FREE EVENTS ABOUND IN THE VAIL VALLEY THIS SUMMER
While many other communities are cutting back on summer events, the Vail Valley remains committed to promoting summer events and festivals. Major summer festivals including the recently-completed Teva Games; Vail International Dance Festival; Bravo! and Hot Summer Nights (Tuesday night free concert series) will run as usual. In addition to ongoing festivals, a few new events are scheduled to hit Vail this summer including an Irish Festival, a Mexican fiesta, and free whitewater-kayaking demonstrations in Vail Village as well as a slew of other smaller events, classes and demonstrations.
Featured Bravo! events include the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Check it out on the Internet at www.Vailmusicfest.org.
Beaver Creek events include Culinary Demonstration Series;; a great lineup of events at the Vilar Center for the Arts (which needs a name change as soon as possible); and the Beaver Creek Rodeo Series which is actually held in Avon on Thursday nights. Avon also gets into the act in a big way with Avon’s infamous 4th of July Salute to the USA with the biggest fireworks display in the state.
Valley-wide events include the increasingly popular Triple Bypass Bicylce Tour which is a 120-mile bicycle ride with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain with over 3,500 riders. The Triple Bypass starts in Evergreen and climbs over Squaw Pass to Idaho Springs and on into Georgetown. From there it climbs over Loveland Pass to Frisco and over Vail Pass into the Vail Valley to the finish line in Avon’s Nottingham Park. And of course, the Vail Lacrosse Shootout returns to the Valley as big as ever for its thirty-something time culminating on 4th of July weekend.
For a schedule of summer events, please visit our website at www.VAILREALTY.COM and click on “Event Calendar” under “Local Scoop”; or simply Google the event that is of interest. It is going to be a great summer! Come on out!
PROPERTY TAX APPEALS ARE MADE IN RECORD NUMBERS
It looks like it will be a busy summer for the Eagle County Assessor’s Office as the number of Property Valuation appeals has approached 6,000. Obviously, the economy has played a big role in the number of appeals, but so has the system. Property Valuations are based on an appraisal as of June 30, 2008 using data for the 18-month period prior to that date for determining property taxes to be paid in 2010 and 2011. However, no one really had an idea of how property values in Eagle County would be impacted until after that date. As such, the valuations calculated by the Assessor’s Office are much higher then today’s recession-tainted real values.
This might not be such a big problem if the intent of Colorado’s Tabor Amendment was followed by our state and local governments and the Colorado Supreme Court. This Colorado constitutional amendment, known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, limits the increase in revenues that government can collect. However, politicians statewide used sneaky loopholes that the Colorado Supreme Court astonishingly supported to override the constitution without a statewide vote. The biggest property tax impact is at state level where the mill levy associated with the School Tax, the largest portion of the tax bill, was fixed thus making any property valuation increase result in a proportionate increase in the school tax. To add insult to injury, the added school tax collections from resort communities does little good to those communities as the funds are sent to the Denver for statewide allocation. So we pay a lot more, but get just a little more. Wait until the next valuations where Front Range property values have dropped like a rock. We will then pay a little less in tax as our valuations will have dropped some, but get a lot less funding. What a hosing!
CONSIDERING A REMODEL OR UPGRADE
While times are tough and money is tight, perhaps now is the time to consider making improvements to your property that you have either put-off or future ones that you may want to accelerate. Work is tight here in the Vail Valley and contractors are hungry. You may be able to get the best deal in years or for years to come. If you are interested in doing work on your property and require assistance, please let us know.
NEED NEW BEDS? SPRING BED ORDER
Uncomfortable beds are among the biggest complaints we receive from rental guests each year. Perhaps it is time to replace your beds. Vail Realty has a contract to purchase beds directly from the Serta factory at the best sale prices available. Contact us for information on pricing and delivery. We have extended the date to order to June 30th.
NEW LAW REQUIRES CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS
Last month we notified you of Colorado Legislature bill that requires carbon monoxide detectors to be installed in the sale or rental of certain properties. All rental properties in Vail and Beaver Creek will be required to comply. We have determined that the best option is to replace existing smoke detectors with combination smoke and carbon monoxide units. In some cases, separate or additional carbon monoxide detectors may be required. In many condominium complexes, your homeowners association may be undertaking this retrofit as part of a complex-wide fire alarm system Please check to see if your condominium association is planning to do so. Because the law requires compliance by July 1, 2009, we have a relatively short window of time to come into compliance. Therefore, unless we hear otherwise from you, we will arrange to have the detectors installed and bill your account.
SUMMER 2009 & WINTER 2009-10 CALENDARS
Another reminder, please return your summer and winter calendars to us as soon as possible. In this economic environment, we do not want to lose any rental opportunities and we need your calendar before we can accept reservations on your property for next winter. The key to getting a jump on next ski season is to get your calendar in early! Please note the following key dates:
Anticipated opening of Vail Mountain: Friday, November, 20th
Anticipated opening of Beaver Creek Mountain: Wednesday, November 25th
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 26th
Christmas/New Years Holiday Season: December 19th to January 3rd
Martin Luther King Holiday: Monday, January 18th
President's Day Holiday: Monday, February 15h
Mardi Gras: February 16th
Daylight Savings Begins: March 14th
Passover: March 30th
Easter: April 4th
Anticipated closing of Vail & Beaver Creek: April 11th
OTHER NEWS HEADLINES:
Get your Epic Pass at www.EPICPASS.COM
Vail Valley Medical Center Contemplating Leaving Vail for Down Valley
Vail Gondola Opens for Weekends June 13th; For Season on June 25th
Vista Bahn is Closed for Summer
Snowmaking Improvements to Allow Ski Racers to Begin Training in October
REMINDER: Eagle County Airport to be Closed this Summer for Runway Work
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