Copper Mountain Consolidated Metropolitan District

Copper Mtn Built on a Proud History

Located about 75 miles west of Denver in beautiful Summit County Colorado is the Resort Community of Copper Mountain. Situated just off of Interstate 70, the area was once known as Wheeler Junction, a settlement founded in the 1880's and home to miners who were working in the copper mines. As is the case with other areas in Summit County, when the mining claims dried up most of the settlements associated with them did as well. However, in 1971 Chuck Lewis came to the area and decided to build a ski area with construction beginning that summer. In 1972, the Copper Mountain Consolidated Metropolitan District was formed to address the needs of the citizens of the area. The Metro District oversees services such as water, sewer, sanitation, emergency services, parks, and streets.

What Does The CMCMD Do?

The Copper Mountain Consolidated Metropolitan District is the entity at Copper Mountain that provides water, sewer, fire and television as its core services. The District operates under the direction of a 5 person, elected Board of Directors. To serve on the board one must be a qualified elector. A qualified elector is a person who is registered to vote in Colorado and is a property owner, or spouse of a property owner, within the District, OR is a resident of the District and is registered to vote. The Board sets policy decisions, which are carried out by the paid staff. A district manager oversees approximately 22 full time employees. The 2008 year budget is approximately $13 Million.

District Board Meetings

Regular Board meetings of the District are conducted at 8:30 a.m. on the last Friday of the month at the Copper Mountain Chapel, 630 Copper Road. Our meetings are always open to the public.

District Budget Hearings

As dictated by Colorado statutes, the District conducts budget hearings every fall, adopting the next year’s budget by early December. The 2008 District Budget was approved at the December 14, 2007 Board meeting. For 2008, the proposed Net Property Tax Assessment Rate for the General Fund was approved at 17.2 mils; a decrease of 5.6 mills, or 24.6% under 2007. The Net Property Tax Assessment Rate for the Fire Station Debt Service Fund is recommended at 7.9 mils: a new property tax that was not levied in 2007. The combination of these two property tax rates effects a total Net Property Tax Assessment Rate for general government purposes of 25.1 mills; an increase of 2.3 mills, or 10.1% over 2007, even though the District is adding 7.9 mills for new debt service expense related to the issuance of the 2008 Fire Station General Obligation Bonds. Unlike incorporated towns (e.g., Frisco, Breckenridge, Vail) the Copper Mountain Consolidated Metropolitan District is entirely funded through property taxes and the enterprise funds (water & sewer fees and television/internet fees). Town governments establish a sales tax on all taxable sales transactions, which a Metropolitan District is prohibited from doing.

Expanding Facilities to Provide Better Service

Expansion of the wastewater facility/sewer plant started last year and the $7.5 Million project will provide capacity for the future build-out of the resort. Water from three current wells in the valley floor is pumped up to the storage tank adjacent to Kokomo Lift just north of the road accessing the Lewis Ranch Development.

In 2004 the District expanded its cable TV system by adding high-speed Internet service. A unique feature of Copper’s District is the operation of the television system. The taxpayers of the District, in effect, own the cable system.

District Manager

The Copper Mountain Consolidated Metropolitan District negotiated an employment agreement with David Erickson in May, 2005. Mr. Erickson was the town administrator of Silverton, CO since 1992. He is also the former County Administrator for Delta County, Colorado and former city administrator for the City of Ronan, Montana. He possesses a planning background as well, having served in planning positions in Lake County, Montana and Spokane, Washington. He has earned a Bachelor’s degree from CU-Boulder in Environmental Biology and Terrestrial Ecology, as well as a Public Administration (MPA) degree from the University of Colorado in Denver. Dave and his wife Kay relocated to Copper Mountain in 2005.

Recreational Activities Abound for the Entire Family

Today Copper Mountain has some 2,450 acres available for skiing and snow boarding in the winter as well as hiking, bicycling and other activities during the summer. The resort itself is currently owned by Intrawest a worldwide leader in resort operations and development. Seeing an average of 280-inches of snow each year, skiers enjoy 125 ski trails that are serviced by twenty-two separate lifts. There are thirty-nine different facilities for lodging as well as twenty-one restaurants and bars and more than thirty shops and other facilities such as a golf course and ice skating rink that attract people to such an area and provide the full gamut of pleasure when not skiing.