The Monument Academy (MA) School Board held a special board meeting on April 2 to accept the resignation of Chief Operating Officer (COO) Christianna Herrera. MA held its regular board meeting on April 8, when members got an update on the Highway 105 project and listened to prospective board member presentations.

MA also held special meetings on April 16 and 26 to receive legal advice on a specific legal matter related to policy questions and potential changes related to the passage of new laws. Brad Miller, who serves as MA’s lawyer, attended the April 16 meeting while Eric Hall of Sparks Wilson PC, who also serves as the Rocky Mountain Classical Academy lawyer, attended the April 26 meeting. No action was taken after either meeting, with board President Melanie Strop noting that the board was just trying to understand the potential impact of pending legislation and how to protect MA.

The MA board met on March 30 and April 2 in special meetings that went directly into executive sessions to receive legal advice on specific legal matters, to discuss negotiating positions, to advise negotiators, and to discuss personnel matters related to facility financing, charter contract matters, and performance of school administrators. Attorney Brad Miller confirmed that the meeting would discuss Herrera as well as Principals Charlie Richardson and Julie Seymour.

No action was taken after the March 30 executive session; however, after the April 2 meeting, board Strop announced that Herrera had resigned as of the end of her contract in June. She noted that Herrera would be available to help with the process of choosing her successor. The board unanimously voted to accept her resignation and to declare a vacancy and initiate a process to select her successor. An email was later sent out to the MA community with a personal note from Herrera.

The board heard from Cory Beasley, who works with HDR Engineering representing El Paso County, on the Highway 105 road widening project which will impact Monument Academy. He said he was working closely with the school to find some resolution on its concerns. The main objective of the project is to deal with a growing community and increased traffic and to address the morning and afternoon queuing safety issues around MA.

He said he would keep the board aware of next steps as he coordinates with the School Board and with MA Elementary School Principal Richardson. He said he would send a conceptual option for consideration, comments, and input from the board and parents. Beasley said the county is willing to support this option and wants to move the project along and is looking for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the school and the county. The MOU would be reviewed by the School Board and the school lawyer and would define the obligations on each side for construction of the circulation plan. He said the goal is to follow up in either the May meeting or a special meeting and get the MOU signed by May.

Principal Richardson cautioned that he did not see getting the MOU signed in the next 30 days because there were too many open questions. He said MA needs to take it slow since the project impacts the ingress and egress to the elementary school and could have a significant impact. He encouraged the board to move deliberately and slowly as the viability of the elementary school is at stake. Richardson said issues of timing, responsibilities, and funding were to be determined. Funding would come from the county, state and federal levels, the latter of which would add layers of bureaucracy. He said the board needs immediate legal advice from someone who knows property laws and will need to hire someone to supervise the project on MA’s behalf.

Richardson noted that the county has seen tremendous growth and that the Knollwood and Highway 105 intersection is already backed up through no fault of MA. He said the church with whom MA shares ingress and egress wants that to go away, which would put all the traffic onto Knollwood Drive. He said eliminating this would be huge but is the church’s right. Strop brought up financial concerns, noting that MA was already using its reserve funds and asked if the county could help. Beasley said he would take this under advisement and discuss it internally with his team.

Board member Megghan St. Aubyn said that she would like to see a safe solution to the traffic problem and encouraged parents to provide input when they are emailed. The board discussed creating a committee with two board members, a parent, and Richardson.

More information can be found at http://bit.ly/epc-hwy105.

Two MA board positions are open, including that of Strop, who is term limited, and the vacancy that was not filled when Susan Byrd stepped down. The board heard brief presentations from the four parent candidates: Lindsay Clinton, Daymen Tiffany, Janae Winkelman, and John Buczkowski. Each candidate spoke about their ties to MA and the community and their backgrounds and the skills and values they would bring to the board.

St. Aubyn laid out the next steps in the board election—candidates’ headshots and essays were put on the website at www.monumentacademy.net/school-board/board-members/ along with a link to their answers to a questionnaire. MA held a virtual candidate forum for the MA community on April 20 and posted a recording at https://youtu.be/pAgglQ8OgDQ. Voting will be done electronically, using the My Direct Vote website, and parents will receive an email with an individualized key. If needed, a runoff election will be held on May 3. The two winning candidates will be asked to attend the May 13 meeting as non-voting board members.

The following items were highlighted at the board meeting:

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The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 13 at 6 p.m. The MA School Board usually meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. Meetings may be held in-person and/or via Zoom, which will be streamed to the MA YouTube channel. For more information on how to join the meeting in person or virtually or to submit a public comment, see https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

At the Black Forest Fire/Rescue Protection District (BFFRPD) board meeting on April 21, the board heard about newly hired personnel, received a presentation for a new apparatus proposal, and discussed the future of an existing apparatus.

Fire Chief PJ Langmaid was excused.

Deputy Chief James Rebitski said the crews conducted the interviews and selected the final six new staff members to replace the six personnel who left over a period of two months to pursue alternative careers. Hopefully, the six new qualified personnel will stick around, and we can keep boosting our numbers and the overtime needed to maintain minimum staffing can be reduced, said Rebitski. The board held an executive session to discuss staffing at the Jan. 20 meeting. See www.ocn.me/v21n2.htm#bffrpd.

Firefighter/Paramedic Brandon Jones, the lead member of the Apparatus Search Committee (a four-member team), presented the board with an apparatus proposal and said the following:

Rebitski said the team volunteered to research the apparatus, and he was not part of the committee. Jones and the team worked long hours to figure out the specifications and find the right engine—this rig will last a long time—and they have done a tremendous job, said Rebitski.

Treasurer Jack Hinton said 1st National Bank has offered a10-year fixed rate loan at 3.5%. See www.ocn.me/v21n4.htm#bffrpd.

The board unanimously approved the production and purchase of the new apparatus.

Rebitski said the following:

Rebitski said that at a cost to the district, SVI confirmed during the visit that the four-wheel-drive chassis could be replaced with a two-wheel-drive chassis to lower the Spartan engine by 8.5 inches, allowing easier access to the hose bed. The process is estimated to take about four to six weeks, and SVI is confident the four-wheel-drive chassis would eventually be purchased by another department and BFFRPD could recoup some of the cost. See www.ocn.me/v21n4.htm#bffrpd.

Hinton said that before the board can approve the chassis replacement on the Spartan, the board would need to know the total cost. He recommended using funds from the Capital Improvement Fund to pay for the chassis replacement.

Rebitski said he would request "hard numbers" from the SVI president for the two-wheel-drive chassis conversion on the Spartan and get the ball rolling.

Rebitski said the recently hired staff will begin an aggressive hard-and-heavy three-week mini training academy on April 26 to understand the workings of BFFRPD, to include physical training, fire-fighting skills and daily testing.

He also said:

Rebitski said the following:

Rebitski said Langmaid and the BFFRPD legal counsel had met with new Fire Chief Randy Royal of CSFD and the City of Colorado Springs legal counsel to discuss the next phase of exclusions. The next phase plans to exclude the remaining municipal parcels west of Black Forest Road but not the ones that are unincorporated and solely receiving services from BFFRPD. The joint plan and resolution for board approval is expected at the May regular board meeting, said Rebitski. See www.ocn.me/v20n8.htm#bffrpd   and www.ocn.me/v21n2.htm#bffrpd.

Rebitski said El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs expect vast amounts of the BFFRPD current service area to be annexed to Colorado Springs as part of its master plan in the coming decades.

Treasurer Jack Hinton said the following:

Hinton confirmed during public comments that the administrative assistant position was upgraded to administrative officer with a realignment of duties to absorb three separate positions. The administrative officer position now incorporates the accounting position and has a higher pay scale, but the elimination of three other positions resulted in a cost savings, said Hinton. The new administrative officer is undergoing training now and will start full-time in June.

The board unanimously accepted the financial report as presented.

Note: Copies of the monthly financial reports have not been made available to OCN in 2021.

Black Forest resident Linda Smith requested the board minutes recognize the achievement of the former BFFRPD board Treasurer Jayme McConnellogue on her recent promotion to deputy fire chief of the CSFD. Smith said McConnellogue spoke out and insisted on financial transparency for the district after the 2013 Black Forest Fire before becoming board treasurer. McConnellogue now holds the highest office ever held by a female within CSFD.

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

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Meetings are usually held at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at BFFRPD Station 1, 11445 Teachout Road, Colorado Springs. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for May 19 at 7 p.m. For Zoom meeting joining instructions, updates and minutes, visit www.bffire.org.

The District Accountability Advisory Committee received a number of reports at its final meeting of the school year. The meeting was held virtually.

