If the gondola between Mountain Village and Telluride is free to ride, who has been paying for it? For most of its life, the answer has been anyone who bought or sold real estate in Mountain Village. That arrangement has a firm end date of December 31, 2027. The 3% assessment at the Mountain Village closing table has no published purpose after that date, even as the gondola's operating costs move to regional sales, lodging and property taxes and to a tax on lift tickets.
The 3% Line on a Mountain Village Closing
The Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, or TMVOA, charges a Real Estate Transfer Assessment of 3% on all eligible real estate transactions. Section 5.3 of the association's General Declarations governs it, and TMVOA calls it the association's largest source of revenue. The association's RETA page says the revenue is "pledged to the operations and maintenance costs of the gondola," and that it also pays for other member services such as grant funding and event sponsorship.
The process runs after closing, which surprises buyers who come from markets without a private transfer assessment. You or your title company submit the RETA Information Sheet, the payment by wire and a copy of the deed. TMVOA then executes a payment certification form. That form has to be recorded with the San Miguel County Clerk and Recorder within five business days of the deed's recording. TMVOA's page says the buyer and/or seller covers the wire fees. It does not say which party owes the assessment itself, which is a question for your title company or attorney.
Exemptions exist. Deed-restricted property is one, and the Second Amendment to the General Declaration lists others. The timing is strict. A request filed more than 30 days after the transfer triggers a $500 penalty, even when the transfer qualifies. An application involving an entity has to include the relevant trust, LLC, partnership or shareholder agreements.
What That Assessment Has Been Carrying
TMVOA describes itself as the gondola's primary funding source. It has provided about $3.5 million a year for operations and maintenance alone. It has also paid for capital work, including $6 million in 2007 and 2008 for a complete system upgrade and $1.4 million in 2017 for a redundant power system and nine additional mainline cabins. Those cabins brought capacity to its maximum of 1,070 passengers per hour. The long-term gondola plan page says the gondola is the first and only free public transportation of its kind in the United States, with more than 2.5 million terminal exits a year.
The same page puts the end date plainly. "TMVOA's obligation to fund the gondola expires in 2027." The page's header now sends readers to the regional transit authority for gondola news.
That handoff is the main fact for a buyer. For roughly three decades, the cost of Mountain Village's signature amenity has been tied to its real estate turnover. From 2028, that cost is spread across the region.
The 2028 Handoff, Source by Source
The San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation, known as SMART, plans to take over gondola operations and maintenance on January 1, 2028. Two ballot measures built the money that replaces TMVOA's share.
The first was SMART's 3A. Voters approved it in November 2024 with 52.67% in favor, according to The Telluride Times. The second was Mountain Village's Ballot Issue A, a 5% excise tax on ski lift tickets. It passed on November 4, 2025, by 291 votes to 85.
| Funding source | Who pays | What the documents say |
|---|---|---|
| SMART 3A sales tax | Shoppers in the SMART district | Up to 0.82%, projected at $4,596,350 a year |
| SMART 3A lodging tax | Overnight guests | Up to 1.25%, projected at $1,983,407 a year |
| SMART 3A property tax | Property owners in the district | 1.336 mills, projected at $1,620,243 a year |
| Mountain Village Issue A | Lift-ticket buyers | 5% excise tax, with local, merchant and season passes exempt |
| TMVOA RETA | Parties to Mountain Village sales | 3%, with gondola funding obligation ending in 2027 |
According to SMART's 3A explainer, the package was projected to raise about $8.2 million a year, with 87.8% of the new revenue set aside for gondola operations, maintenance and capital improvements. The SMART district covers Telluride, Mountain Village, Rico and the covered unincorporated part of San Miguel County. The two public estimates of the property tax's effect differ. SMART put it at $100 per $1 million of residential value, while the Town of Mountain Village's notice said about $89.
The lift-ticket tax also changed course. Telluride Ski & Golf had pledged $1.5 million a year toward the 3A funding package and withdrew that commitment before its agreement with SMART was finalized. The Telluride Times reported that the 5% tax followed. Collection began November 15, 2025. The Town collects the tax, keeps a 1% processing fee and sends the rest to SMART every quarter. The revenue estimates for the tax disagree. The Town's election materials put it at about $2.5 million in 2026. SMART's August 20, 2026 progress update calls it a variable source forecast at about $1 million a year.
