Ouray County Treasurer Jeannine Casolari told the Ouray County Commissioners on Monday that there were eight new foreclosures in the month of May and that there are already six new foreclosures this month.
“Foreclosures are picking up,” Casolari said, adding that there have been a total of 31 new foreclosures filed since Jan. 1. “There was a little bit of a lull in April, and things picked up drastically in May.”
Casolari said the type of properties being foreclosed upon run the gamut from $80,000 vacant properties to $400,000 homes.
“I have seen where developers have all these lots they intended to build on and sell, and couldn’t,” she said. “There is a whole range of things. Spec homes, vacant land, people’s homes. The people that have talked to me who are losing their homes have had to move on to another state because they couldn’t make it
“The most difficult one was a couple who have lived in their home for 30 years and lost it,” she said.
Water Utility Doesn’t Necessarily Provide Water for Fire Protection
Tri-County Water General Manager Mike Berry eased the Ouray Board of County Commissioners concerns that the utility has a limited ability to provide necessary water pressure for fire hydrants in new developments.
“The question is what is the future of development in the county if there is a need for a hydrant, what are we going to see and how are we going to deal with it,” County Planner Mark Castrodale said, posing the question to Berry.
Berry said Tri-County has had a longstanding policy of not installing a hydrant unless it can provide an acceptable amount of water (250 gallons per minute for two hours).
“Pressure is not necessarily the issue; it’s the availability of supply,” Berry emhasized. As for new developments, Berry said that Tri-County will tell developers if a given utility has the capability of providing fire protection. If it can, “We will be more than glad if we can provide a hydrant at a location with 250 gallons a minute for two hours,” he reiterated. If not, the developer will work with the county’s Land Use Code’s point system to either make it work or provide some sort of cistern or storage tank, to which Tri-Count can supply the water.
Berry clarified that Tri-County mil levies actually pay the federal government for the Ridgway Reservoir for its secured the water supply for the next 40 to 60 years. Tap fees are collected to offset new users going onto the system and water fees are collected for the purpose of paying for the water service.
“With those two, we upgrade systems,” Berry said. “Paying the mil levy does not necessarily give an inherent right to services.”
“Will serve letters” are intended to notify the delivery of potable water and not necessarily water for fire protection, he said.
After the discussion, county staff and the county commissioners agreed they now had a better understanding of what services Tri-County provides.
“I understand the relationship between the utility and the developer,” Commissioner Keith Meinert said, and the responsibility “is on the developer to provide fire protection services regardless of the will serve letter.”
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