Learning Service Coordinator and Home School Enrichment Academy Principal Davonne Johnson reported on the scope of activities at the Home School Enrichment Academy, located at Grace Best Education Center.

The academy, now in its ninth year, serves 143 students in grades K through 8 each Thursday. Students are offered programs in areas where home-schooled students might otherwise not be able to participate. Among these are drama, music, physical education, and art. In music, for example, students receive instruction in guitar and other instruments, and there is a choir. Field trips are also offered.

Programs for students in grades 6 through 8 were recently added. As yet there is no high school option.

Beginning in the 2021-22 school year, a second day will be added, with a different group of students for each day.

Melissa Gibson Steiner is the new principal of the Home School Enrichment Academy following Johnson’s selection as principal of Lewis-Palmer Elementary School.

During his update, Superintendent K.C. Somers reported on progress on the Grace Best Facility Master Plan. A detailed report was presented to the Board of Education at its April 6 work session. Information can be found on the website www.lewispalmer.org/gracebestplan.

A steering committee of 42 including community members, district staff, teachers, and parents has met three times. A community survey received 576 responses with opinions on the best use of the facility. Many of the respondents either attended school at the facility or had children who did so.

The top two preferred uses of the building are for Career and Technical Education or as a flex space that could be used in a number of ways by the district and community. The current users of the space, including the Home School Enrichment Academy, Bearbotics, the Transitions Program, and storage of some district materials such as science kits, would not be displaced.

Community input is encouraged.

Representatives of Anser Advisory and Cooperative Strategies presented the report. Acting as owners-representatives, they are coordinating all meetings and collection of bids for future work. It is hoped that construction could begin over the summer if approved.

Please follow the website for updates.

Representatives of Schneider Electric reported on progress in their investment grade audit of district energy use. Somers reported briefly on this information.

Schneider Electric has surveyed district staff and others on their concerns. Among these were flickering lights and air quality.

Some proposals include replacing all lights with LEDs, adding security vestibules at Lewis- Palmer Elementary and Prairie Winds Elementary, and adding walls at those schools to make it possible to lock down classrooms.

A new building automation system would allow electrical outlets to be shut down completely to avoid a slow use of electricity by computers and other electronics.

Air quality could be improved at Lewis-Palmer Middle School by including a new cooling system along with a new boiler.

Schneider representatives said that some funding could be provided by a state BEST grant for the boiler and federal funds to upgrade air circulation.

Their report also included a study of facility use. All current facilities are being used at 80 to 100 percent capacity. As a result, it was recommended that the current modular classrooms be removed for energy savings and the safety of students. This decision will be made at the May meeting of the Board of Education.

Somers commented that the expected increase in student population that prompted acquisition of the modulars has not materialized. The lease of the facilities is on a month-to-month basis, so removal would not prompt a penalty.

Other features of Somers’ update included an award for a Best Community for Music Education from the National Association of Music Merchants, the hiring of Kathleen Overton as the district’s new chief financial officer, and the mandate of mask use until the end of the school year. Graduations will be held on May 28 at UC Health stadium, at 9 a.m. for Palmer Ridge High School and 1 p.m. for Lewis-Palmer High School.

Somers also announced the retirement of Chief Academic Officer Lori Benton. He expressed appreciation for her years of service to the district.

Board of Education Liaison Tiffiney Upchurch reported on a number of legislative bills under consideration. These include bills that would prevent misuse of the Safe2Tell system, a suicide prevention act which has been signed, a school finance bill to be voted on May 26, and restoration of some per pupil funding. An increase in funding for special education would be supported with funding from marijuana sales.

Benton presented her annual report on the activities of the Gifted Education Leadership Team, which meets monthly. Its duties include identification of students who would benefit from services and tracking of their progress. Each student is provided with an individual learning plan that is monitored by staff and parents.

The activities of the team are evaluated by the state every four years. The last assessment, in 2019, received a perfect score for the district.

Benton pointed out that when viewing the percentage of students under a gifted/talented program, the elementary grades are underrepresented because the initial identification of students is made in third grade.

Benton reported that gifted education is underfunded by the state and the district makes a significant investment from local funds for this purpose.

Assessment Coordinator Michael Brom reported on the district’s Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) and those of the individual schools.

In past years, the committee considered each plan at length during its meetings. Beginning last year, plans were assigned to individual members for discussion. Brom reported a notable decline in achievement in math because of the school closure due to COVID-19. He said that assessments were performed in the fall and will be given again in May to measure improvement.

The PSAT and SAT tests will be given in mid-April with results available in June.

Three subgroups targeted for improvement are:

The committee voted to approve the UIPs for submission to the state Department of Education.

Kelly Bane was elected as the new co-chair of the committee, with Christy Milks continuing for another year.

The Lewis-Palmer D38 District Accountability Advisory Committee meets six times per year. This was the final meeting of this school year.

The Donald Wescott Fire Protection District met March 29 for a special meeting to extend an offer to Warren Jones, Ph.D. for the interim fire chief position. During the April 20 regular monthly meeting, Jones was sworn in along with two new paramedics.

Paramedics George Gaugesen and Cory Trottier were sworn in just before Jones took the oath of office. He will replace Vinny Burns, who retired after 40 years of fire service.

Jones began his career as a firefighter for the Poudre Fire Authority in Fort Collins in 1977. He served in a variety of positions, ultimately becoming battalion chief. He served as fire chief for the Evans Fire Protection District in Evans, Colo., for eight years. Jones holds three degrees, all from Colorado State University: a bachelor of arts degree in Education, a master of arts in Political Science, and a doctorate in Education and Human Resources.

Burns thanked the community for its support through the years. The district was formally started in 1981 after Donald Wescott, a Colorado Springs firefighter, was killed in the line of duty. "We’ve come a long way baby," said Burns, noting how proud he has been to serve with his staff and volunteers. Burns said he is planning to travel and see family.

Secretary Larry Schwarz said to Burns, "I’ve known you for 27 years and fought fires alongside of you. Thank you from all of El Paso County."

At the April 20 meeting, Tom Mistare from Hoelting and Co. presented the 2020 audit to the board, saying it presented fairly. Though Mistare said the pandemic caused his team to work remotely, he gave an unmodified, clean opinion of the district’s financials.

As with his review last year, he suggested a segregation of duties as part of a more robust internal control.

District counsel Michelle Ferguson said the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) audit was almost complete in March, but then the board considered including wildland fire reimbursements. After an FLSA audit for past payroll, the district realized there were payment discrepancies. Ferguson said that without including the reimbursements, employees were owed $12,000 in total. If reimbursements are added in, the employees are owed a total closer to $27,000.

Chairman Mark Gunderman confirmed the board’s philosophy doesn’t change regarding paying for unpaid payroll. He confirmed that although payroll had been processed in March, no payments had gone to employees. See www.ocn.me/v21n4.htm#dwfpd.

Schwarz asked if employees will be notified of the extra pay so they can be prepared for the associated taxes. Since Administrative Assistant Stacey Popovich is sending letters to all those who should expect reimbursements, the board directed her to tell staff how to change their tax status and the time frame for completing the change.

The meeting adjourned at 5:07 p.m.

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If the meeting is held in person, it will be at Station 1, 15415 Gleneagle Dr. For a virtual meeting, the phone number is 669-900-9128, and the meeting code is 980 378 2073. Meetings are usually on the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. The next Donald Wescott Fire District Popovich at 719-488-8680 or see www.wescottfire.org.

In our March 2021 issue, OCN reported that only one candidate had been interviewed for the interim fire chief position. In fact, two candidates were interviewed. After the initial round of interviews, one candidate withdrew his name from consideration. OCN regrets the error.

During the April 5 Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting, the board heard a presentation from Town Attorney Andrew Richie on home rule. Three police officers were sworn in and ordinances were hit and miss in terms of approval. The board received an I-25 Gap Project update, too.

Richie explained to the board that Monument is currently a statutory town regarding local government methods. In Colorado, municipalities default to statutory rule, which limits powers to only those granted by state statutes. Home rule allows towns to create legislation for local concerns.

Richie said the process toward home rule is calendar driven and relies heavily on residents’ support. Voters would have to elect a charter commission made of nine to 21 residents who would write a new town charter. This would supersede any non-regulated concerns, but state laws will always weigh heavier than the charter. The charter may not supersede state laws.

Once elected, the charter commission has 180 days to submit a charter. The BOT would then publish it and give notice of an election. Some examples of the flexibility allowed within the charter include:

Richie cautioned that restrictive or poorly written charters can be difficult to live with and even more difficult to change, because they require a vote of the residents. Richie said home rule may give the town more governmental powers than some residents think is necessary.

