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Routt County commissioners think the city's plans to create an urban renewal authority to fund improvements near the Steamboat Ski Area base are rushed and too general.

Commissioners sent a letter outlining their concerns to the Steamboat Springs City Council on Friday. The letter details many of the issues that county commissioners have brought up in the previous weeks.

The council is scheduled to vote on the proposed URA at a meeting tonight. If created, a portion of future property tax revenues resulting from redevelopment or new development in the boundaries of the URA would be dedicated to infrastructure improvements in the area.

County commissioners emphasized that they are not against the concept of a URA. However, they said the city's process could be improved.

"We feel that to be done and done right, we shouldn't rush into the situation, we should take our time," Routt County Commissioner Doug Monger said.

Routt County Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said the county thinks the plan the city is considering does not have all the details and information that are required by law.

For instance, it does not detail what improvement projects will be completed, or how the loss of property tax dollars would affect county services and revenues.

"Without such details and meaningful estimates, it is impossible for the City Council, us or anyone else to determine if the plan is feasible," the letter reads.

The county also expressed concerns that the plan does not seem to include any provision to use funds from sales tax revenues for the project. If sales taxes also were used, the city would have more of a financial stake in the project, county commissioners have said.

The letter includes several questions that the county has about the "blight study" associated with the establishment of a URA. For instance, the county does not feel there is "blight" on the "Tennis Meadows" area, and so questions whether it should be included in the plan.

Also, some examples of blight include conditions on private property, such as cracked parking surfaces and unshielded Dumpsters, and the county's letter asks whether the URA would use public funds to correct those problems and whether that would be appropriate.

"In an area such as the base area, which contains some of the most valuable real estate in the city and the county, the question must be asked: Why won't the private owners make these investments?" the letter reads. "Is it because they do not believe the return is sufficient? If this is the case, how can the investment of public funds be justified?"

The letter then urges the City Council to carefully review the study and make sure the plan is narrow enough to justify using public funds.

"All of these things need to be fine-tuned a great deal more," Routt County Commissioner Dan Ellison said.