Lyons trustees defer proposed $4 million stormwater bond vote
The 3-2 vote means the measure will not be considered for the November 2026 ballot. A 2027 ballot question remains unapproved.
Lyons trustees voted 3-2 to defer consideration of a proposed stormwater bond for drainage and infrastructure improvements on 2nd and 3rd avenues north of Main Street. The vote means the measure will not be considered for the November 2026 ballot.
The action is recorded in draft minutes from the board’s Sept. 2 meeting, included in the town’s Sept. 16 Utilities and Engineering Board packet. The minutes cite concerns about meeting times, the possibility of voter fatigue from 15 November ballot measures and incorrect information that another local-only ballot would not be possible until 2028.
The board still would need to vote on placing a question on the November 2027 ballot. The draft minutes do not show that the 2027 measure has been authorized.
The proposed measure would authorize up to $4 million in debt for stormwater and other infrastructure improvements, with total repayment capped at $7.8 million. The town proposed using existing 0.5% capital-sales-tax revenue to repay the debt rather than imposing a new tax, according to an Aug. 24 staff report and proposed ballot language in the town’s Aug. 24 meeting packet.
The figures are financing limits and estimates, not approved borrowing. The $7.8 million repayment cap was modeled on a $4 million loan at 5% interest over 30 years. A separate scenario modeled a $3.8 million loan at 3.6% over 20 years, with repayment of about $5.4 million, the staff report says.
What the projects would address
A Sept. 8 town presentation estimated the 3rd Avenue stormwater project at $1.1 million and the 2nd Avenue project at $2.7 million. The presentation identified possible scope reductions or phasing if the full work could not be financed. It listed a possible November 2027 bond or loan election, a 2028 loan application and construction in 2028.
Lyons’ 2026 adopted capital plan lists design and construction for the two stormwater improvements at $2.9 million, with a federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant and a Colorado Water and Power Authority loan identified as potential funding sources. The plan says funding was not budgeted until financing was secured.
The presentation listed July 2027 as the anticipated deadline for a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant application, with a possible award in January 2028 and construction that year. Those are planning dates, not a grant award or an authorized ballot measure.
The Sept. 2 vote is recorded in draft minutes rather than clearly approved final minutes.