Richie said most towns that choose this form of government see the biggest areas of change in financial wellbeing and community development. It also allows for more flexibility in land use and zoning.

Resident Nancy Swearengin said, "I’m ambivalent either way," regarding the possible change. She suggested government entities that have become home rule towns present the benefits of changing their governmental system brought to their communities.

The costs for adopting home rule can be prohibitive. Town Manager Mike Foreman said elections can cost upwards of $15,000 annually.

Most of the trustees were interested in moving forward with the year-long process. It will be discussed further during a June BOT retreat.

Town Clerk Laura Hogan suggested those interested in learning more can sign up for the town’s monthly newsletter at www.townofmonument.org.

Richie suggested residents look at the Colorado Municipal League website, www.cml.org, for more information on home rule in general.

Chase Dukes, Paul Nyman, and Samuel Yanez were sworn in as the newest officers in the Police Department. Chief Sean Hemingway introduced the new officers. Dukes is a Palmer Ridge High School graduate and a native of the area. Nyman worked for 21 years in healthcare and was "inspired to change careers to serve this community in a different way," said Hemingway. Yanez served in the military for 25 years and is a certified handgun instructor.

Two ordinances that were requested for approval were sent back to the staff. The first was a request to put an issue onto the November election ballot asking voters to permanently approve the town retaining all revenues including excess.

The Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights, or TABOR, limits the amount of excess revenue a municipality may keep and requires it to give excess back to the taxpayers unless the voters allow the town to keep the extra money. Local voters may retain control over revenue by voting against the "statutory formula for calculating permissible revenue."

In the past, Monument voters have allowed the town to keep whatever excess revenues it might receive with elections happening every four years. This ordinance is different because it would allow the excess to be kept permanently.

Several trustees were concerned, saying this request is different from those in the past by including the line, "For the year 2021 and all years thereafter. …"

Trustee Ron Stephens said the fundamental concept behind TABOR is that excess revenues belong to the people, not government. "It should be returned to the people without this vote," he said, noting other similar ballot requests have "gone down in flames," especially if the ballot language is too vague.

Trustee Laurie Clark said she had polled her constituents, noting, "89% have said they don’t want this passed," and would prefer to receive the money back they paid in taxes.

Swearengin suggested the request needed more discussion and an education campaign for residents so they understand the consequences.

Trustee Mitch LaKind said the verbiage allowing the town to keep excess revenues in perpetuity "shudders me." He asked why the language had been changed, suggesting the town staff "decided to go against the known formula that works, to take advantage of the citizens’ good nature." Foreman quickly stepped in, saying that wasn’t the point and instead staff was worried about the excessive election costs. "Staff doesn’t have a position on this," he said.

Mayor Don Wilson appeared upset that the board packet didn’t include a listing of the years when there had been excess revenues. Foreman said since the budget had been "de-Bruced," it was impossible to know. Named after TABOR’s author Douglas Bruce, de-Brucing is the elimination of the revenue cap.

The board voted unanimously to postpone the motion for 30 days.

The other ordinance request to be sent back was a request by Planner Debbie Flynn proposing a permitting fee schedule change. The board members seemed genuinely confused about the changes after being told the new schedule didn’t include any fee increases and was intended to provide better customer service by consolidating fees.

For example, final site inspection fees have been broken down as follows:

The new, proposed schedule is broken into only two categories: $350 for zero to 25 acres and $750 for anything over 25 acres. Flynn said the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs approved the fee suggestions. Wilson confirmed with Flynn that the smaller developers would then be subsidizing the larger ones with this fee suggestion. "Correct," she said.

LaKind said, "That’s a massive increase." There were no comparisons to other similarly sized municipalities, so a motion to send the resolution back to staff was unanimously approved.

Larry Quirk, project engineer for the South Gap project, said the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project is moving along well. The full project should be complete by November 2022.

The County Line Road Bridge between El Paso and Douglas counties will be expanded this year to accommodate one through lane and one turn lane in each direction. The bridge will be rebuilt in phases: outside lanes will be built, then the existing bridge circa 1964 will be demolished and rebuilt. There will be a six-week closure of the northbound on and off ramps at the County Line Road exit, but Quirk didn’t specify dates.

For more information, go to I-25 South Gap: Monument to Castle Rock — Colorado Department of Transportation (codot.gov) or text I25Gap to 21000.

Flynn presented the rezone and preliminary/final planned development site plan for Elite Cranes. The two-acre property located at 940 Synthes Ave. had previously been zoned Planned Industrial. A 5,000-square-foot shop and an outdoor storage yard will be built if approved. The crane rental business owned by Sam and Stacie Lowry was unanimously approved.

The final plat for the Monument Industrial Park was approved. The development will be located just north of Valero at 1310 W. Baptist Road along I-25. Trustee Jim Romanello was in the meeting remotely and his vote could not be heard, so Wilson took that as an abstention. The final vote was 6-0-1.

The Preliminary Planned Development Site Plan and rezone for the Village at Jackson Creek was unanimously approved. Foreman spoke briefly, telling the board he addressed the Planning Commission board members to apologize for inappropriate language that had been used in a rebuttal of their remarks regarding this development. He also noted Larry Manning is no longer employed as the planning director. Foreman said Richie and he would attend planning meetings until a new director is hired.

The board had heard this request before but sent it back to the Planning Commission for further review. Brett Behnke of Creekside Developers is requesting the rezone for a "live/work/play" development to include commercial and residential land uses. Behnke said after meeting with the Planning Commission that he has made the following changes according to their requests:

The request was approved unanimously.

The board approved the purchase of one-half acre of land to build a secondary water tank. It sits adjacent to land where the town’s existing tank is located. Richie said the land will cost the town $70,000. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Elliott said this purchase makes sense because there will be no interruption of water services and low-cost land. It was approved 6-1 with Clark voting against and giving no reason for doing so.

The meeting adjourned at 9:08 pm.

Monument Planning Commission (PC) Vice Chairman Sean White led the April 14 meeting, making this his first time doing so. Commissioners Bill Lewis, Martin Trujillo, Danny Ours, and Eric Light were also in attendance, along with town staff, including Town Manager Mike Foreman. Foreman will be coming to PC meetings until a new planning director is chosen to fill Larry Manning’s role. This is expected to happen sometime in the next three months.

After the PC considered this month’s three public hearings and recommendations items, Foreman addressed the commissioners directly, expressing gratitude for what the PC does for their community. He stated that Monument town staff is here to serve the commissioners.

Also, Trujillo volunteered to serve as the PC’s new representative on the Board of Adjustments.

The three public hearings and recommendations items for April were: a couple amendments for Sanctuary Pointe Phase 1, the Wolf Business Park Lot 2 Filing No. 2 Final PD Site Plan, and the Monument Dental Clinic Final PD Site Plan. Motions to approve these proposals for recommendation passed, meaning that each item will now go on to the Board of Trustees (BOT) with the PC’s blessing. A summary of discussion points mentioned during the meeting will also be sent to the BOT for its consideration.

Further information about all projects discussed by the PC can be found in the meeting packets located at www.monumenttownco.documents-on-demand.com. This site is also a good resource for accessing approved meeting minutes, as well as the agendas for upcoming meetings. This latest PC meeting, along with many older ones, can be found recorded on the Town of Monument’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/channel/UCdFLo8UcqZfFdkio5jT6GDA. Citizens may find it easier to search for "Town of Monument" or "Monument Planning Commission" in YouTube’s search bar.

According to the town’s website, Planning staff can be contacted by calling 719-481-2954 or sending an email to planning@tomgov.org.

Some facts about the Sanctuary Pointe project, according to presentations from Planner Debbie Flynn and Andrea Barlow of NES Inc., along with the meeting packet and discussions during the meeting:

There were multiple speakers during the designated Public Comment period. Citizens came representing their neighborhood, each intending to speak on a different subject. Some of their listed points included concerns about the trees, housing density, and possible accidents around the property entrance, as well as expressions of love for their community. It was suggested that seven or eight homes in this area might be considered "reasonable." The PC was encouraged not to recommend this project for approval as it currently stands. It was also noted that Classic Homes wouldn’t give a price for buying the property, but that a nearby neighborhood may be interested in purchasing it.

Following discussion, the PC approved the project for recommendation to the BOT 4-1, with Trujillo voting against.

Some facts about this project, according to Flynn’s presentation, the meeting packet, and discussions during the meeting:

No citizens spoke during the Public Comment period. The project was approved for recommendation unanimously, 5-0.

Some facts about this project, according to Flynn’s presentation, the meeting packet, and discussions during the meeting:

This project was approved for recommendation to the BOT unanimously, 5-0, following another uneventful Public Comment session.

