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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC13-243 Roaring Fork School District Agreement AGREEMENT FOR DISTRIBUTION OF 2012 NATIONAL FOREST PAYMENTS BETWEEN EAGLE COUNTY, COLORADO AND ROARING FORK SCHOOL DISTRICT RE-1 THIS AGREEMENT ("IGA") is made this "J Z day of 0 s013 between Eagle County, Colorado acting by and through its Board of County Comi (issioners, whose address is Post Office Box 850, 500 Broadway, Eagle, Colorado, 81631 ("County") and Roaring Fork School District RE-1, whose address is 1405 Grand Avenue, Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601 ("School"). RECITALS WHEREAS,this Agreement is entered into pursuant to §§29-1-201, C.R.S. et seq., and Article XIV, Section 18 of the Colorado Constitution; and WHEREAS, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act established a system of payments to local governments to compensate them for the loss of tax revenue due to the presence of non-taxable federal lands within their jurisdictions("PILT"); and WHEREAS,the PILT is administered through the U.S. Department of the Interior("DOI"); and WHEREAS, a portion of the PILT is comprised of a National Forest Payment; and WHEREAS, PILT and the National Forest Payments vary on an annual basis due to a number of factors contemplated by DOI when calculating the PILT;and WHEREAS, C.R.S. 30-29-101(2) requires the state treasurer to pay over "the national forest payments within thirty days after receipt of the payments to the treasurers of the several counties of the state in which national forests are located, on the basis of the acreage of national forest land located in each county and in accordance with information provided by the appropriate agency of the federal government to source and amount"; and WHEREAS, C.R.S. 30-29-101(3) (a)provides in part,that the County must allocate a minimum of twenty-five percent of the National Forest Payment to public schools in the County and may allocate less than twenty-five percent of the National Forest Payment to county road and bridge in order to maximize the receipt by the County of PILT pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 6901 et. seq.; and WHERAS, the U.S. Department of the Interior previously issued conflicting opinions about whether payments by counties to school districts in excess of the state-mandated minimum would be deducted from PILT or included in PILT (such that the county is reimbursed the amounts paid to the Districts). DOI has clarified that payments by counties to individual school 1 `f, districts will not be deducted from the PILT, regardless of payments in excess of the state mandated minimum; and WHEREAS, the Eagle County Treasurer received $550,671.24 in 2013 representing the 2012 National Forest Payment and the County desires to distribute said funds among Eagle County RE 50-J, Roaring Fork RE-1 and West Grand School District 1-JT (collectively the "Districts") as more fully set forth below; and WHEREAS, County will disburse 2013 National Forest Payment to Districts no later than September 1,2013; and WHEREAS, County anticipates that it will be reimbursed in 2014 by DOI (through a PILT payment which includes but is not limited to the National Forest Payment) for the 2012 National Forest Payment(received by County in 2013)distributed among the Districts ; and WHEREAS, County is willing to give Districts 100% of the National Forest Payment for 2012 understanding that the same will not be deducted from its PILT payment (i.e. shall be reimbursed); and WHEREAS, in accordance with C.R.S. 30-29-101(2)(c) the amount of 2012 National Forest Payment distributed to the Districts will be calculated in proportion to each Districts pupil enrollment during the preceding school year compared to the aggregate pupil enrollment in all Districts in Eagle County during the preceding school year. AGREEMENT NOW,THEREFORE, in consideration of the terms and covenants stated herein,the sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, County and School agree as follows: SECTION 1 2012 NATIONAL FOREST PAYMENT 1.1 County is holding$550,671.24 for 2012 Forest Service Payment. 1.2 County agrees to pay to School no later than September 1, 2013, $83,371.62 which amount represents School's share of the 2012 National Forest Payment. 1.3 County anticipates full reimbursement of the 2012 National Forest Payment from DOI as part of the PILT in 2014. 1.4 In the event that the County is not fully reimbursed in 2014 for the 2012 National Forest Payment then Section 3 hereof shall govern. 