Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

Date:08/31/2006
ATTENDANCE
Time:09:05 AM to 10:56 AM
Berens
E
McElhany
X
Place:SCR 353
Riesberg
X
Windels
X
This Meeting was called to order by
McFadyen
*
Senator Bacon
Bacon
X
This Report was prepared by
Bo Pogue
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
Education K-12 Capital Construction Requests
Military and Veterans Affairs Property Disposition Request
Division of Wildlife Property Transaction Proposal
Division of Wildlife Briefing on Sage Grouse Preservation		Pass
Pass
Witness Testimony Only
Witness Testimony Only

09:06 AM -- Department of Education K-12 Capital Construction Requests

Ms. Vody Herrmann, Director of Public School Finance, and Mr Ted Hughes, Senior Consultant, both of the Department of Education, presented the State Board of Education's recommended list of K-12 capital construction projects, as required by statute. Committee members received a memorandum explaining the statutory requirements concerning K-12 capital construction projects, prepared by Legislative Council Staff, along with the board's K-12 capital construction list (Attachment A). Ms. Herrmann explained the process by which K-12 capital projects are selected and prioritized, and discussed the projects on the list. Ms. Herrmann then explained the approval process for the capital construction list. Ms. Herrmann and Mr. Hughes responded to questions regarding the criteria considered when prioritizing the K-12 capital construction list, and explained the funding sources for K-12 capital construction.

09:18 AM

Ms. Herrmann detailed the various types of capital construction projects found in the K-12 list. Discussion ensued regarding the "thorough and uniform education" requirements of the state constitution, and the reason why deadlines for the FY 2005-06 K-12 capital construction application cycle were waived.
BILL:Department of Education K-12 Capital Construction Requests
TIME: 09:21:47 AM
MOVED:Windels
MOTION:Approve the State Board of Education's list of recommended K-12 capital construction projects for FY 2006-07 and FY 2005-06 (appended to Attachment A). The motion passed on a 4-0-2 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Berens
Excused
McElhany
Yes
Riesberg
Yes
Windels
Yes
McFadyen
Excused
Bacon
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

09:24 AM -- Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Property Disposition Request

Mr. Walter Paul, Resource Manager/Legislative Liaison, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, presented a proposal to dispose of an Army National Guard armory located in Cortez. Committee members received a memorandum describing the proposal prepared by Legislative Council Staff (Attachment B), and an aerial view of the property (Attachment C). Mr. Paul explained the statutorily mandated process involved in disposing of department property, and discussed the department's reasons for wanting to sell the property. Mr. Paul responded to questions regarding the status of the sale agreement for the armory with Montezuma County, the status of plans to build new armories in Colorado, and the balance of the Real Estate Proceeds Fund, into which proceeds from the sale of the Cortez armory will be deposited.
BILL:Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Property Disposition Request
TIME: 09:30:04 AM
MOVED:McFadyen
MOTION:Favorably recommend to the Adjutant General the sale of the Army National Guard Armory in Cortez to Montezuma County for $480,000. The motion passed on a 5-0-1 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Berens
Excused
McElhany
Yes
Riesberg
Yes
Windels
Yes
McFadyen
Yes
Bacon
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

09:31 AM -- Division of Wildlife Property Transaction Proposal

Mr. Grady McNeill, Action Resources Support Section Leader, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife (DOW), Ms. Pam Wagner, Legislative Liaison, DOW, and Mr. Keith Etzel, Staff Land Representative, Shell Frontier Oil & Gas, Inc. (Shell), presented a proposal to exchange land and water rights between the DOW and Shell. Committee members received a written description of the proposal, prepared by Legislative Council Staff (Attachment D). Senator Bacon explained that a senator had reservations regarding the land exchange, and that the committee would not vote on the project at the present meeting. Ms. Wagner discussed the objections to the exchange and the timeline for moving forward with the project. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for the committee to vote on the project at some point before the December 15th committee meeting. The committee contemplated meeting after the general election and discussed the possibility of voting by phone. In response to committee questions, Ms. Jennifer Moe, Legislative Council Staff, explained the statutory requirements for designating a committee chair and vice-chair in an election year, and the impact of these requirements on future meeting dates. Discussion followed regarding the potential endorsement of the project by the legislators whose districts contain the property to be exchanged.


09:41 AM

Mr. McNeill provided details of the property transaction and the financial consideration involved. Discussion ensued regarding the project's timeline. Mr. McNeill explained the configuration of the properties to be exchanged, as depicted in the maps contained in Attachment D, and discussed the benefit to the state to be realized by the exchange.

09:50 AM

Mr. Etzel explained the genesis of the property transaction, and the benefit to be realized by Shell from the transaction. Mr. Etzel then explained the ownership status of the mineral rights for the property to be transferred to the DOW. Mr. Etzel and Mr. McNeill responded to questions regarding the water rights to be exchanged under the proposal. Discussion followed regarding the ownership of the property surrounding the properties to be exchanged and the process of extracting oil from shale, which Shell plans to test on the property it acquires in the exchange.

09:58 AM

Mr. McNeill and Ms. Wagner responded to questions regarding the sale of habitat stamps, and the projects currently funded by the sale of the stamps. Discussion ensued regarding the requirements for entering state wildlife areas.

10:07 AM -- Division of Wildlife Briefing on Sage Grouse Preservation

Mr. Tom Remington, Terrestrial Section Manager, DOW, briefed the committee on the department's efforts to preserve sage grouse habitat. The committee received a packet of slides explaining the DOW's preservation efforts (Attachment E), which Mr. Remington discussed in detail. Mr. Remington explained the habitat range of the nine species of grouse that the department is attempting to protect, historic efforts to preserve sage grouse habitat, and future plans for habitat preservation.


10:19 AM

Mr. Remington explained the difficulties associated with maintaining healthy sage grouse populations, and responded to questions regarding volunteer assistance received by the DOW in its preservation efforts. Mr. Remington then discussed the numbers of birds required to maintain healthy sage grouse populations, and responded to questions regarding the impact of snowpack on grouse mating habits.

10:29 AM

Mr. Remington discussed the impact of weather, disease, and habitat preservation and improvement on sage grouse protection efforts. Mr. Remington then detailed the various areas in the state being targeted for habitat preservation, and the status of preservation efforts in these areas. Mr. Remington completed his presentation by discussing projected human population growth and densities in Northwest Colorado, and the impact of this growth on habitat preservation efforts.

10:39 AM

Mr. Remington responded to questions regarding sage grouse migration patterns and the ideal habitat for sage grouse. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for relocating struggling species of sage grouse to areas they don't currently occupy. Mr. Remington then responded to questions regarding the sage grouse diet and efforts on the part of the DOW and the scientific community to raise sage grouse in captivity for introduction into the wild.

10:51 AM

Mr. Remington addressed a question regarding the adaptability of sage grouse to areas outside of Colorado not heavily impacted by human activity.

10:53 AM

The committee revisited the potential for holding a meeting soon after the general election or, in the alternative, holding a vote on the DOW Shell transaction by electronic means.

10:56 AM

The committee adjourned.