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For the time being, the public will be able to attend PC meetings through Webex software. Citizens are also afforded the option of calling in to listen to meetings, and if alternate accommodations are needed, the town website states, "Individuals without the ability to participate by phone or computer may contact Drew Anderson at danderson@tomgov.org or 719-396-0842." Further information: http://www.townofmonument.org/meetings/. The next PC meeting is expected to be held on May 12.

On April 19, the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) voted to repeal the emergency pandemic declaration it had approved in March 2020. A water-related contract was approved, and two special workshops were set for May 3 and 17.

Trustee Jim Romanello was noted absent.

In March 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning, the BOT declared a local disaster for the town. This allowed for the recovery of any financial aid and assistance and provided the town manager with special authorities, including the ability to "appropriate and expend funds, execute contracts, authorize acquisition of goods and services without the strict compliance with the town’s procurement regulations."

The board discussed repealing this resolution during its March 15 meeting. Town Attorney Andrew Richey said the review demonstrated the town has used relatively few of the powers entrusted within the resolution. See Vol. 21 No. 4 - April 3, 2021 (ocn.me).

The repeal does not dissuade local businesses from taking pandemic precautions as they see fit. The possibility of trustees attending meetings remotely may still be an option if the board passes the necessary resolutions. Trustee Ron Stephens asked about grant availability should the repeal be approved. Town Manager Mike Foreman said grants are not affected by this change.

With few questions from the board members, the request passed 6-0.

Public Works Director Tom Tharnish asked the board to approve a contract with Lefever Building Systems to supply construction materials for a pre-engineered metal building addition to the 3/9 water treatment plant. This portion of the building will be used as a laboratory.

This project is part of the $22 million bond. The intent is to allow the contractor to procure the materials. Five companies were interested during the request for proposal process, three considered bidding, but only Lefever ended up bidding on the project.

Mayor Don Wilson asked if this building expansion would encompass office space too, but Tharnish said offices will now be in the Code One building at 259 Beacon Lite Road purchased in February. See Vol. 21 No. 3 - March 6, 2021 (http://www.ocn.me/v21n3.htm).

The request was approved unanimously.

A resident suggested to the board that Monument become a sanctuary city from more government overreach. Although he didn’t specify from what the town should seek refuge status, he listed the Second Amendment, mask mandates, and the Equality Act.

There will be two public workshops held in May. On May 3, the board and the Planning Commission will hold a joint workshop at 5:30 p.m. before the regular BOT meeting. On May 17, the BOT will discuss fee schedule revisions, TABOR issues, and home rule initiation. That meeting is also scheduled for 5:30 p.m. before the regular board meeting.

Foreman said the town will have several surveys available in the next few months, including one for police funding and another regarding home rule. Look for those on the town’s website, http://www.townofmonument.org.

The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.

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The Monument Board of Trustees usually meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month at Monument Town Hall, 645 Beacon Lite Road. The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 3. Call 719-884-8014 or see www.townofmonument.org for information. To see upcoming agendas and complete board packets for BOT or to download audio recordings of past meetings, see http://monumenttownco.minutesondemand.com and click on Board of Trustees.

The Palmer Lake Board of Trustees (PLBOT) met three times in April. On April 8, the first of two regular meetings was held. On April 22, the board held both a workshop meeting and the second regular meeting.

In April, the board returned to its efforts to design a comprehensive and fair policy governing parking on town streets, this time taking into consideration the feedback from residents in response to the plan presented by town staff at its meeting in March. Water issues were also on the agenda, with the board hearing a report on the status of the town’s residential wells and debating how to address the low water level in Palmer Lake. The board debated updating the town’s noise ordinance and heard a presentation about planning for fireworks on the Fourth of July. The board updated the town’s road standards and its fire, plumbing and electrical codes.

At its last meeting in March, the board heard a presentation from town staff proposing 16 streets where parking would be allowed. Mayor Bill Bass said he supported staff’s suggestions but directed them to develop a map documenting where proposed parking was allowed, and to publish that map on the town’s website. He also asked for feedback from the community.

In April, the board reviewed feedback from residents in its workshop meeting and then voted to approve two motions concerning parking in its regular meeting.

At the workshop meeting, Bass began the discussion by saying the street parking policy changes were "across the board" and applied to residents and non-residents. He said street parking had been challenging for the last year, especially when it came to the issue of how residents’ guests could park legally.

In response to Bass’s remarks, a town resident said he objected to visitors’ disregard for speed limits, crosswalks, and no parking signs, and said he had observed them racing to find scarce parking.

Trustee Karen Stuth said she felt the staff’s decisions about where to allow parking said "some neighborhoods are not as important as others."

Town Administrator Dawn Collins reviewed the previous discussions on the topic, reminding the board that the staff was not attempting to punish some and privilege others, but the staff’s decisions were made entirely on the design of each street. Collins said the staff had reviewed residents’ feedback and was open to further discussion. She suggested allowing street parking near businesses but not on residential streets but added often there was no buffer area between commercial and residential areas.

Resident Nikki McDonald, who previously served as the town’s mayor, said she hoped last year was unusually challenging due to a high number of visitors. She suggested posting no parking signs only where parking was obviously a problem and seeing if there is still a problem in future.

A resident who said she was new to Palmer Lake said she did not want to see residential streets opened to visitor parking due to safety concerns. Another resident asked the board "not to screw it up anymore," adding that he blamed "vocal people coming in to turn this into the big city they moved away from."

At the regular meeting on April 22, Trustee Darin Dawson opened the discussion by requesting clearer signs indicating where the town did want visitors to park. Collins pointed out that some of those signs were already in place and the many no parking signs were in response to an emergency. Bass agreed the town should clearly mark areas where parking was allowed.

Stuth said she believed COVID-19 restrictions were being removed and recommended waiting to see what effect that would have on street parking.

Collins asked the board for direction on whether to remove or retain signs specifying no parking for non-residents.

Jeff Hulsmann, owner of O’Malley’s Steak Pub, said "Take the damn signs down please."

After the discussion, Stuth moved to direct the town staff and Town Attorney Matthew Krob to draft a resolution removing all signs specifying no parking except for residents. The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. Krob said the motion returned the town "to square one" regarding parking. Collins asked how the board wanted to handle areas where parking caused problems.

Stuth made a second motion to let the town staff make decisions on parking, and the board voted unanimously in favor of the resolution.

At the April 8 regular meeting, Dave Frisch of GMS Inc. gave the board the results of his study of residential wells within the town limits.

Frisch said he identified 151 residential wells, pumping from a total of four aquifers underneath the town.

Trustee Glant Havenar said she estimated 69 of the residential wells require metering and asked Frisch to provide details about metering of residential wells. Frisch answered that metering may be required by the state or by the town, and reporting will vary with some reporting to the state and some to the town. Some of the town’s wells were drilled before metering and reporting were required. Frisch recommended that the town require all residential wells to be metered and to report to the town in the future. Bass asked if metering and reporting were currently in the town code and Collins said no.

Bass pointed out that well metering is a common practice and that the town code specified that homeowners with residential wells receive an allocation of water based on their lot size at no charge but should be charged for any use beyond their allocation. Frisch said the town was not currently charging for use over allocation, but that the board should enforce that in some way when a mechanism to do so could be designed.

Frisch said that better management of residential wells could allow the town to make up to 1,145 water taps available since the current upper limit on water taps was calculated using only surface water rights.

Resident Matt Stephen asked Frisch to speak to the issue of water table depletion. Frisch said the Denver aquifer was dropping about 16 feet a year in the Palmer Lake area. In other areas the Denver aquifer was dropping 20 feet a year, Frisch said. As the number of wells increases, the likelihood that aquifers will be depleted also increases, Frisch said.

Frisch told the board that there were three possible responses to the depletion of aquifers: not to allow any new residential or commercial development, develop other water resources, which would also require increased costs for infrastructure, or move to a regionalized water distribution system if one is built in the future. All three options would be costly, he said.

At a previous board meeting in March, Collins told the board that the Parks Commission suggested cancelling activities at the lake due to its low water level.

At the April 8 meeting, Frisch said water had been added to the lake from the town’s reservoirs two times in the last two months. Frisch said the lake covered about 10 acres, that the maximum the town could add to the lake was 8.4 acre-feet per month, and at that rate he calculated the maximum the town could raise the water level in the lake in a year was 6.7 feet.

Hulsmann commented from a business standpoint that cancelling activities at the lake would be catastrophic since the trails and the lake are "huge draws."

At the April 22 workshop, Bass commented on the higher water level in the lake.