The new structure also changes who gets a vote. Under the Town's 3A notice, nonresident Mountain Village owners could vote on that measure only if they were registered electors in the Town of Mountain Village. Under the RETA model, private covenants set the gondola's funding. Under the new model, ballots set it, and many second-home owners are not on the voter rolls.
The Replacement Is a Separate, Larger Bill
The current system dates from 1996, runs at capacity and faces maintenance and parts challenges, and SMART is leading the planning for its replacement.
The cost estimates vary with the funding route. SMART's gondola project FAQ puts the core replacement at $135 million to $187 million in 2031 dollars. It says construction could begin as early as 2031 if the project enters the Federal Transit Administration program in 2027. The September 28, 2026 Leadership Committee packet compared two paths:
- Federal route: about $140 million with a 2031 construction midpoint. Roughly $9 million to $10 million of that total is added cost from federal requirements, and the route could bring in about $70 million in federal money.
- Non-federal route: about $131 million with a 2030 midpoint.
The local share is where Mountain Village appears by name. A June 2026 planning scenario assumed $70 million in federal funds and a $70 million local match. SMART's share would come first, about $15 million from early 3A collections and about $15 million in potential bonding backed by the lift-ticket tax. That bonding would need approval from SMART district voters. Partners would cover the rest, with $20 million from the Town of Telluride and $20 million from the "MVE." A Town of Telluride council packet defines the Mountain Village Entity as the Town of Mountain Village and TMVOA together. The same packet labels those figures preliminary planning assumptions, not commitments.
Work is already being billed. KOTO reported on September 14, 2026 that senior project manager Amber Blake presented a 2027 project budget of about $6.526 million, including a 30% contingency. SMART would pay half, and the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village would split the other half evenly.
The Open Question at the Closing Table
As of mid-October 2026, the published documents leave three things unresolved.
- The RETA's purpose after 2027. TMVOA's page still says RETA revenue is pledged to gondola operations and maintenance, and its gondola obligation ends in 2027. TMVOA has not publicly said what the 3% will fund once SMART takes over operations.
- TMVOA's share of the replacement. The $20 million Mountain Village Entity figure is a planning assumption. How the Town and TMVOA would divide it, and where TMVOA's portion would come from, has not been published.
- Federal or local funding. In August, SMART set a goal of choosing between the federal and locally funded approaches by year-end. The June memo targeted November 2026 for a funding plan that all parties commit to. Mountain Village's July 16 council packet expected a new operations agreement between SMART and Mountain Village to come up for approval in 2027.
TMVOA is still spending on the gondola in the meantime. Mayor Scott Pearson and TMVOA Board Chair Paul Zoidis announced that TMVOA would fund additional operating weeks in fall 2026 and in summer and fall 2027, according to the Town of Mountain Village.
For a buyer comparing Mountain Village with Telluride, the price of a Mountain Village property includes a 3% closing assessment. TMVOA's own documents tie that assessment to an obligation that ends in 2027. The gondola's operating costs are already shifting to taxes that a Telluride buyer also pays. No published plan yet says whether the RETA continues after 2027 or what it would fund.
FAQ
Does the 3A property tax apply in Mountain Village? Yes. Mountain Village is inside the SMART district, and 3A added 1.336 mills on property in the district. The published per-$1-million estimates differ, at $100 from SMART and about $89 from the Town.
Do Telluride and Mountain Village locals pay the lift-ticket tax? Local and merchant passes and season passes are exempt, according to the Town's fact sheet on Ballot Issue A.
When could a new gondola be built? SMART's FAQ says construction could begin as early as 2031 if the project enters the federal program in 2027. The September 2026 comparison put a non-federal path's construction midpoint at 2030.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how the RETA, any exemption and local taxes apply to your purchase with your title company, attorney or tax advisor.
When you're weighing a Mountain Village purchase, the transfer assessment, the timing of the gondola handoff and the open funding questions all matter to what you're buying. Hilbert Homes can go through how these pieces apply to a specific property. Request a personal consultation and free home valuation, and we'll start with the closing statement.
