FAQs on the May 2, 2023 Election
What is the Loma Linda Metro District?
The Loma Linda Metropolitan District is a government agency responsible for maintaining the roads in the Loma Linda subdivision. A portion of your property taxes goes to fund the Metro District. This is how our roads are maintained, repaired, and plowed throughout the year. Special districts are a level of local government (as explained https://cdola.colorado.gov/special-districts)
Who manages the Metro District?
Loma Linda property owners volunteer to manage the Metro District. They are elected to serve a four-year term. There has been a paid administrative assistant in the past, but that position is currently unoccupied.
When and where is the Loma Linda Metro District election?
It is on Tuesday, May 2 at the Ross Aragon Community Center, 451 Hot Springs Blvd., from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Who can vote in this election?
You must be 1) a registered voter in the state of Colorado and 2) a property owner or resident of Loma Linda. Unlike Homeowner’s Association elections, each individual at the property has a vote. This is a government election so each eligible individual may vote.
Why have I not voted for members in the past?
This is the first time in Loma Linda history that a contested election for Metro District is being held. In the past volunteers have stepped forward only in numbers enough to fill the vacancies. This year four candidates are running for three seats on the Metro Board.
Why is there not a mail-in ballot?
The Designated Election Official (Matt Fischer) has researched and followed procedures to ensure that this election is run legally and fairly. This includes communications with the County Clerk, County Election officials, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, and the Special District Association (SDA). The SDA (of which all Colorado metro districts are members) has suggested that for a district of our size an election held at a polling place would be most cost effective. May 2 is the designated election day for all Colorado Special District Elections (https://cdola.colorado.gov/special-district-elections). Mail-in ballots have significantly more requirements than a simple polling place election.
A letter to the editor in the Pagosa Sun accused the Metro District of not properly maintaining roads.
We’d like to call your attention to the state of the roads within Loma Linda versus those outside the control of the Loma Linda Metro District. While we certainly have had potholes and repairs to make within the neighborhood because of this long, hard winter, we do believe our roads are maintained to a higher level of care than those maintained by the county. By way of comparison, Eight Mile Mesa Road coming in to the neighborhood and maintained by the county had not held up nearly as well as the roads within our bounds. As of this writing, both the county road and those with Loma Linda have received some much needed maintenance from the winter season.
That letter also accuses the Board of financial mismanagement. What can you tell me about that?
That is best answered in a letter from president Kent Jennings to community residents:
Dear Loma Linda Property Owners, I am sending this email to correct misconceptions in the letter to the editor written by a Loma Linda resident and published in the Pagosa Springs Sun Newspaper on 3/23/2023. LLMD works with a highly respected local financial firm who maintains the LLMD checkbook and savings accounts, accepts all monies from the County for the mill levy, and pays approved bills submitted. LLMD board members have no access to these funds and any suggestion otherwise is calumnious. |
Whom may I contact for more information?
If you’d like to learn more about the Loma Linda Metro District, we suggest you call one of these individuals:
Retiring president Kent Jennings – 970-880-0102
Incumbent board member Matt Fischer – 970-264-9335
Incumbent board member Al Myatt – 970-264-1125