Parks Commission Chair Reid Wiecks told the board that in response to the higher water level, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) had reversed its decision not to stock the lake with fish. Wiecks went on to suggest that, rather than closing the lake, different parts of the lake be dedicated to different activities, for example designating one area for wading and another for fishing. Buoy lines would be used to mark boundaries between areas, he said. The south end of the lake could be used to create a wildlife area and for launching boats, kayaks, and paddle boards.

Wiecks also mentioned that people who park to the west of the lake and cross the railroad tracks to reach the lake are violating the town’s agreement with the railroad, and steps will need to be taken to steer them to the bridge. He suggested repairing the existing fence and adding barbed wire.

The board voted unanimously to authorize the Parks Commission to proceed with Wiecks’s suggestion, except for adding barbed wire to the fence.

At the April 22 workshop, Bass opened discussion of the town’s noise ordinance by pointing out that it was difficult to enforce.

Two residents said the ordinance represented the response of the community to a business that hired bands that were too loud and played objectionable music two years ago. Both liked the provision of the ordinance that specified quiet time on weekends.

At the April 22 regular meeting, Police Chief Jason Vanderpool told the board the current ordinance was hard to enforce because the specified decibel level was too low. He suggested raising the maximum decibel level allowed. He said it was easy to enforce the ordinance’s quiet time provisions.

Stuth moved to table further discussion of the ordinance until May. The motion was unanimously approved.

Cindy Kuchinsky, director of the Palmer Lake Fireworks Committee, told the board about plans for a "Festival on the Fourth" that would include a fireworks display and asked the board to approve a special event application.

Because there is always some uncertainty about whether fire conditions will allow for fireworks, Kuchinsky said the committee envisioned a festival possibly ending with fireworks.

The committee is seeking sponsors for the event, Kuchinsky said, adding the town web page would have a link enabling donations from residents.

Kuchinsky said safety and security are primary considerations, and the committee has met with Police Chief Vanderpool and Fire Chief McCarthy. AMR will provide two ambulances and two EMTs, and there will be two buses on opposite ends of the lake, she said. Between 50 and 60 security staff are in the plan, as are a beer garden and a concession stand at either end of the lake.

The board voted unanimously to approve the special events permits and to waive the permit fee.

Bass presented Eagle Scout candidate Jacob Unwin of Boy Scout Troop 9 with a certificate of appreciation from the town for the work Unwin did to create a wildlife conservation area on the west side of the lake. Unwin undertook the project to earn his Eagle Scout rank.

Caption: Eagle Scout candidate Jacob Unwin of Boy Scout Troop 9 is recognized with a certificate of appreciation for his work on a wildlife conservation area on the west side of Palmer Lake. From left are Bill Bass, Palmer Lake mayor; Unwin; and Mike Pietsch, Palmer Lakes Parks Commission member. Photo by Jackie Burhans

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The Board of Trustees is scheduled to hold three meetings in May, a regular meeting on May 13 and a workshop and regular meeting on May 27. The workshop will be held at 5 p.m. and the regular meetings at 6 p.m. All meetings will be at Town Hall, 42 Valley Crescent. Meetings are normally held on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. Information: 481-2953.

By James Howald

On April 12, Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District (WWSD) District Manager Jessie Shaffer told the board about increasing costs for the water re-use study in which WWSD is a participant. The board also changed its stance concerning the enforcement of utility easements on the lots bordering on the newly created South Woodmoor Preserve. Finally, the board heard operational reports.

At its Feb. 8 and March 8 meetings, the board discussed joining other water districts in the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority (PPRWA) and Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) to study the feasibility of receiving return flows of water from Fountain Creek and delivering that water to WWSD customers.

At the district’s April 12 meeting, Shaffer told the board that the original cost estimate for the water re-use study was low. But the cost estimates received from consultants required for the study were higher than expected, he said, and only eight of the member water districts have decided to participate in the study. Shaffer said the original cost estimate of $100,000 for the study has been revised upward to about $130,000.

Shaffer said the study would have two phases. The first phase would identify several sites as potential storage sites, analyze their feasibility, and then identify the top three choices. The second phase would do geotechnical work on the best three sites and refine the cost estimates for those sites. Shaffer said the expected cost for phase one was $100,000, and the expected cost for phase two was $32,000.

The consultant’s costs would be capped at $80,000, Shaffer said, adding that the participating districts would petition the Arkansas Basin Roundtable and the South Platte Basin Roundtable for funds to complete the study. Shaffer said each of the eight participating water districts was asked to provide $10,000 to begin the study.

The consensus of the board was to move forward with the study.

At its March 8 meeting, the board considered requesting El Paso County to refuse building permits to residents seeking to build accessory structures over existing utility easements. This was considered because of concerns that residents adjacent to the South Woodmoor Reserve (previously a portion of the Walters family property) who are expanding their lots may encroach on easements.

At its April 12 meeting, the board changed its stance on this issue to a position of neutrality. The district will not make any requests of the county and will rely on existing county policies to ensure there is no infringement on easements, Shaffer said. Woodmoor Improvement Association (WIA) covenants, to which all residents are subject, will provide a second check, according to Shaffer.

WWSD board President Brian Bush, who is also the president of the WIA, said he expected covenant enforcement to be taken up at the next WIA meeting.

Reports from district staff contained the following highlights:

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The next meeting is scheduled for May 10 at 1 p.m. Meetings are usually held on the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. Meetings are currently held at the Woodmoor Barn Community Center rather than the district office; please see www.woodmoorwater.com or call 488-2525 to verify meeting times and locations.

At its April 13 meeting, the El Paso Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved the rezoning application for the proposed Cloverleaf development northeast of the Higby Road and Jackson Creek Parkway intersection. During April, the commissioners also made decisions relating to the Winsome and Forest Lakes developments.

At its April 13 meeting, the BOCC heard a request by ProTerra Properties LLC to rezone its 37.22-acre Cloverleaf property from RS 20000 (residential suburban) to RS 5000 (residential suburban). The property is the redevelopment part of the sale of the "Walters Open Space" land.

The application was heard by the El Paso County Planning Commission at its March 18 meeting, where the commissioners voted 9-1 to recommend it for approval. The nay vote was in connection to concerns with compatibility with the surrounding area. Several members of the public spoke both for and against the application at the meeting. See https://www.ocn.me/v21n4.htm#epcpc.

The land proposed for the rezoning is an undeveloped parcel from the Woodmoor Place subdivision, platted in 1972, that was intended to be a golf course but was never developed. The property has been used by residents as open space but has always been privately owned. ProTerra’s involvement has directly facilitated a group of neighbors, who formed Woodmoor Open Space Coalition (WOSC), to purchase the rest of the property as permanent public open space.

Andrea Barlow of NES Inc., on behalf of the applicant, said the rezone to RS 5000 would provide a transition from the lower density half-acre residential lots to the west and north and the higher density townhome development to the south and east. She told the commissioners that the developer had made changes to the project following concerns raised at a neighborhood-wide meeting and at a further meeting held with the residents of Leggins Way who are most impacted by the plans.

Tish Norman, director of WOSC, spoke in support of the application, thanking ProTerra for its support and the way in which it had worked with WOSC to get the best possible outcome. She said, "We just see this as a model for all communities to follow because nobody wants homes in their backyard but, when they can negotiate it, it’s a win-win for everyone." No one spoke in opposition.

Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez Jr. said, "I greatly appreciate the work that the homeowners and the developer have done on this. That is a great example of how to get things done and do it in a way that benefits everybody because it’s always difficult to find a win-win situation." He raised one long-term concern about the water supply but noted that this would be a matter for consideration at the preliminary plan stage.

Commissioner Cami Bremer said, "I am very grateful for developers that are invested in the greater good of the community." Commissioner Carrie Geitner called the partnership "refreshing."

BOCC chair, Commissioner Stan VanderWerf, said, "I think it’s really outstanding when we have a community and the developer working together and ironing out the differences before they come to us. Frankly, it makes our job a whole lot easier and many of you may be aware that not all development applications work out that way."

The commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the rezoning. Commissioner Holly Williams was absent. Bremer said that Williams "deeply regrets not being able to be here today but has no concerns for this which is squarely in her district."

A preliminary plan request for the creation of the 144 single-family residential lot Cloverleaf development is scheduled to be heard by the Planning Commission on May 6. Lots 1-141 would be built on the rezoned land; lots 142, 143, and 144 would be built on two parcels that are separate from the rezoned land under their existing RS 20000 zoning.

Citizens have two more opportunities to comment on the county’s draft Master Plan at special Planning Commission hearings on May 5 and 26. The intent is that the commission will be in a position to adopt the Master Plan at the end of the second hearing.

