Hayden could get subdivision funding
Town votes to call bond, letter of credit for stalled Lake Village neighborhood
The Steamboat Pilot & Today, August 9, 2008
Blythe Terrell

Steamboat Springs — Robinson Construction representatives say the company will repair infrastructure at the Lake Village subdivision in Hayden.

Representatives from the Oregon-based company told the Hayden Town Board on Thursday that Robinson intends to make good on its deal to do work on the unfinished subdivision south of town. The board still moved to begin the process of calling the letter of credit and the bonds for the project.

The subdivision has been stalled for months because of liens and bankruptcy issues. Pavement compaction and other issues make Lake Village roads hazardous, town officials have said.

"I understand your frustration," Robinson's attorney Dan Gregg said. "We know you want your project built. … We have steel leaving Oregon. It will be here next week, and we will commence the repairs out there."

The bond and letter of credit ensure that the town can seek funding, at the developer's expense, to complete road and sidewalk work at Lake Village. The letter of credit is worth nearly $502,000, and the bonds are worth more than $1.3 million.

Representatives from Robin­son encouraged the town to call the letter of credit instead of the bond. The board unanimously voted to move toward both. The decision does not necessarily mean the town will get the money and take over the work, Town Manager Russ Martin said.

"This guarantees us the opportunity to move forward if we believe we have to," Martin said after the meeting.

The resolution was the town's first formal move toward getting those funds. Hayden officials and lawyers now will get in touch with the bank and the bonding company, and negotiations will follow, Martin said.

"This doesn't make my life or the city's life any easier," he said. Martin added that it was crucial for the town to act in the interest of people who own lots at Lake Village. No one lives there, and the property is tied up in liens that Robinson filed last year and the resulting bankruptcy filings.

In May, the town gave the developers until Friday to work out the issues and come up with a plan to repair the infrastructure. Mountain Adventure Property Investments, a four-company partnership, is building Lake Village. The subdivision is the first filing of a larger project called the Villages at Hayden.

Grassy Creek Holding; 4-S Development; Oregon-based Robinson and Sons; and Oasis Development, an Oklahoma subsidiary of FSB Bancorp., make up Mountain Adventure Property Investments. Grassy Creek and 4-S are local companies, and Robinson is not affiliated with RN Robinson & Son of Hayden.

Roger Johnson of Grassy Creek attended Thursday's meeting. He said he understood the town's choice.

"I think it's prudent on their part to get positioned so they can do the work they need to do," Johnson said.

Other action

Also at Thursday's meeting, the board discussed large cat sightings in town and the naming of the new leg of Routt County Road 37.

Two cats have been reported on Hospital Hill in the past couple of months, Hayden police Sgt. Gordon Booco told the Town Board. The people who spotted the cats gave different descriptions, Booco said, so he and Department of Wildlife officials think the animals were just passing through.

Trustee Jim Haskins, who works for DOW, said people who are concerned should contact his agency.

"The other thing to keep in mind is a lot of residents up there have deer in their yards, and where deer go, mountain lions go," Haskins said.

The town tossed around names for C.R. 37, which will run to U.S. Highway 40 on the eastern side of town. The new police station will be on the road. After a round of joking, the town decided to name the road after the hawthorne or the dogwood tree. The board aims to choose between the options at its Aug. 21 meeting.