Offended enterprise homeowners are newest block to Cañon City getting a swimming pool

CAÑON CITY — The risk of a lawsuit and a handful of Arkansas River rafting enterprise homeowners offended over a brand new tax derailed a current Cañon City council dialogue in regards to the newest plan to pay for operations of a brand new group swimming pool.

The authorized questions piled up throughout two hours of typically contentious debate punctuated by just a few requires unity to find an answer. In the tip, the assembly held Wednesday ended with a promise of a roundtable dialogue someday after council members get solutions to the authorized questions, that are anticipated early this week. 

After listening to for months that native voters wouldn’t assist a property or gross sales tax improve of any measurement to fund pool operations, the Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District, the town and the college district settled on asking voters to approve a 2.25% excise tax on amusements and points of interest within the metropolis. The query to enact that tax, which might increase not more than $675,000 yearly, is accepted and on its approach to the November poll.

And a preliminary site design for the $25 million pool, which might be paid for with a metropolis gross sales tax improve accepted final 12 months by voters, was unveiled final week. In the identical election, voters rejected a request for a 4 mill improve to property taxes to pay for working the pool, leaving the rec district with cash to construct a pool however nothing to function it.

The final step was to approve an ordinance on how the excise tax could be used whether it is accepted by voters. The assembly Wednesday was presupposed to contain discussing a draft and offering route to the town legal professional on particulars.

But earlier than it convened, council members have been confronted with letters and letter to residents from Royal Gorge Route Railroad proprietor Mark Greksa printed as a full-page commercial within the Cañon City Daily Record. 

In it, he mentioned the railroad could be exempt from the tax below federal legislation and promised a “costly legal fight.” He additionally mentioned that if the tax is handed, the railroad would finish its assist to the group, together with school scholarships, assist for the recreation district and occasion sponsorships.

His legal professional repeated the specter of a lawsuit on the assembly Wednesday and was met with an offended retort from Mayor Preston Troutman.

Tension on the assembly rose as Andy Neinas, proprietor of Echo Canyon River Expeditions, lambasted the town for an absence of transparency and failing to tell rafting corporations instantly in regards to the proposed tax.

“I do not want to be here today,” he mentioned angrily. “I don’t need to do what I’m about to do. Until now I’ve supported the pool, and I agree we’d like facilities like this in our group. But the town of Cañon City and the recreation district have compelled me to be right here at present and you might be forcing me to put on a black hat. 

“This is about the Royal Gorge Route Railroad plain and simple. The city and the rec district are offering the commercial river outfitters as a sacrificial lamb to serve as a smoke screen when it comes to taxing the train.” 

At subject was which companies could be required to gather the excise tax ($2.25 on a $100 exercise ticket), how it could be enforced with non-public tour corporations or guides, whether or not sufficient could be collected if practice tickets have been exempt and the way the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, which is owned by the town however not within the metropolis limits, might be included.

Defining amusements, points of interest

The poll query says the tax might be collected on “amusement and scenic rides, recreational excursions, and attractions.” Council members mentioned constituents requested if that would come with actions similar to {golfing} or bowling.

Soon, council members realized they would want to wonderful tune the definitions because the intent was to tax tourism-related actions.

The draft ordinance says it could apply to actions “located, operated or commenced” inside the metropolis limits. For instance, if a rafting firm is positioned exterior the town, as most are, however brings its rafts into metropolis limits, as they typically do, they’d add the tax to the shopper charges. 

Ty Seufer, who owns Royal Gorge Rafting and zipline, famous that he’d have so as to add the tax to rafters’ payments however to not these utilizing the zipline. And why not embody the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park because it’s owned by the town?

“It’s muddy and it’s not fair,” he informed the town council.

Neinas mentioned within the aggressive rafting enterprise the additional payment might ship clients west to raft in Chaffee County.

During a back-and-forth with Councilman Gerald Meloni about charges charged by numerous river outfitters, Neinas mentioned Chaffee County already has extra operators on the lower cost finish.

There are about 45 outfitters on the Arkansas River, he mentioned, and their companies will not be all the identical so there are worth variations. Some clients simply go together with the bottom value.

Meloni steered that if clients are selecting based mostly on companies and reputations, they probably aren’t going to quibble over the small payment the tax would add.