The 9 a.m. hearings will be held at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave, Suite 150. In-person attendance is permitted but is highly discouraged. To avoid overcrowding of the hearing room and violation of COVID restrictions, the public is encouraged to participate remotely/online.

To participate remotely, members of the public should email Tracey Garcia at TraceyGarcia@elpasoco.com or contact her at (719) 520-7952 with their name and phone number and also provide any documents they wish to submit.

The hearing can be watched live at https://www.elpasoco.com/news-information-channel. Staff will also be monitoring the county’s Facebook live feed for questions and comments.

At their April 13 meeting, the commissioners approved a request by Winsome LLC authorizing pre-development site grading for the 340-acre proposed Winsome Filing No. 2 final plat in advance of that plat’s approval. The property is located at the northwest corner of the Hodgen Road and Meridian Road intersection. The BOCC approved the Winsome preliminary plan in July 2019. Normally pre-development site grading is approved at the same time, but no grading request was included at that time, hence this separate application.

At the April 20 BOCC meeting, the commissioners approved a license agreement with Forest Lakes LLC to allow it to construct a crossing on county property across the New Santa Fe Regional Trail. The crossing will provide access from Woodcarver Road to the neighboring Falcon Commerce Center.

Forest Lakes intends to convey the ongoing maintenance of the crossing to the Town of Monument at a future date, and the town has indicated a willingness to accept these responsibilities. When this happens, the county would grant the town a permanent easement to enable it to carry out maintenance.

At its March 30 meeting, the BOCC voted unanimously to approve the transfer of subdivision plan and plat fees to the appropriate county school districts. Lewis-Palmer School District 38 got $10,448 that will be put toward completing HVAC improvement projects. Academy School District 20 received $36,720, which will go toward the cost of accommodating enrollment trends and facility needs.

El Paso County is moving to fewer COVID-19 restrictions for events and businesses. The state COVID-19 dial framework ended April 15. The statewide mask order remained in place. City and county officials will not implement a local dial or any additional restrictions beyond what the state has implemented. Gov. Jared Polis has continued the order on social distancing and masks but has eased restrictions on most indoor businesses’ capacities.

The following statewide restrictions took effect Friday, April 16 as part of a new public health order:

These restrictions do not apply to the following sectors:

For businesses or entities that have questions concerning the 5-Star Program, variance requests to exceed 500 people, and outdoor event consultation can be directed to: COVIDBusinessRecovery@elpasoco.com

Throughout the pandemic, the public has been encouraged to make informed decisions about engaging in activities based on their personal level of risk and to exercise public health precautions accordingly. Although more than 210,000 people in El Paso County have been fully vaccinated, COVID-19 cases and positivity rates have seen a modest increase. City, county, and public health officials encourage people to remain vigilant as they begin to return to more normal activities. Residents should continue to take the appropriate public health precautions to include mask wearing, social distancing, staying home when sick, washing hands, and getting tested for COVID-19 if they display symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19.

"For the health, safety, and vibrancy of our community, we strongly urge everyone to continue to take the disease seriously and make the best personal decisions regarding the vaccine as we reopen," said El Paso Board of County Commissioners Chair Stan VanderWerf.

"The best and quickest way to recover from this pandemic and return to our ‘normal’ lives is for as many people as possible to get vaccinated," said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers. "We have the supplies and we have the medical professionals at the ready to administer vaccines to all residents 16 and older. It is incumbent upon individuals and businesses to operate and behave at a level that is appropriate for their level of personal risk. We urge vigilance as we relax restrictions, knowing that if hospitalizations or deaths increase, we may have to re-implement these restrictions, which would hurt both our culture and our economy."

Typical weather patterns affected the region during April, with one day feeling like winter and the next more like summer. April is usually one of our snowiest months of the season, with beneficial moisture accumulating as we start the growing season. Unfortunately, this month received below-normal precipitation, which doesn’t help the ongoing drought conditions in the region. Fortunately, temperatures were below normal for the month and this helped to slow the melt of the snow we did get and lowered evaporation overall.

After a very snowy March, April started off dry and mild. Temperatures reached into the 60s and low 70s during the first week of the month, with no precipitation from the 1st through the afternoon of the 6th. The warmest days occurred from the 3rd to the 5th, when several daily record highs were set around the region.

This warm spell was interrupted briefly by a quick-moving cold front during the mid-afternoon hours of the 6th. Clouds increased that afternoon, with a few sprinkles developing that quickly turned into snow, heavy at times, that afternoon. This produced a couple inches of accumulation, with light snow continuing off and on through the evening.

Quiet conditions returned over the next few days, with seasonable cool temperatures on the 7th, then above-normal temperatures on the 8th. Cooler air moved in on the 9th, with areas of low clouds that morning holding high temperatures in the mid-40s. This back and forth between cool, upslope conditions and highs in the 40s and mild westerly breezes with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s continued over the next several days.

This was occurring as the overall weather pattern was changing in the western United States. During the middle of the month, an area of unsettled weather was dropping into the Intermountain West region to our west and setting the stage for several rounds of moisture and cooler temperatures to affect the region from the 13th through the 23rd. Unfortunately, this pattern was a little unorganized with no well-developed areas of low pressure drawing in cold air and moisture in a good combination that would result in heavy snow for us. Instead, we had rounds of snow showers, fog, and low clouds each day.

The most organized portion of the overall unsettled pattern came through during the afternoon and evening of the 15th, when areas of heavy snow and blowing snow caused travel problems in the region. Most areas along and west of the Palmer Divide picked up 4-8 inches of much needed snow. Overall, during this unsettled period, most areas received around 10 inches of snow and around an inch of moisture.

As this system departed the region, high pressure built in from the west and brought with it dry and mild conditions. Highs jumped into the 60s on the 24th, then well into the 70s on the 25th and 26th, along with gusty winds and high fire danger. The final storm of the month moved into the region on the 27th, bringing some much-needed snow to the mountains and a mix of rain and snow for use through the 28th. Temperatures were below normal during that time as well, before quiet and seasonal conditions returned over the last two days of the month.

May often means a wide variety of weather conditions in the region, from warm, sunny days to severe thunderstorms and hail, and even some snowfall. Just last year we had a major snowstorm toward the end of the month, with nearly 2 feet of snow accumulating. But other times very little snow falls during the month and temperatures can reach well into the 80s.

Average High 54.2° (-2.3°)

Average Low 26.3° (-1.3°)

Highest Temperature 74° on the 25th

Lowest Temperature 10° on the 20th

Monthly Precipitation 1.45" (-1.51", 50% below normal)

Monthly Snowfall 14.2" (-12.5", 47% below normal)

Season to Date Snow 123.9" (+6.3", 5% above normal) (the snow season is from July 1 to June 30)

Season to Date Precip. 9.90" (+0.60", 6% above normal) (the precip season is from July 1 to June 30)

Heating Degree Days 742 (+53)

Cooling Degree Days 0

In our state, the COVID-19 disease is nowhere close to having ended.

Here is an April 20, 2021 quote from The Denver Post: "Colorado’s ‘fourth wave’ of COVID-19 isn’t among the absolute worst spikes in the country, but it’s difficult to tell where it might go in the second half of April. Hospitalizations in Colorado from confirmed or suspected COVID-19 increased 33% from March 18 through Sunday, which was the 14th-highest rate of increase in the country."

Denver’s Westword website says, "Colorado is now in its fourth day since COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed. And once again, the state metrics tracked by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment have gotten worse by almost every major measure." (COVID-19 Colorado Data Worsens April 2021 Update | Westword)

Yes, the Colorado COVID-19 dial framework has ended, and Colorado Springs and El Paso County leaders have said they will not implement a local dial or any additional restrictions beyond what the state has implemented. Nonetheless, Gov. Polis has continued the order on social distancing and masks but has eased restrictions on most indoor business capacities.

National health experts, the ones who know what they’re talking about, continue to urge us to continue wearing masks while in public settings. (See www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html). I agree, masks are a nuisance and uncomfortable, but they work. For those who don’t want to cover their mouths and noses, please consider the rest of us.

It is time to liberate the face, especially in our schools. Our children, as well as our society, need to end this unscientific ritual, which creates anxiety, stress, and fear. Overwhelming scientific research shows that masking is ineffective in decreasing viral infections. The COVID-19 virus is 1,000 times smaller than the tiniest mask thread. Viruses flow through the masks like water through a sieve.

Facial masks are like clouds blocking out the sun and create a gloomy atmosphere. Masks deprive us of essential facial communication. We no longer see individual faces. We are denied smiles, grimaces, and frowns. Isn’t a smiling child one of the great joys in life?

