General Information About the District
| North Range Metropolitan District No 3 (District) is a quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Colorado, was organized by order and decree of the District Court for Adams County on December 04, 2001, and is governed pursuant to provisions of the Colorado Special District Act (Title 32, Article 1, Colorado Revised Statutes). The District operates under a service plan approved by Commerce City (the City) in August 2001. The District’s service area boundaries encompass 1,203 home lots within the Reunion Community. The District's boundaries are split between homes bordering the Buffalo Run Golf Course (North of E 104th Avenue and west of Chambers Road) and homes in the Reunion Ridge Subdivision (south of 104th Avenue and west of Potomac Avenue).
In November 2020, the District issued bonds totaling $51.1 million to finance the construction and development of the neighborhood infrastructure (e.g. streets, curbs, sidewalks, water and electric lines, sewer lines, storm drainage, detention pond, perimeter fencing, park and open space landscaping, etc). With a few exceptions, all public infrastructure assets are owned and maintained by either Commerce City (e.g. streets) or certain public utility companies (e.g. water and sewer lines owned by South Adams County Water & Sanitation District, street lights and power lines owned by United Power, etc). The open spaces, park and perimeter fencing are owned and maintained by the Reunion Metro District.
In March 2022, the District issued subordinate cash flow bonds totaling $4.45 million (Subordinate Bonds) to CMH Capital, Inc, an entity under common control and affiliated with CPG2, the current Developer of the Reunion Community. The Subordinate Bonds were issued when all directors on the District’s board were employees of CPG2 and reported conflicts of interest regarding their service on the District’s board.
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May 2023 was the first time the majority of the District's 5-member board was comprised of directors who do not have conflicts of interest serving on the board and are unrelated to the land developer (Shea Homes which eventually sold its development interests in Reunion to Clayton Property Group - which owns Oakwood Homes). Per the 2020 Financial Forecast included with the Subordinate Bond Offering document, repayments on the Subordinate Bonds are projected to total approximately $21.9 million through 2050, which equates to an annual net effective interest rate of 12.6%.
District Revenue Sources
In order to fund the repayment of its bond debt and to provide neighborhood services to District residents, the District generates revenue from the following sources:
Property Taxes: Each year, the District assesses property taxes on the homeowners living within the District. Property tax assessments is the District's primary source of revenue and currently comprises approximately 90% of the District's total annual revenue. To fund the general operations of the District, the District may collect up to $20 million annually. This limit can be raised only if additional voter approval is obtained.
To fund the District's annual debt repayments, the District may adjust the debt portion of the mill levy rate each year to generate an amount sufficient to fund the annual principle and interest payments due on the bonds.
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State Tax Subsidies: Each year, the District receives a "specific ownership tax" subsidy from the State of Colorado. The State funds this subsidy from its collection of annual vehicle registration fee taxes paid by owners of Colorado-registered vehicles. The subsidy is paid out in the form of a matching contribution to the District and is calculated as a percentage of the total property taxes assessed by the District. The State establishes the rate each year for matching contributions. A historic trend of the matching rates set by the State is provided in Exhibit 1.
For the past few years, this subsidy has comprised approximately 7% of the District's total annual revenue. |
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Interest Income: State laws restrict the types of funds in which the District may invest its cash. The District's investment income is an insignificant source of revenue to the District due to the low interest rates offered on investment funds available to metropolitan district.
District Contractors
Click here to lean more about the District's contractors.
Bond Debt
Click here to learn more about the District's bond debt.