“There’s so many towns in Colorado that collect an amusement excise tax,” he mentioned. “This isn’t one thing new that we got here up with. 

“The anxiety and anger in here is blowing my mind.”

Other council members identified that after they discuss elevating the gross sales tax they don’t attain out to particular person enterprise homeowners and requested why the outfitters hadn’t come ahead with concepts throughout the months the town and rec district appeared for brand new methods to fund pool operations.

The outfitters and Greksa mentioned they assist the pool and a few contributed to campaigns for the pool, however nobody requested for his or her enter, at the same time as the town thought-about levying a tax on their companies.

“If they had gotten us together, we’d have figured this out in a heartbeat,” Greksa mentioned in a telephone interview. He didn’t attend the current assembly as a result of he was in a foreign country with household on a visit “planned long before any of this came up,” however watched it by way of Zoom in the midst of the night time.

He mentioned the town has lengthy needed to tax the practice, regardless that he says it’s unlawful to take action below federal legislation. This try to bypass these legal guidelines will fail, he mentioned, and it’ll find yourself hurting different companies, inflicting extra division and certain leaving the town with no pool.

In an interview, City Administrator Ryan Stevens mentioned, “I think we recognize that there’s federal exemptions but we don’t believe the train falls into those exemptions.” He declined to say extra as a result of the authorized dialogue was held in government session.

In addressing one of many complaints from Greksa and others, Stevens mentioned throughout the assembly that the town is making an attempt to determine a method so as to add the tax on the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. That might embody annexation or working some kind of payment into a brand new contract with the operator. The metropolis lately solicited proposals to run the park as the present contract expires in October 2026.

Council members mentioned the park must be included and promised  to make that occur.

No decision

Although Councilwoman Amy Schmisseur mentioned she was keen to remain till midnight to hash out some options, the council in the end determined it wanted to have extra authorized recommendation earlier than persevering with.

Regardless, there was little they may do to vary the poll query, which was because of the county on Friday. 

Greksa vowed to marketing campaign towards the tax if the town continues to pursue it.

He mentioned he provided in July, when he discovered in regards to the tax proposal, to assist begin a nonprofit that might settle for funds for pool operations. The railroad would make a long-term dedication to donate $100,000 yearly, he mentioned within the interview. 

“We have an opportunity right now to end this, and they’ll have something that’s successful,” he mentioned. “Between the bridge, us and others who could donate — then you have people working collaboratively.”

But the provide goes away in the event that they pursue the tax, as a result of then there could be a authorized battle, he mentioned.

Council members have been troubled by the anger directed at them over the tax, noting that not one of the companies gather gross sales tax as a result of they’re thought-about companies. 

And the council was left watching a quickly ticking clock on whether or not the pool could be constructed.

“If this doesn’t work this fall we aren’t going to have a community pool,” Councilwoman Emily Tracy mentioned.

Kyle Horne, government director of the recreation district, mentioned in an interview that if a sustainable operational funding stream isn’t secured this 12 months, the delay would possibly make it unimaginable to construct the pool. He mentioned they want about $500,000 yearly together with what’s raised by consumer charges and concessions. 

“If we don’t start construction early next year, I don’t know if we’d have enough for the project,” he mentioned, based mostly on the gross sales tax voters accepted for pool development.

He additionally mentioned he wasn’t positive the group might maintain a nonprofit that must increase $400,000 yearly so as to add to the railroad donation with out hurting different nonprofits. He mentioned he discovered of that concept Aug. 29.

“It’s a great idea, I just don’t know if it’s possible,” he mentioned, noting that the choice on the right way to proceed is as much as the town council.

Despite the glum temper as Wednesday’s assembly ended, there appeared to be a willingness to collaborate.

“There’s so many good people in this room and this is just such a contentious issue,” mentioned Chris Moffett, president of the nonprofit Royal Gorge RIO, which advocates for river conservation, security and recreation. “Let’s just figure this out, please, as a community.”

Corrections:

This story was up to date Sept. 9, 2025 at 10:08 a.m. to right when the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park operator’s contract expires. It expires in October 2026.

Type of Story: News

Based on details, both noticed and verified instantly by the reporter, or reported and verified from educated sources.