By JOHN NORTON
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
Xcel Energy's offer to provide Pueblo with $13 million in sales and use
tax up front won't be enough to buy everything on the city's shopping
list.
That's the quandary facing a citizens’ group charged with making
recommendations on how to use the money to build a new police
headquarters and fire stations in Bessemer and the growing southwestern
region of the city.
 Dan
Henderson, co-chairman of Citizens for Public Safety, said
the group is aware that it will take an estimated $17 million to
purchase a site and build a new police building, as well as to provide a
new South Side fire station and improve the existing fire station in
Bessemer.
Henderson said a measure on the November ballot probably would be
contingent on approval of the power plant and the city's getting the $13
million.
Once the city gets the $13 million, Mathews has recommended that $2.5
million be put into a reserve fund for other unanticipated projects.
While that would leave only $10.5 million for the planned projects,
Matthews said that if the city borrowed $6.5 million at an assumed rate
of 4.5 percent interest in a general obligation bond, it could pay off
the debt with the additional $850,000 it would get when the Comanche
property is annexed to the city.
The city has agreed to a graduated increase in property taxes from the
new plant, starting at $240,000 in 2009 when it comes on line, and
peaking at $2.4 million in 2018.
But annexation of the existing plant would give the city an immediate
infusion of $850,000, Matthews points out, allowing the city to float
the bond sooner and get to work on the police and fire buildings.
Matthews and Henderson also suggested that the city explore possible
federal funds for the work in Bessemer, where the fire station is the
former Bessemer City Hall and might qualify for historic preservation
money.
Matthews also said that any cooperation between the city and county
could help reduce costs, too, especially since the county's portion of
the expected Xcel money appears to fall short of what would be needed
for its capital projects.
Unlike the city, the county would have to wait until 2009 to start
collecting additional taxes from the new power plant.
The citizens committee has been meeting twice a month and this week
reviewed a survey conducted by Colorado State University-Pueblo students
that was favorable to using the Xcel money.
The committee also is recommending that the police building and
municipal court complex be built on South Santa Fe Avenue, where the
former Tool King store was located. That land is owned by the BNSF
Railroad. The city had been considering its property at Main and D
streets but Henderson said the Santa Fe Avenue site would be less costly
and leave the other land available for commercial development related to
the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo.
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