Do you really want your children to live in fear of their neighbors? Masking reinforces the idea that our neighbors are infectious. Our legal system is founded on the principle of innocent until proven guilty. But with COVID, we are told to assume that everyone is infectious, even if you have been vaccinated or recovered from the disease. Schools require students, who are the least susceptible to the virus, to mask up all day inside and outside. Such protocols are irrational as well as harmful.

Are we following the science or the edicts of egotistical politicians? Science tells us that taking Vitamin D and zinc are much more effective than masking. But the politicians never mention anything about supplements, diet, and exercise.

Will Gov. Polis lift the mask mandate? Why aren’t we free to choose? If you feel better and safer wearing a mask, then please wear one. That is your right. For the rest of us who do not want to wear masks, that should be our choice. Please respect us and give us back our smiles.

With COVID-19 deaths declining significantly, vaccines readily available, successful therapeutics and the pandemic over, the vast majority in Monument is not at risk and should stop wearing ineffective masks. Simply put, a mask is a tax on breathing. Just as excessive taxes hurt families and seniors financially, the "mask breathing tax" is more harmful. How did "two weeks to flatten the curve" turn into over one year of a nefarious agenda and government oppression? Masks are a fraud as demonstrated below.

Ineffective: Masks are harmful to students. Research has shown cloth masks are ineffective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. A cloth mask is too porous to contain the virus transmission. Even a superior N95 mask, which filters to 0.3 microns, does not block COVID-19, which is .06 to .14 microns in size.

Harmful: Masks inhibit air flow and are dangerous to those with asthma, COPD, chronic lung diseases and students involved in sports. Moreover, masks lower oxygen in the blood while simultaneously raising harmful carbon dioxide levels and increasing respiratory rates. Masks trap exhaled pathogens and collect bacteria, mold, and viruses. Masks also increase the risk of infection.

Toxic: Masks are toxic, and many contain carcinogens including fire retardant, lead, formaldehyde, and other chemicals.

Psychological harm: Masks create a sense of isolation and subjugation, damaging the mental and emotional health of students. Development is dependent on social interaction and facial expression. Masks and isolation have led to a surge in teen depression. D38 should protect our students, not harm them.

Monument has tremendous natural beauty and fresh air. The time has come to choose self-respect and commonsense and free ourselves and our children from this abuse.

As chairman of the Black Forest Land Use Committee, I take exception to Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy (April 4 Gazette) regarding the new El Paso County master plan. They claim that a major cause of concern in unincorporated El Paso County is the 5-acre "ranchettes" that have large lawns and consume huge amounts of non-renewable Denver Basin water. The reality is that the ranchettes spread out the development and preserve the water (as well as the trees and wildlife.)

I live on one of those ranchettes and we do not water any lawn nor do most of our neighbors. It simply takes too much water and we are very water conscious. The newer developments may have a small patch of lawn but are not "surrounded by big lawns" as Tom and Bob claim.

The real danger is in the dense, urban developments like Sterling Ranch and The Ranch where almost all have lawns. These dense developments are always approved by our county commissioners in zoning that is supposed to be 5-acre lots. At present, Sterling Ranch (5,225 homes) and The Ranch (2,200 homes) will all use non-renewable water, and they outnumber all of the current homes in Black Forest.

The bottom line is that dense, urban development outside the city limits should not be allowed unless they can connect to city water. Tom and Bob also say it is a "challenge" for county residents to have to drive into the city for groceries, gas and movies. We love living outside the city, away from the congestion and noise, and don’t mind a drive to get things. Furthermore, most of us work in the city and can get those things when we are in town.

The last year has taught us the value of health, home-cooked meals, and being with family and friends. To help you, here are some inspiring cookbook choices.

In Giada’s most personal book yet, she gives you an inside look at her path to wellness, the culmination of a 10-year journey. She shows you her own process of reconfiguring her diet to control inflammation as well as wellness tactics like intermittent fasting, meditation, and other self-care routines to optimize one’s well-being. More than a cookbook, Giada offers 100 new recipes to boost gut health and immunity and nourish your mind, body, and spirit.

The James Beard Award-winning team at Milk Street has harnessed the most powerful cooking principles from around the world to create 200 of the simplest, delicious recipes so you can throw together fast, flavorful meals in no time. These recipes, most with six or fewer ingredients, make it easy to be a great cook.

Living in Colorado, we all know the struggle with baking at higher than 5,000 feet. Longtime mountain dwellers Mimi Council and Kimmy Fasani share their recipes for successful cakes, cookies, muffins, breads, and beyond. These recipes include conversions for sea-level kitchens, so home bakers can enjoy these treats wherever they cook.

Colorado blogger Tieghan is beloved for her freshly sourced, comfort-food-forward recipes. In this new book, she takes what fans loved most and distills it into quicker, more manageable dishes, including options for one-pot meals, night-before meal prep, and even some slow cooker recipes. Especially for home cooks who are pressed for time or just starting out, this is a go-to resource for hassle-free meals that never sacrifice taste.

Bobby and Dessi Parrish share the ins and outs of their five-ingredient meals and assure us that their quick and easy recipes are doable for anyone. But it doesn’t stop there; they know that a key aspect of these simple healthy recipes is the prep work, so they provide hacks for smarter and easier grocery shopping, including how to pick the "best in class" products.

With over 200 recipes and proven tips developed by the high-altitude baking experts at Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, this book is a must for cooks living between 3,500 and 10,000 feet. The book includes mile high cakes, cake recipe adjustment guide, quick mixes for cookies, cakes, quick breads, coffee cakes, muffins, scones, cornbreads, biscuits, pancakes, and more. It also includes tips for high altitude canning, jelly-making, and freezing.

This is the classic guide to high-altitude baking. Purdy leaves behind old conversion tables, disproves many oft-repeated calculations and adjustments, and presents reliable recipes in their entirety for each altitude. She explains the hows and whys, gives tips and hints for problems specific to every altitude, and generally demystifies the subject of atmospheric obstacles that cause favorite recipes to flop. Every recipe was tested at sea level, 3,000 feet, 5,000 feet, 7,000 feet, and 10,000 feet, and can be used at these elevations or points in between.

Originally published in 1997, Madison’s award-winning book was both ahead of its time and an instant classic. This revised and expanded edition has more than 1,600 recipes for home cooks, with more than 200 new recipes, and comprehensive, updated information on vegetarian and vegan ingredients. This treasure is not just for vegetarians and vegans; it’s for everyone interested in learning how to cook vegetables creatively, healthfully, and passionately.

Until next month, happy reading.

Patrons continue to be welcomed into the Monument Library to browse the collection and stay a brief time to read newspapers, visit, and charge devices. The capacity limit has been raised from 20 to 40 patrons at a time. Masks continue to be required for those 5 years and older.

The library district is planning its Summer Adventure reading program for children up to age 18. While there will be no indoor programs, the library has arranged with the Town of Monument to use Limbach Park for outdoor programs. Please watch for further announcements. Summer Adventure will begin June 1.

Due to recent research indicating that the coronavirus is not transmitted by surface contact, the library will no longer clean computers and other library equipment between patron visits. For those who wish to do so, a supply of Lysol wipes is available near the patron computers for your use.

Additional furniture is being reintroduced in the main area of the library. It has been reupholstered with vinyl for ease of cleaning.

The meeting rooms remain unavailable, but efforts are being made to reopen them. An announcement will be made on the website, www.ppld.org, when it is possible to place reservations for their use. Social distancing will still be required.

Curbside services for retrieval of hold items and wireless printing will continue. Hours of service will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The library is closed on Sunday.

We look forward to greeting you at the library.

Please note at all Pikes Peak Library District facilities will be closed on May 31 in observance of Memorial Day.

With the stresses we’ve all faced during the last year, many of us have sought relief through outdoor experiences. Unfortunately for those who relish getting away from crowds, taking a hike or mountain bike on our local trails has not provided much solitude. Thousands more people than usual out hiking or riding have resulted in overflowing trailhead parking lots, and social distancing is not easy on a single-track.

Another side effect of many more inexperienced hikers testing their knowledge and skill on unfamiliar trails is that some find themselves over-extended and lost or injured. Our all-volunteer El Paso County Search and Rescue team (EPCSAR) has been called upon more often than normal to find and help people who have become lost or hurt using our local trail systems. Some use hiking apps such as AllTrails to find a trailhead and go in unprepared for the challenges of specific areas.

I talked with Keith Lonnquist, of the local EPCSAR team, to get an idea of how the team operates during an emergency. Here is his description of how the SAR team is set up and responds to some typical situations that have occurred near the Tri-Lakes area. Keith is also a certified K9 search dog handler. We’ll meet Bailey, his Labrador search dog, later.

