|
  
Contents:
 the PDF file. This is a
10.7 Mbyte file and will take about 61 minutes
to download at 28.8. To view and print the file, you
will need to download
and install the free Acrobat Reader Program.
View photos of the Wal-Mart Hearing May 11
Web site exclusive: Download
the planning commissioners' packet for the PUD rezoning (3.3 Mbytes, 19
minutes at 28.8)
Web site exclusive: Download
the planning commissioners' packet for the Preliminary Plan (257 Kbytes, 2
minutes at 28.8)
By John Heiser
On May 11, at the conclusion of a six-hour hearing during
which 23 people spoke in opposition to the proposed Wal-Mart, the El Paso County
Planning Commission voted 7-1 to recommend denial of rezoning the 30-acre parcel
on the south side of Baptist Road, directly across from King Soopers.
That recommendation will be forwarded to the El Paso County
Board of County Commissioners, who will hold a public hearing and make a final
decision on the project Thursday, June 24July 15,
9 a.m., at the County Building, 3rd
Floor Hearing Room, 27 E. Vermijo.
The Request
The specific request is for approval of rezoning the parcel
from R-4 to planned unit development (PUD) and approval of a preliminary plan
for the site.
The proposal is for a 24-hour supercenter with a
203,091-square-foot (4.7-acre) store that includes grocery, drive-through
pharmacy, garden center, and six-bay tire lube express. There would be parking
for more than 1,000 cars. The store would be at the eastern part of the parcel,
with the parking lot to the west. It would occupy Lot 1 (about 24 acres).
Lot 2 (about 1.4 acres) on the northwest corner is proposed
to be a Wal-Mart gas station.
Drainage from the approximately 25 acres of impervious area
would be collected in Lot 3, a roughly 1.7-acre detention area on the southeast
corner of the parcel.
Three points of access to the store are proposed. At the
western edge of the proposed development, there is a full-motion intersection
with a traffic signal at Jackson Creek Parkway and Baptist Road. The plan calls
for two entrances off the extension of Jackson Creek Parkway south of Baptist
Road. The third access to the store would be a right-in/right-out directly onto
Baptist Road toward the mid-point of the parcel. That access would be about
275 feet west of the right-in/right-out access to the King Soopers shopping
center.
County Planning Presentation
Carl Schueler, manager of the county planning division, noted
that the current R-4 zoning and associated master plan was approved in 1976. He
said, "The plot plan showed medium-density multifamily uses that would not
allow a commercial use of this type."
Schueler added that the appropriate county zoning for a
regional commercial use like the proposed Wal-Mart is Planned Business Center (PBC),
the county’s most intense commercial zone district. However, he said even
though there is nothing non-standard or unique about the application typically
part of a PUD rezoning, planning staff recommended the applicant request PUD
zoning because they felt conditions on the project, including building design,
could be more effectively enforced by the county.
Schueler said, "This store needs urban level services,
especially police protection. The applicant needs to make the case against
annexation [to Monument]."
Noting that the traffic impact analysis predicts 13,500 new
vehicle trips, Schueler said, "There are immediate site compatibility
issues. This would create a significant amount of additional traffic. Traffic
intermediate term is problematic. From seven lanes at the [Jackson Creek Parkway
and Baptist Road] intersection you get to the two-lane span of I-25." The
Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has acknowledged that public
funding for improvement of the Baptist Road interchange may not be available for
a decade or longer.
Regarding comprehensive plan compliance, Schueler cited the
general urbanization of the area, including "much more residential and
commercial development in the Jackson Creek area north of the site."
Schueler noted that about 300 letters, e-mails, and postcards
in opposition to the project had been received from area residents.
He said the Town of Monument recommended denial of the
request due to non-compliance with the county’s Tri-Lakes Comprehensive Plan,
approved by the county planning commission in 1999. He also said the westernmost
60 feet of the 120-foot-wide right-of-way for the extension of Jackson Creek
Parkway south of Baptist Road is within the town boundaries; the town contends,
but the county disagrees, that the applicant must seek permission from the town
to plat that roadway.
Schueler described the Northern El Paso County Coalition of
Community Associations (NEPCO) as "the keepers of the Tri-Lakes
comprehensive plan." He said that NEPCO has recommended denial. The letter
from NEPCO in the planning commissioners’ packets said, "In consideration
of traffic, neighborhood transitions, existing zoning, protection of property
values, and water issues, the county should encourage the developer to relocate
its proposed commercial operation into an appropriately zoned and planned site
that is congruent with the county’s policy plan, the current Tri-Lakes
comprehensive plan, the draft revised Monument comprehensive plan, long-standing
expectations by residents, and present land zoning."
Generally, county planning recommends approval of requests
brought to the planning commission; however, Schueler said that due to issues
with the project, county planning made no recommendation in favor of or opposed
to this request.
