Special districts, including Pueblo West and Colorado will get the same level of Lottery support for parks and recreation that cities and counties enjoy, if CityPueblo-area lawmakers are able to make the bill pass. Pueblo West District Manager Jack Johnston said the small share of funds that they get has prevented them from building parks north of U.S. 50, where the metro district’s population is growing. State lottery

“We don’t have any parks and recreations presence north of Highway 50, despite significant growth in that area,” Johnston said.

For the past two years they have requested the county for Lottery dollars to build one or two parks there but, they were rejected.

Pueblo County officials oppose to this change by saying that if the funding structure’s get affected it would cut into the county’s contribution for the Colorado State Fair. Lotteries

“The Colorado State Fair would be damaged by this,” Pueblo County Commissioner Anthony Nunez said.

Only in 2010, $43.7 million in Conservation Trust Funds generated statewide by Lottery proceeds and those were distributed for parks and recreation.

This $43.7 million are divided based on population, and so it’s like saying that every city and county gets $8.70 per person.

But special districts like Pueblo and Colorado City receive half of that because the other half goes to the counties that contain them.

The bill new bill intends to give special districts the same shares that cities and counties do.

At stake is an estimated $386,000 statewide that presently goes to counties. Pueblo West stands to gain about $112,000 annually from the change, and Colorado City would get an additional $10,000.

“I think the issue for Pueblo West is a matter of equity for the citizens,” Lawmaker Swerdfeger said, explaining why he is carrying the bill.

Pueblo County spends Conservation Trust Funds to support Desert Hawk Golf Course in Pueblo West, as well as Runyon Field, the Pueblo Zoo and other projects.

Giron is concerned that the Lottery funds are intended to support activities people can enjoy for free, not pay-to-enter propositions such as the State Fair. In fact, she contends that the county could still afford to support the State Fair if it ceded a portion to Pueblo West.

Even though, the 2010 U.S. Census lists Pueblo West’s population at about 29,000, Johnston said more recent estimates place the population around 32,000 — and of those, more than half live in unincorporated Pueblo County.

Johnston also said that through a strategic plan, the district has learned the community’s priorities and wants its share of Lottery dollars to spend in accordance with those wishes.

Nunez said if Pueblo West wants a full share of the funds, it should incorporate itself and pay more, as now, in proportion, they get more than what they contributes to the county tax base. And since part of the county has needs it is not always easy to accommodate all wishes.

Johnston said establishing necessary taxes to incorporate “is not feasible or financially viable at this point.”

Giron said she signed on as the bill’s Senate sponsor also because of a provision that would enable special districts to opt out of participating if they mutually agree on a funding arrangement with their county. She hopes that will be the case between Pueblo West and Pueblo County.

“We’re still all in Pueblo County,” she said. “I want them to get along. Here’s a bill that might make them both have to sit down, extend an olive branch and work it out.”