2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 32 - SPECIAL DISTRICTS (§§ 32-1-101 — 32-22-117) › SPECIAL STATUTORY DISTRICTS (§§ 32-8-101 — 32-22-117) › Article 11.5 - FOUNTAIN CREEK WATERSHED, FLOOD CONTROL, AND GREENWAY DISTRICT (§§ 32-11.5-101 — 32-11.5-704) › Part 2 - DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION AND POWERS (§§ 32-11.5-201 — 32-11.5-207) › Section 32-11.5-205 - Powers of district

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