County Engineering
Paul Danley, of the county Department of Transportation,
raised some concerns about the traffic impact analysis (TIA) and drainage
reports submitted in support of the application:
-
Intermediate term impacts in addition to impacts in 2004
and 2025 were not included in the TIA.
-
Access to the church and parcels to the east is limited
to right-in/right-out.
-
The 48-inch culvert under Baptist Road, proposed to be
extended with the widening of Baptist Road, does not have the capacity for
even the sort of storm likely to be seen every 10 years. Typically such
culverts are sized to handle a 100-year storm.
-
Enlarging the culvert will probably require that the
Baptist Road surface be raised. The currently planned road improvements in
that area would be destroyed.
-
The plan for treatment of storm water runoff calls for
standing water in the detention pond. Danley said detention ponds are not to
have standing water in them. The water should be held and immediately
released to adjacent parcels at no more than the historic rate. Schueler
later added that the county Health Department’s position is that the
drainage design must avoid stagnant water. He said, "It is a big deal
with West Nile Virus."
Applicant’s Presentation
Design
Steve Wilson, president of CLC Associates, was the
representative for the applicant. He introduced Denis Kelsch and Kevin Picanco
of CLC Associates and Michael Semrick of Boice, Raidl, and Rhea Architects. He
said Kelsch is the project engineer, Picanco is the traffic engineer, and
Semrick is the architect for the project.
Wilson said Wal-Mart would like to open the store in spring
2005. He noted some of the design challenges, including the east-to-west slope
of the 27.29-acre parcel. He said the site plan includes 30 percent open space
and landscaping, and sidewalks along Jackson Creek Parkway and Baptist Road with
potential connection to the Santa Fe Trail.
Wilson noted a Preble’s meadow jumping mouse habitat
conservation arrangement has been worked out with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS). Included in that is acquisition of off-site habitat for
preservation, inclusion of a 1.6-acre wildlife corridor along the south boundary
of the parcel, lowering the light poles to 28 feet, and using full cut-off light
fixtures to minimize light spillage onto the mouse habitat.
He said the light fixtures using 400-watt halogen bulbs would
be the same as at the King Soopers shopping center. The light poles there are 20
feet tall. Schueler later added that the county’s Land Development Code limits
light poles to 20 feet, although a waiver could be granted.
Semrick showed an artist’s rendering of the building and
said it would feature a high-end design similar to King Soopers, with two colors
of masonry brick and stucco.
The PIC
Peter Susemihl, attorney for the Triview Metropolitan
District, said, "Federal law allows financing and construction of public
improvements using a Public Improvement Corporation (PIC), sometimes called a
Public Facilities Authority. One reason for going to the county with this
project was that the county allows us to establish a PIC and get the benefit of
a sales tax. Triview authorized formation of the PIC and has an agreement with
Wal-Mart."
Susemihl then said that of the initial 3 percent retail sales
fee, Triview would get half and the other half would be used to pay off the PIC
debt. The agreement approved by the Triview board at its May 28, 2003, meeting
actually sets Triview’s portion at one-fourth, with three-fourths going to pay
off the PIC debt. Susemihl said, "There would be no liability to the
Triview district for payment of the [PIC] bonds."
In response to a question from planning commission chair Joe
Salute regarding accountability of the PIC to voters, Susemihl said, "It is
a private corporation. The three- or five-member board can reappoint
itself." As a private corporation, public records and open meetings laws do
not apply to the PIC.
Commissioner Verlin Dickman asked why the store was not being
proposed within the Town of Monument. Susemihl replied, "It became apparent
that they didn’t want a Wal-Mart. There was a lack of commitment from the town
to use tax revenues for road improvements."
Wilson added, "This is the location we have pursued
since 1997. We looked at all four corners of that intersection. This is on the
‘go home’ side. We are not opposed to being annexed by the town. Formation
of the PIC is a solution to the cost of building infrastructure. The
three-to-four million [dollars] in bonds are to be purchased by Wal-Mart. The
interchange design has been approved. This project may raise the priority of
that being built."
Storm water and pollutants
Dickman asked Danley about the proposal to use the detention
pond to remove pollutants from the gas station and parking lot. Danley replied
that the design must meet storm water quality regulations, which might require
oil-water separators.
Salute asked if Wal-Mart planned to monitor the operation of
the pond. Wilson said no. Danley noted that there is a county requirement for
verification that the pond is operating correctly.
Assistant county attorney Cole Emmons said, "Since there
are serious water quality issues, I advise the county to not take on that
responsibility. The applicant will have to address those and Environmental
Protection Agency issues." Emmons later drafted an additional condition
requiring that the applicant comply with county, state, and federal regulations
and permits applicable to storm water runoff, discharge, and quality monitoring.
