Legislation would remove Weld County from the passenger rail district

DENVER — A bill to clean up language in the state law that created the Front Range Passenger Rail District has passed the Legislature and is on the governor’s desk for a signature.

The bill changes the district boundary to remove Weld County, with a couple of exceptions, from the district. If signed, this would mean that Weld County residents would not be taxed to support passenger rail along the Front Range of Colorado.

The original district included all of Weld County, which generated interest from the county until the route was determined. The chosen route runs along the BNSF Railway freight line from Fort Collins to the Denver area, and the BNSF/Union Pacific line south of Denver to Pueblo. Alternative routes would have followed rail lines in Weld County or could have followed a new corridor along Interstate 25, which runs through western Weld County.

Because the chosen rail route does not pass through Weld, usage of the rail service by Weld residents was a concern of Weld representatives.

HB 24-1012 changed the district. It still extends from Wyoming to New Mexico but Weld was eliminated. Included counties are Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Huerfano, Jefferson, Larimer, Las Animas and Pueblo. A couple of communities sit in two counties, and the legislation says that Erie, in both Weld and Boulder counties, and Weld County territory in the city of Longmont, would remain in the district. Windsor, which sits in both Weld and Larimer counties, was not addressed.

The legislation does address and include areas north of Fort Collins within five miles of I-25.

If the governor signs, then the FRPR board likely will change. Johnny Olson, a Greeley city council member who represents the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization on the rail board, likely will need to be replaced. He had raised Weld County concerns in past months as the planning for the project was underway.

A call to Olson was not returned prior to publication.

The passenger rail board has yet to decide whether to move forward with placing a tax issue on the November ballot; it will likely vote on that in the next month. The board on Friday did vote to engage a public relations firm to assist with communication about the project.

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