Hayden Residents & Businesses,

As some of you may know the Town of Hayden and Routt County have been advocating for a just transition process for the redevelopment of Hayden Station due to its early closure from 2036 to 2027. As one of the highest paying employers in our valley we have been advocating Xcel prioritize the Hayden area and provide for a just transition for our community. We made a few requests to be considered by Xcel and the PUC with the three key proposals below:

• The Hayden area and Routt County should be treated no differently than other parts of the state and get 10 years of property tax backfill instead of the 6 that Xcel proposed in 2022 for the Hayden area.
• Xcel as part of the just transition process requirement should make a one-time deposit to the community that would allow the Hayden School District, West Routt Fire District, and the Town of Hayden to pay off all outstanding debt as a result of the early closure of Hayden station from 2036 to 2027. This would save the average homeowner 1,300 per year and lower Xcel’s overall long-term community commitment.
• The Town and Routt County also made a few key requests as part of the growth that will be needed with this transition.

Xcel recently responded and said they were only willing to honor the 2022 agreement of 6 years of property tax backfill and declined all other requests. They had no firm commitments for redevelopment of Hayden Station.

West Routt County, we need your voice in this critical time for our Community. The PUC has one more virtual public hearing on Thursday, June 5th (this week) from 5:00-7:00pm or you can submit your written comments to dora_puc_website@state.co.us by 5:00pm this Thursday, June 5th. The Town urges everyone who is willing to let the PUC know they should require the following from Xcel:

• The Hayden area and Routt County should be treated no differently than other parts of the state and get 10 years of property tax backfill instead of the 6 that Xcel proposed in 2022 for the Hayden area.
• Xcel as part of their Just Transition requirement should make the one-time deposit to the Hayden Community that would allow us to pay off all outstanding debt for the Hayden School District, Fire District, and Town of Hayden as a result of the early closure of Hayden station from 2036 to 2027. This would save the average homeowner 1,300 per year and lower the overall Ptax requirement for Xcel.
• Xcel should honor the economic development requests that Hayden and Routt County made as that would make our community whole and allow us to make a proper just transition as anticipated by state statue.

If you would like to speak at the virtual hearing the link to submit testimony is https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/PX_XUZSKTPOiBKCo8-UfRw#/registration. If you have specific questions please reach out to Ryan.Banks@HaydenColorado.org.

Thank you,

Mayor Ryan Banks