2 • SECTION 2 IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECTS 2.1 School agrees that upon receipt of its 2012 Forest Service Payment it shall spend at least fifty percent(50%)of each Forest Service Payment on a project or projects to be identified by County which projects should mutually benefit School and County. The County shall provide a list of projects by separate correspondence to School. 2.2 Upon request by County, School shall provide information on how much it has spent on the project(s)identified by County. 2.3 County shall not be required to contribute funds or resources to the project(s). SECTION 3 DEFICIENT REIMBURSEMENT 3.1 Reimbursement of the National Forest Payment to County occurs approximately two years after the National Forest Payment is made by County to Districts. Thus, the County anticipates reimbursement in 2014 for the 2012 National Forest Payment. 3.2 In the event DOI fails (as part of the PILT payment) to fully reimburse County for the 2012 National Forest Payment made to Districts then County shall provide a notice to the Districts by October 1,2014. ("Deficient Reimbursement Notice"). 3.3 Upon receipt of a Deficient Reimbursement Notice the parties shall immediately work together to identify how the deficiency and shortfall to County shall be remedied which remedy may include, but not be limited to, identification of mutually beneficial projects which the District shall support financially. In no event shall the District be responsible for contributing more than 50%of the deficiency to mutually beneficial projects. SECTION 4 Term 4.1 This Agreement shall commence on the date and year first above written. 4.2 This Agreement will terminate upon full reimbursement to County of the 2012 National Forest Payment. SECTION 5 Disputes and Jurisdiction 5.1 The parties shall participate in good faith negotiations to resolve any and all disputes. Should negotiations fail, the parties agree to submit to and participate in a third party facilitated mediation as a condition precedent to resolution by litigation. 3 5.2 If a dispute arises relating to the Agreement and should that dispute result in litigation, it is agreed that the substantially prevailing party (as determined by the court) shall be entitled to recover all reasonable costs of litigation, including but not limited to, court costs, attorney's fees and other related expenses. 5.3 This Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado and the parties agree to submit to the exclusive venue and jurisdiction of the 5th Judicial District in the County of Eagle, State of Colorado. SECTION 6 Notice 6.1 Any notice and all written communications required under this Agreement shall be given in writing by personal delivery, facsimile, ground shipping or U.S. Mail to the other party at the following addresses: County: John Lewis Eagle County Finance Director 500 Broadway P.O. Box 850 Eagle, CO. 81631 Phone: (970)328-3511 Fax: (970) 328-3519 With a copy to: County Attorney's Office 500 Broadway PO Box 850 Eagle,CO 81631 Phone: (970)328-8685 Fax: (970) 328-8699 School: Judy Haptonstall, Superintendent Roaring Fork School District 1405 Grand Avenue Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 Phone: (970) 384-6000 Fax: (970) 384-6005 4 • Notices shall be deemed given on the date of delivery; on the date the facsimile is transmitted and confirmed received or, if transmitted after normal business hours, on the next business day after transmission, provided that a paper copy is mailed the same date; or three days after the date of deposit, first class postage prepaid, in any official depository of the U.S. Postal Service. SECTION 7 Miscellaneous 7.1 This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between the parties related to its subject matter. It supersedes all prior proposals, agreements and understandings,either verbal or written. 7.2 This Agreement does not and shall not be deemed to confer upon or grant to any third party any right enforceable at law or equity arising out of any term, covenant, or condition herein or the breach hereof. 7.3 Invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the other provisions hereof, and this Agreement shall be construed as if such invalid or unenforceable provision was omitted. 7.4 This Agreement may not be assigned by either party. 7.5 This Agreement may be modified by a written amendment that is signed by all parties. [rest of page intentionally left blank] 5 IN WITNESS WHEREOF,the parties hereto have executed this Agreement the day and year first above written. COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO,By and Through Its Board of County Commissioners ATTEST: 41i;\ By: La4 T X Sara J. Fisher, rman Teak J. Simonto , Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners ROARING FORK SCHOOL DIST ail . T RE-1 : � Title: ' -c — /i / • 6