Most of our (SAR team) calls originate directly via the 9-1-1 system. County Dispatch includes our team when a call 1) is in the county and 2) appears to require our expertise (searches, injuries in backcountry, etc.) Out-of-county requests originate from the CSAR (Colorado Search and Rescue Association). That organization coordinates all multi-county requests for SAR assistance throughout the state. We also occasionally assist CSPD (the Colorado Springs Police Department) for searches (usually with K9s) in Colorado Springs.

We get a lot of missions in our county’s most popular hiking/biking areas, such as Barr Trail, the Manitou Incline, and North Cheyenne Canyon. As trails have gotten busier near Colorado Springs and more information has become available about our Monument/Palmer Lake area (e.g., AllTrails) in the past couple years, our local area is now busier than ever, hence more SAR calls.

A typical 9-1-1 call was received on April 2. County Dispatch received a call from a lost hiker somewhere above the Palmer Lake Reservoirs. The Palmer Lake Fire Department (PLFD) responded first and began its search. EPCSAR was then requested to assist. Our On Duty Coordinator (ODC) spoke with Dispatch and confirmed the situation and our need. With that, our ODC sent a page out to all 70 members of the team. Those that can respond, do. Often our ODC can speak directly with the reporting party, confirming the status of the subject (injuries, hypothermia), name, clothing, and location information. Dispatch is usually able to acquire the phone’s GPS location coordinates (latitude and longitude) data. These data can be within feet of the subject’s actual location or sometimes miles away.

Over a dozen EPCSAR members arrived at the planned "staging" location (we parked at the water plant at the end of Glen Street). We towed our off-road vehicle (ORV) with tracks (snow travel) to staging. After a review of maps and trails, three team members (one an EMT) continued in the ORV to the first reservoir and then north, parallel to Ice Cave Creek. When no longer able to drive on the trail, the team went on foot and met the PLFD team, which had located the hiker. The exhausted, rattled, but uninjured hiker was walked down to the ORV and transported back to staging and to the AMR ambulance for a checkout. She refused the ambulance ride and was taken to her vehicle, parked in town. This was an easy search.

Typically, it takes one to 1½ hours to get the first SAR team into the field, with more members streaming into the staging area. In this case, being relatively confident of the subject’s general location meant that we could send just the tracked ORV and we did not have to deploy the dozen other SAR team members on a foot search in the deep snow. It was also fortunate that the subject was located just before dusk—all too often the lost hiker does not realize they need help until near dark. In those cases, EPCSAR will be out looking at night with cooling temperatures and a higher risk of injury to all involved.

We have had two very similar missions in about the same location. Last spring, we again had a good latitude/longitude location, hiked up the icy Ice Cave Creek Trail, located the lost hiker, gave them traction devices (Micro-spikes), and were able to walk her back down to the reservoir road and drive her back to her vehicle in the daylight. The previous year, a hiker called 9-1-1 at dusk. We found her at 10 p.m. and walked her down and out of the same area.

In all three of these searches, the subjects were less than 100 yards from the trail, but with the realization they were lost, wisely made the 9-1-1 call and stayed put, making it possible for us to locate them quickly. In each of these cases, the hikers had cell phone coverage and Dispatch was able to provide a close enough location to start our searches. Even with this valuable location information, it is still typically two hours before a SAR member can hope to contact the lost person. The 9-1-1 paging process, driving to the staging area, getting enough people for a team, making a search plan, coordinating radio channels, determining resources needed, hiking in—they all take time. We always search in a minimum of pairs, because there are too many risks in the woods to be out alone day or night.

Thanks to Lonnquist and the other SAR team members who provide a wonderful service to our hiking/biking community. As mentioned earlier, Keith is also a certified K9 search dog handler. Search dogs can take the effort to a level humans can’t achieve—searching for scent. I hope to include more of Keith’s expertise in this area in future "On the Trail" columns.

Caption: Keith Lonnquist, county Search and Rescue team volunteer, with his certified search dog Baily. Photo by Steve Pate.

Our hummingbirds arrived recently. I saw one flying over my garden mid-April, but they have had to hide during our cold spells. Hummingbirds go into a state of deep sleep called torpor, sort of like a hibernation, to survive cold, and they also go into torpor when they sleep at night. Their metabolism will lower to 1/15th of normal, and body temperature drops to a point of nearly hypothermic.

We can help our delicate birds with a supply of clean, fresh water. Many people have heated water bowls to accommodate the late freezing temperatures we often get in May. While it’s great fun to supply hummingbird sugar nectar feeders, water is easier, cleaner, and much more needed in our area. Many more kinds of birds will come to water sources than are attracted to the various feeders offered, so water is a good bird magnet. Water can be placed in dishes placed to hang like bird feeders, in shallow dishes or small water features. Placing rocks for the songbirds to perch on and take a sip will bring the most success, as most songbirds cannot lean out or stand in water over a half inch or so.

In the garden for May, we have a local saying that we put in seeds or can buy plants around Mother’s Day, but don’t put them in the ground until Memorial Day. Our weather varies so greatly in May, my best advice is to put thick mulch over the garden areas. I use pine needle straw over my seedlings and plants because it stays put even with windy, rainy, or snowy weather, and I use it for my garden paths as well. The pine straw is free to rake up or get from neighbors who raked them up, and I put them 4 to 6 inches deep for early plant protection.

The seedlings can grow up through them, and they gradually turn into rich soil over the course of the growing season. Myth has it that pine needles are acidic, but that’s just not so. When planting seedlings using good, amended soil with the pine needle straw cover, the composition of the pine needles do not affect what is growing in the garden from underneath. In the forest, seeds cannot get down through the pine needles to the soil in order to get started, and that is why we don’t have lots of weeds around pine forests.

In May, we can plant seeds for our greens out in the garden, and many other plants, if mulched well, will begin to grow but wait for the warmth to take root and thrive, likely in June. I’ve successfully planted most of the community garden in greens and started snow peas and beans, even squashes and pumpkins by May, but they have needed 6 inches of mulch for protection.

Flowers from last year will begin popping up, both annuals from seed and perennials, and we can safely plant flower seeds if mulched well, or birds will consider them a grab and go feeding.

Caption: May is a good time in our area to enjoy bulbs and seeds such as the columbine planted the previous autumn, yet seeds can be planted for successful wildflowers, garden flowers, and other seedlings that will thrive later in June, July, and even August. Photos by Janet Sellers.

Many artists and galleries have had to open online venues due to the pandemic limiting social gatherings. On my art radar of late is the world of collectables, including the spectacular niche genre of digital collectibles. Besides being a new cultural activity, it’s gaining tremendous interest as a social activity, albeit online at "galleries" such as SuperRare, which explains, "SuperRare is a marketplace to collect and trade unique, single-edition digital artworks. Each artwork is authentically created by an artist in the network and tokenized as a crypto-collectible digital item that you can own and trade."

When I stumbled upon this new-to-me genre (it’s been going since 2013 or 2014), I thought back to the 1960s and poster and album art and how its ephemera became collectors’ items, but crypto art is owned only by its URL, not even an in-hand item. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) electronically protected artwork is bought and sold among collectors amid the (to many of us) confounding systems recorded in the blockchain ecosystem.

These reminded me of sports trading cards or Pokémon trading cards but in an online ecosystem. Yet, it’s not just for playtime anymore. On March 11, 2021, Beeple, (real name Mike Winkelmann) auctioned a piece of crypto art at Christie’s, Everydays: The First 5000 Days, that sold for $69.3 million (with fees), making it the third-highest price paid at auction for a work by a living artist.

One of the factors of the system is that artists sell their work for a specific NFT price but they also have rights to receive royalties from the primary as well as secondary art market sales, something that has been denied many artists of all levels in brick-and-mortar galleries and global platform markets.

Why do people buy works of art? Physical or not, art collecting relates to the primal desire of connectivity. At its very core, it’s still an asset-based support of the arts and artists. Collectors will collect, whether it’s art, model trains, baseball cards, or whatever it is they’re on the hunt for, and in this case, the crypto art in its own ecosystem is the ultimate prize.

Caption: These kinds of images, if only available online, could be considered crypto art, which are only electronically generated, electronically transacted, electronically owned, and based on blockchain technology. A blockchain collects information together in groups, also known as blocks, that hold sets of information. Blockchain is used in ever-growing industrial applications and is now a vital element in the protection of digital artworks. Imagery courtesy of Janet Sellers.

If you have a medical condition or a physical disability, please contact Jennifer at Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District, 484-0911, to register for emergency assistance if evacuation is required.

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