GLENWOOD SPRINGS—Garfield County municipalities will soon have to look elsewhere for grant money to pay for special projects and improvements. The county’s once robust Federal Mineral Lease District is watching severance tax revenues disappear. County Commissioner Mike Samson says in the fall and spring grant cycle, the FMLD typically has 3 to 4.5 million dollars to distribute. He says those days are long gone. “Last September we received $665,000, it dropped dramatically.” Samson says in the coming year, he wouldn’t be surprised if the total plummeted even further to 1/10th of that amount. Since it’s inception in 2011, the FMLD has awarded almost 28 million dollars in grants generated by oil and gas revenue.
