from the federal government for the purpose of financing the
planning, acquisition, improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation of any
project or authorized activity of the district and to enter into contracts and
cooperate with the federal government in the financing, planning, acquisition,
improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation of any such project or
authorized activity in accordance with any applicable federal legislation under
which aid, assistance, and cooperation may be furnished by the federal government;

(g) Subject to any limitations specified in this article or articles 1 to 7 of title
38, C.R.S., to enter upon any land to make surveys, borings, soundings, and
examinations and to locate facilities, projects, roadways, and other rights-of-way
pertaining to facilities and projects as needed to accomplish the purposes of the
district;

(h) To mediate any differences arising among the represented public bodies
in connection with any facilities, project, or activity of the district; and

(i) To have and exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or
implied from the specific powers granted in this article.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2009: Entire article added, (SB 09-141), ch. 194, p. 851, � 1, effective April 30.