Some residents in Jeffco say hold your horses to the proposal that the county hand over the reins for twenty fairground acres to a youth horsemanship nonprofit. Westernaires JeffcoColorado
“I'm here on my own as a citizen of Jefferson County concerned about open space, and particularly concerned about any action that transforms open space from open space to something else,” Frank Hutfless, a former attorney for the county, said at the meeting. “Once this property gets into the hands of the Westernaires, which is a private nonprofit, it can be anything.”
That’s partly because in 2019, the property had problems with excess manure that was running off into the drainage areas. The county worked with theto improve the tension basin and fix the runoff problem, which cost about $100,000 and was completed in 2021. Alex Plotkin, who spoke during public comment, said he was worried that the county is setting the Westernaires up to fail by saddling the organization with costly health issues to deal with.
“The restrictive covenant allows us to continue the uses of the property for parks and open-space purposes, horsemanship — things that are already going on there — but it doesn’t automatically revert back to the county if those uses were to cease in the future,” Merritt said, noting that the county usually transfers land to cities or districts with a provision that the land reverts to the county if those entities don’t want it anymore.
Hutfless said he is worried about the tax implications of such a transfer and fears for a future sale of the land for commercial development, even with the requirement of county approval. Meanwhile, resident Linda Auburn questioned whether the proposal is legal. “When, and to who, will this board stop selling and/or giving away open-space property?” she said. Prior to public comment, the board went into executive session to discuss legal concerns.
Shawn Heggarty agreed, noting that there are other organizations and groups contributing to the culture of the area that should also be able to use the fairgrounds. “This is the center point for all the cultural heritage, or agricultural background,” Heggarty said. “Trying to keep this together is a critical piece.”
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