Erie Town Council Study Session: ECC Expansion, Lodging Tax, County Line Road - May 5, 2026
Erie Town Council Study Session: ECC Expansion, Lodging Tax, County Line Road Feasibility Study - May 5, 2026
The Erie Town Council held a study session on May 5, 2026, to review survey results on a potential expansion and renovation of the Erie Community Center (ECC), discuss a possible lodging tax, examine the County Line Road/Highway 7 connectivity feasibility study, and revise the 2026 work plan. The meeting featured presentations from Polco (Jason Newmeyer) on the statistically valid survey, staff updates on lodging tax, and a detailed feasibility study by DJ&A consultants. Key topics included funding mechanisms, community support, floodplain risks, and cost-benefit analysis.
Discussion Items
Ballot Item: ECC Expansion Survey Gabby Ray (Director of Communications) and Jason Newmeyer (Polco) presented results from a statistically valid survey of 846 randomly selected Erie households (19% response rate, ±3% margin of error). Key findings: 85% of respondents rated parks positively; 77% rated the ECC positively. 76% supported renovating/expanding the ECC (14% opposed). 69% said they would likely vote for a 0.5% sales tax increase to fund the expansion; 46% said likely for a property tax increase of 1.653 mils. When forced to choose, 48% preferred sales tax, 19% property tax, 20% said not the time, 13% undecided. Preferred expansion focus areas: expanded fitness space (66% essential/very important), indoor playground/youth spaces (50%), additional gymnasium (48%), modernization of mechanical/electrical/AV systems (48%). Staff noted a sales-tax-revenue bond could have a 20- or 30-year term and that the 0.5% rate might need adjustment based on current sales tax trends. Discussion included making the tax permanent to fund future recreation facilities. Council supported continuing education and outreach, with renderings at the upcoming Town Fair (May 16). Formal ballot decision by late July/early August.
Ballot Item: Lodging Tax Gabby Ray explained that a Colorado lodging tax must apply to all accommodations rented for 30 days or less, including short-term rentals. Many neighboring communities already have such taxes (4–7% range). Director Normella noted a short-term rental licensing program is on the 2026 work plan to assist enforcement and revenue collection. Council discussed potential voter confusion with two tax measures but noted the lodging tax affects visitors more than residents. No decision was made on placing a lodging tax on the 2026 ballot; staff will continue information gathering, including a survey at the Town Fair.
County Line Road/Highway 7/Raphael Road Station Feasibility Study John Ferruzi (Transportation Manager) and consultants from DJ&A (Bill, Mike) presented the study evaluating a new roadway connection from near Erie Air Park to Colorado 7. Four alternatives were considered: Alt 0 (baseline future network), Alt A (County Line Road extended to Airport Drive via bridge), Alt B (direct north-south connection to Highway 7 via bridge), and an emergency access route. Both Alt A and B require an 840-foot bridge over the Coal Creek 100-year floodplain, with estimated capital cost of $50 million. Benefit-cost ratios were 0.42 to 0.53, well below the 1.0 threshold for federal competitiveness. Travel time savings over Coal Creek Boulevard are about 2 minutes. High risks include floodplain impacts, environmental approvals, CDOT signal spacing issues (Alt B too close to planned Coal Creek Boulevard signal), and private property acquisition for Alt A. Staff recommended not advancing Alt A or B and instead completing planned improvements to Coal Creek Boulevard, Vista Parkway, and the Airport Drive/Highway 7 signal. Council discussion noted traffic data: Vista Parkway ADT was 5,500 in 2015 (pre-closure) and 6,500 in 2023 (capacity 18,000). Concerns about bridge cost estimates were raised (consultant used $750/sq ft vs. comparable local figures). David Nasser and Zach of NASA Development Corporation emphasized their infrastructure investments on Airport Drive and concerns about delays. Mayor Moore proposed collecting additional traffic counts and allowing NASA to proceed with their development application to preserve optionality. Councilmember Bear opposed further study due to high cost, substandard road design, and minimal benefit. Staff will not actively pursue the alternatives but will gather traffic data.
