Eagle will trim 2015 community requests to $50,000

It can be argued that the $50,000 in community requests is the most scrutinized part of Eagle’s annual budget.

While the community anticipates spending $4.8 million in 2015, residents traditionally show less interest in large expenditures such as equipment rotation or water line replacement than they do in the $500 to $1,000 donation requests that come from community groups. Additionally, the $50,000 community request pool includes some of the town’s most time honored events.

“There are a number of things that define quality of life here, but one of the things they people identify with is our community events,” said Eagle Town Manager Jon Stavney.

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That’s why even though the town is projecting a basically flat budget in 2015, the spending plan calls for $10,000 for the July 4 fireworks, $9,500 for Eagle Flight Days and $14,000 for the ShowDown Town summer concert series. Beyond that, the town has also received 18 other community requests:

$1,000 — Christmas on Broadway

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$1,500 — Eagle County Fair and Rodeo

$250 — Eagle Valley Trout Unlimited

$1,000 — Eagle Easter Egg Hunt

$2,000 — July 4 Bike Parade

$1,000 — LG Triathlon

$2,500 — Always Mountain Time Winter Fun Fair

$500 — Eagle Valley High School After Prom

$500 — EVHS Project Graduation

$1,000 — Speak Up Reach Out Community Walk

$1,000 — The Cycle Effect

$500 — Wild West Day

$500 — Boneyard Boogie race

$1,500 — Two races in the Vail Rec District MTB series

$1,000 — Eagle River and Interstate 70 cleanup

$1,000 — Eagle County Educational Foundation Evening of Stars

$500 — Ute Springs Experiential Learning Center weekend event

$1,000 — Eagle County Seniors trip to New York

Stavney noted a common theme with Eagle community events is they aren’t costly affairs.

“A lot of things get done around here on pretty small budgets,” said Stavney. “The bottom line is there are a lot of people who work really hard to do these types of events that are important, especially for kids.”

But the community fund requests don’t stop with community events. The fun also interests with a broader focus and the 2015 program requests include:

$2,000 — Bravo!Colorado

$250 — Eagle County Historical Society membership

$1,000 — Eagle Valley High School Foundation

$1,000 — Eagle Valley Land Trust

$3,000 — The Cycle Effect

$6,000 —Walking Mountains Science Center

$500 — Yoga in the Park

$1,000 — Buddy Werner program

$1,500 — Ute Springs Experiential Learning Center van purchase

When combined, the events and programs requests total $68,500 and that means the town board will have to trim the total list back to hit the $50,000 mark.

Off the list, on the books

During a work session discussion regarding community requests, the Eagle Town Board removed $20,000 worth of requests that represent more regional concerns out of the request budget and over to the general fund. Those items include:

$5,000 for the Eagle Air Alliance airline subsidy

$5,000 for the Vail Valley Partnership

$2,500 for the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships

$7,500 for the IMBA ride center project

“It’s wrong to sit on the sidelines for countywide efforts,” noted town board member Andy Jessen during the budget work session.

Final decision

The Eagle Town Board is scheduled to adopt its 2015 budget at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Eagle Town Hall.