This is the fourth in a series the Estes Valley Voice is publishing on the individuals who serve as Estes Park Town Trustees. The first featured Mark Igel, the second featured Frank Lancaster, and the third featured Kirby Hazelton.
“I’ll explain to you my interest in annexation,” said Town of Estes Park Trustee Bill Brown. “I’m sure you’ve seen a map of the Estes Valley and we’ve got a pretty odd collection of what’s in town and what’s in the county.”
Listen to story on EVV Podcast here:
Annexation is one of the issues that inspired Brown to run for Town Board. He is serving his first term after being elected last year.
Brown believes developing policies to promote further annexation would set the stage for a better, more cohesive community and in the case of businesses, increase the revenue to the Town in the form of sales tax collection.
While he understands those who live in the county are happier not paying the local tax, if these properties need town services, there are costs associated with developing and maintaining utility infrastructure.
“The Estes Park Mountain Shop is an example of the kind of property that should be annexed into the town,” he said. Brown said that involuntary annexations require a vote, “and if people don’t want it, you’re never going to get it done. The only real way to get property annexed is through voluntary annexation so we probably need to be a little more aggressive on that.”
Being included within the boundaries of the Town has several benefits, including the right to vote in Town elections, better police protection, and reliable utilities, he said. In Brown’s opinion, properties are usually annexed because a developer wants Town water, which has led to infill development scattered throughout the town without a clear plan.
This spotty annexation policy has led to the patchwork zoning within the Town of Estes Park map. Major improvements to the Town’s water system are planned to be made through the unincorporated Carriage Hills neighborhood.
The Carriage Hills/Spruce Knob water system improvements will be primarily funded with grants, but the town will still be on the hook for loans that will cost $240,000 per year in debt service for the next 20 years. Since the neighborhood is in the county, Brown was not initially supportive of the project.
While he was investigating further, he learned that the Town inherited native water rights when it acquired the bankrupt Crystal Water Company in 1989. At the time, this privately held water distribution company had 417 customers and a little more than 15 feet of pipe through Carriage Hills.
“In this state, there’s nothing more valuable than water rights,” said Brown in the Feb. 25 Town of Estes Park Board meeting. “It’s very important for the community as a whole, and for any development or growth that might occur in this community to have those water rights.”
Also, in the long term, there will be considerable cost-savings, a reduction in wasted water, and increased public safety, said Brown. “It’s our asset. We need to maintain and improve our asset, improve the infrastructure for the community.”
He supports developing a “growth management area.” This is an area of county land that will probably become part of the town eventually, he explained. Any development on land located within this area would have to be constructed using town standards as a requirement for final approval. This would incorporate many of the enclaves and peninsulas of county land surrounded by town land in Estes Park, he said.
In addition to annexation, Brown is passionate about workforce housing and childcare.
Before he was elected, he was instrumental in getting the 2022 6E funding passed, which provides revenue through a lodging tax designed to support housing and childcare in the community. Brown became known around town through the many articles he has written on these subjects.
Among the Trustees, Brown is the “new kid on the block” having only lived in Estes Park since 2020, but he has a long family history in the community.
Brown’s parents lived in Estes Park for many years, having bought 28 acres in the early 1960s above Elm Road. They sold off lots, built a second home, and retired to Estes in 1980. His father was one of the founders of the Upper Thompson Sanitation District and the hospital foundation. His mother was active in the Elizabeth Guild and worked at the library.
Brown spent his summers in Estes as a kid and his first job at 14 was working at the Kentucky Fried Chicken located in the building now occupied by Smoking Dave’s BBQ.
During college, he worked for Ted James, the concessionaire who operated the store at the top of Trail Ridge Road. His job was to drive the supply truck up every day to restock the store and restaurant. Brown has climbed Longs Peak nine times and twice rode his bike up Trail Ridge. He also did an ascent of Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. His five kids, now adults, spent summers in Estes with their grandparents and as campers at Cheley.
For 46 years before he and his wife moved to Estes Park, Brown practiced law in Des Moines. “It was a business practice,” he said, dealing with mergers, acquisitions, and tax law. He also taught tax law at the University of Iowa and Drake University law schools and wrote many law review articles on taxation. He is licensed to practice in both Colorado and Iowa.
“I’ve done my career,” said Brown who wants to give back, “which is part of the reason I ran for Town Board.”