February 6, 2025 Annual Meeting Presentation
1. When and how was the Bent Grass Metropolitan District Formed?
In order to fund community infrastructure and amenities, the State of Colorado and El Paso County’s land use process under Colorado State Statutes (CRS) Title 32 and County Code provide land owners with a tool to create metropolitan districts. There are several forms of metropolitan districts, including those for public safety (usually security and/or fire service), water and wastewater lines and service, building and maintaining other community infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, traffic & pedestrian control & management improvements & equipment, stormwater channels, ponds & management, and parks & recreation amenities, management of open spaces and funding for covenant enforcement.
The Bent Grass Master Plan has been put in place and includes the approval of the Bent Grass Metropolitan District, guided by CRS Title 32, and review by the District Court and the Board of County Commissioners, which approved the Service Plan on September 24, 2007. The Service Plan can be found on the District’s website under District Resources.
2. What services does the Bent Grass Metropolitan District provide?
Currently, the District provides funding for community infrastructure, including, but not limited to, construction of major roads, stormwater channels, and detention ponds, as well as partial maintenance, operations, and maintenance of certain tracts and open spaces, (view the map on the District’s website home page) and funding covenant enforcement.
3. Some limited additional services provided by Bent Grass Metropolitan District
Most of the residential neighborhoods have covenants that have enforcement provisions that were assigned by the developer, Rivers Bent Grass LLP, to a non-profit corporation known as Bent Grass Covenants, LLC, a Colorado Not for Profit Corporation. By agreement, the District adopted a resolution on August 2, 2020, recognizing that under Colorado Statutes, a district can enforce covenants. The Bent Grass Metro District limited its enforcement to only funding the costs and expenses of covenant enforcement including the adoption of penalties and charges, and shall have no obligation to hear and resolve covenant disputes. The District has appointed the directors of the Bent Grass Covenants entity.
4. Why Does the Bent Grass Metropolitan District only provide limited services while other Districts and El Paso County may provide other services?
The Bent Grass Metro District’s Service Plan was adopted in 2007 and states the services that the District may provide. The District cannot provide other services outside of that scope without an amendment to the Service Plan.
5. How do you become a Bent Grass Metropolitan District Board Member?
The Bent Grass Metropolitan District is authorized to have up to 5 eligible Board Members (Directors). Each Director is elected to serve a 4-year term, or as long as their eligibility is applicable. If a Board member is appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board, then they will serve until the next election.
6. How is someone an eligible elector to vote or serve on the Metropolitan District Board?
To serve on the Bent Grass Metro District Board, you must be registered to vote in the State of Colorado AND meet either of the below requirements:
i. Be an owner (or spouse of an owner) of real taxable property within the District
ii. Live within the District Boundaries
iii. Be under contract to purchase real taxable property
7. How often are the Bent Grass Metro District’s Board Elections?
Elections for the Metropolitan District Board are held every odd-numbered year on the second Tuesday following the first Monday of May. The next scheduled election is May 6, 2025.
8. How was I informed I was purchasing property within a Metropolitan District?
The standard Colorado Real Estate Commission-approved contract to buy and sell real estate addresses Metropolitan Districts in one or more provisions. Further, a title commitment and a tax certificate are typically provided to the real estate transaction participants. Any fees, rates, charges, tolls, penalties, etc. that any District has been permitted to collect from the properties are delineated.
9. How does the Bent Grass Metropolitan District receive its funding?
The Bent Grass Metropolitan District receives money from a portion of the property taxes at a rate set forth through the Mill Levy adopted with the District’s budget every year pursuant to Colorado law and the Court-approved District Service Plan. The District’s Current Mill Levy Rate (2025) is 34.641 mills in total. Of this total, 26.000 mills are obligated to debt, and the remaining 8.641 mills are dedicated to Operations and Maintenance of the District.
10. How are our property taxes calculated?
Generally, any property owner can calculate their estimated yearly tax payment toward the Bent Grass Metro District by multiplying the actual value of their home shown in their El Paso County Assessor summary by the current Assessment Rate (6.7%) to get the current Assessed Value (AV). Then, take the AV and multiply it by the total Mill Levy (both debt and O&M), and finally divide that number by 1,000.
Example:
El Paso County Assessed Property Value is $500,000
$500,000 x 6.7% (current RAR)
= 33,500 (AV)
33,500 x 34.641 (current mill levy) = 1,160,473.50
÷ 1,000
= $1,160.47 / year
11. What do the Bent Grass Metro District property taxes get used for? Click here to view the adopted District Budget where you can view how District funds are spent.
12. How much is the Bent Grass Metro District’s debt?
In 2020, the district issued a general obligation limited tax refunding and improvement bond of $6,750,000 and 5.25% interest. As eligible improvements are constructed, they are subject to reimbursement. There are two reimbursement agreements with the accumulated principal balance of $1,376,348 plus 6.75% interest. Additional improvements have been constructed and planned for that include stormwater and a final asphalt on the south part of Bent Grass Meadows Drive, as required by El Paso County. The District is currently discussing refinancing the debt in 2025 to a lower interest rate.
13. Who provides snow removal for the roads in the Bent Grass Metropolitan District Boundaries?
El Paso County is responsible for snow removal on all public streets. The Bent Grass Metropolitan District provides limited snow removal in front of mailbox kiosks and certain land tracts that it owns.