2026 Work Plan Revision Gabby Ray presented a revised interactive work plan. Items moved to 2027 include the water rate study (though a contract was signed for impact fees) and SERPA refresh. Council discussed Prop 123 fast track (state funding issues), street renaming for Erie Parkway, and solar projects at water facilities. The work plan will be formally presented for approval at the next regular meeting.
Key Outcomes
- ECC Expansion: Council supports continuing education and outreach; formal ballot language decision by late July/early August. Staff will present at Town Fair (May 16) and update web materials.
- Lodging Tax: No decision to place on 2026 ballot at this time; staff will continue community engagement and develop a survey. Short-term rental licensing will be advanced on the work plan.
- County Line Road: Staff will not actively pursue Alt A or B; focus on existing planned improvements. Additional traffic counts will be collected to monitor Vista Parkway and Coal Creek Boulevard. The door is left open for future consideration if the cost-benefit picture changes.
- 2026 Work Plan: Council generally endorsed the revised plan; formal approval will occur at a future meeting.
Meeting Transcript
We have three items tonight. Um, and so I think we're just gonna roll right into this. The first one is ballot items. And overview, Gabby, is that right? Sure. That works for me. Hello, everybody. Uh good evening. I'm Gabby Ray, Director of Communications and Community Engagement. And tonight with Luke, uh parts and recreation. Um I can hear myself. It'll be turned off. Um anyway, so we're here tonight to talk to you about ballot item um surveying that we did. As you remember in the fall, you gave direction that we should do some ballot surveys, um, statistically valid surveys about the ECC and a possible expansion. Is it that computer? Yeah, okay. Um, the presentation's the one with the presentation. So we'll pause. I gave you that advice, I'm sorry. Sorry. Yeah, no, this is why IT should never do legal work and legal teams. Very fair, very fair. Um, while we're getting all that set back up, I think, yeah, the computer just seems to be giving me some feedback, Adam. I don't know from when, but that's what we're dealing with in here. Um we'll have a presentation this evening from Polco. Uh Polco has been doing some of our community surveys for the last decade or so. Um, and so we do have contracts with them for both surveying um and for for balancing act, which is also a budgeting tool and engagement tool that we can use for the public helping us with our budgets. Um, so we use them for a survey about uh the ECC, the possible expansion and renovation at the ECC. We asked our community what they thought about paying for that possibility of possible expansion and renovation. Um, as you had already had a presentation from Luke and the facilities team about what that might look like. Now we asked uh the community if they would be willing to pay for it and in what form. So I'm gonna pass it over to Jason, who is with Polco, and he's gonna walk through a presentation with you, um, all about the results that we got from that survey, and then we'll have some time for discussion, and then we'll talk to you about the other ballot item that you uh have discussed for this year. So Jason, I'll pass to you. Perfect. Sounds great. Uh good evening, everyone. I just want to confirm just to make sure you can see my screen on your end. Yes, we can. All right, perfect. Well, my name is Jason Newmeyer. I am the director of survey research here at Polco and National Research Center. I am very pleased to be here tonight to present the results from the 2026 Erie Community Center uh expansion survey. Before I begin, on behalf of myself and my Polco co-workers, I would like to extend a thank you to Gabby, who was our primary contact throughout the survey development and implementation process. Uh she was a pleasure to work with, provided thoughtful feedback on the survey, on the report that's been shared, and on the deck that we're going to work here through here this evening. So before we dive into the results, I would just like to share a brief background on Polco. So Polco's main mission is to unite people, data, and government leaders to help communities to thrive through informed decision making that ultimately improves resonance overall quality of life. And as Gabby uh hinted at before, we provide surveys, simulation tools and advanced analytics that help to build stronger, more connected communities. Polco merged with the National Research Center back in 2019 and combined their decades of social science expertise with Polco's uh technology. And today, Polco and NRC are probably best known for some of our national benchmarking surveys, like those you see on the right hand side, the National Community Survey, the Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults, among a few others. But we also work with dozens of communities around the U.S.
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