Horsetooth's east side fee debated

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

On again, off again aptly describes user fees on the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir--if one takes a multi-decade perspective.

The issue is on again because Larimer County proposed to charge a $6 daily fee--something unheard of to rock climbers, picnickers and sunset watchers who frequent the area now. It is, after all, a quick jaunt from Fort Collins, and most visitors stay for just a short while.

"A huge section of our community does not have any extra money," Fort Collins resident Stacy Heiliger told the county commissioners last month after numerous park users rallied to fight the fee.

Jason Hartman, who described himself as a college student who's going into debt, said he has to avoid Lory State Park and the county's Horsetooth Mountain Park because of their fees. He uses the east side of Horsetooth several times a week for running and climbing, however, and he noted that he encounters all ages at the area.

Former county parks director John MacFarlane, now a builder of classic barns, in a telephone interview recalled charging fees on the east side of Horsetooth until the mid-1990s. Weekend passes were sold since the 1960s, he said, and day passes for vehicles went into effect in the late '70s.

MacFarlane said the county discontinued fees on the east side when facilities fell into disrepair and signs disappeared. Without funds to restore the amenities, it was unfair to continue charging, he explained.

A decade later, the county has recently spent $300,000 - provided from federal and state sources--to pave parking lots, build new restrooms and install picnic tables. With new facilities in place at Skyline, Sunrise and Rotary parks, the fee was soon to follow.

"The cycle repeats itself," MacFarlane observed. "You get federal funding to improve the facilities, and now you need fees to keep them up."

Mark and Leslie Wharton of Bellvue are among the rock climbers hoping to dissuade the county from charging to use those areas. Although they climb more frequently in Poudre Canyon, both noted that the Horsetooth area has an international reputation for bouldering.

"People train for a half hour to an hour and then leave," Mark Wharton said. "I think this area should be given special consideration."

Encountered at the base of a popular boulder, climber Leif Embertson said he has mixed feelings about the fee. Because he also climbs at Carter Lake and bikes at Horsetooth Mountain Park, he already buys an annual county parks pass for $65. The new restrooms were needed, he said, and fees also reduce impacts.

At this time, the east side fees are temporarily off the table while the county's staff works with park visitors on different funding options. More debate, and fresh ideas, will be aired in a public meeting on April 1, 7 p.m., at the county offices building in downtown Fort Collins.

Whatever the group decides, it needs to be sustainable for years to come, said Larimer County parks director Gary Buffington. He doesn't want fees to be off one year and on the next, which could happen if the county relies on sponsorships to subsidize free use.

Buffington also noted that the county commissioners require the parks department to raise 93 percent of its $3.8 million annual budget. General fund tax revenues provide 7 percent.

Although he's faced with balancing a budget, Buffington said he also has second thoughts about the fairness of the daily fee. He noted that four people can get into a county park with one vehicle pass, but a person who walks or bikes in has to have an individual pass. He also noted that the walk-in pass is not well enforced.

In the end, it will be the county's three elected commissioners who make the decision about whether to charge fees on the east side of the reservoir.