Wilson said Wal-Mart would agree to do maintenance on the
detention pond. He added that details of the gas station’s site-specific
pollution control measures would be addressed at final platting. He said,
"We will mitigate the pollution issues the best we possibly can."
Traffic
Picanco described the road improvements to be implemented
collectively by the Wal-Mart and Monument Marketplace projects. He said
improvements specific to the Wal-Mart project include construction of Jackson
Creek Parkway south of Baptist Road and the associated turn lanes, and
construction of an additional eastbound lane on Baptist Road from Jackson Creek
Parkway to Leather Chaps Drive. That eastbound lane would help accommodate
traffic using the right-in/right-out Wal-Mart entrance on Baptist Road.
Picanco said a three-quarter intersection would be allowed at
the church: Right-in/right-out turning movements would be allowed from eastbound
Baptist Road, and left-in movements would be allowed from westbound Baptist
Road. Drivers who want to go west upon exiting the church as well as the houses
to the east of the church would have to turn right, go east to Leather Chaps
Drive, and make a U-turn.
Commissioner Robert Roulier expressed concern about a design
that relies on U-turns as a normal traffic pattern.
Danley added, "Access to the church has been a
recognized problem for some time. Any development of the 30-acre parcel would
trigger some restrictions on traffic flow." The original Wal-Mart site plan
submitted to the county showing a 186,245-square-foot store had included a
roadway on the south side of the property that would have provided access to the
church and the other properties to the east.
When contacted later, Danley said that the access road was
determined to be impractical due to the grades involved but agreed that a less
intense development of the site would permit an access road through the parcel
that could meet county standards.
Wilson noted that once Jackson Creek Parkway is completed
north of Baptist Road, northbound Struthers would be closed except for a
cul-de-sac providing access to the Foxworth-Galbraith store. Access to that
cul-de-sac would be restricted to right-in/right-out access from westbound
Baptist Road.
Regarding the merging of seven traffic lanes near the store
down to two lanes at the interchange, Wilson said, "This [Baptist Road
interchange] is going to be a mess until major infrastructure improvements are
built." He suggested motorists would avoid it by using Jackson Creek
Parkway.
Opposition
Kingswood resident Phil Weinert said, "Baptist Road is
one of the most dangerous roads you can imagine." He also expressed concern
about the potential regrading of Baptist Road and its impact on Kingswood
properties and the effect on area wells. He said, "The aquifers are
interconnected. There is no way to take water out of the lower aquifers without
impacting the upper aquifers. My well has run dry more than once." He
concluded, "Approval of this project would send a message that the
interests of the people here now be damned."
Fox Run resident Jim Kendrick presented a detailed list of 53
issues with the project that would be resolved by moving the store to the
200,000-square-foot pad site at the Monument Marketplace.
Steve Sery, a Chaparral Hills resident and member of the
county planning commission who recused himself from voting on this project,
cited numerous incompatibilities of the proposed rezoning with the master plans
for the area. He described the store as "jammed into the site."
Roger Rostvold agreed, "The site is really too small for
the store." He likened it to a size-10 foot in a size-8 shoe. He
characterized as specious Wilson’s claim of 30 percent open space and
landscaping.
Family of Christ Lutheran Church trustee Ron Doolittle said
the proposed restricted access to the church would be a hardship since three
congregations and numerous other activities are held at the church. He expressed
concern about the placement of the security fence at the top of the east
retaining wall many feet below the level of the church.
Adjacent property owner Deb Grandia presented an appraisal of
her house. She said, "Approval of this zoning change and construction of
this store will destroy our property value and make re-sale virtually
impossible."
Citing the impact of delivery truck traffic, noise, and light
pollution, adjacent property owner Janet Turner said, "This proposal is not
in the best interest of the surrounding area. There are better locations
available. They have attempted to cram an enormous building on a small site
causing tremendous negative impact to the existing properties."
Chaparral Hills resident Les Montevaldo said he and his wife
are trying to sell their house and have had to drop the price because of the
Wal-Mart proposal.
Adjacent property owner Dale Turner took issue with Susemihl’s
claim that the applicant went to the county so they could use a PIC. Turner said
a PIC could be used within the town just as well. By analyzing population
densities in the Tri-Lakes area, Turner said he concluded that the assumptions
in the traffic study would require that everyone east of the store must visit
the store at least 1.5 to 2 times each day. Turner said the purpose of those
assumptions was to reduce the predicted impact on the Baptist Road interchange.
Turner said, "The assumptions in this traffic study were designed to
intentionally mislead the county and the commissioners." Turner also showed
sight lines from the adjacent properties. He said the proposed landscaping would
do little in the way of screening.
Janice Horne showed photos of existing traffic backups on
Baptist Road and the interchange.
Steve Waldmann questioned the credibility of the proponents.
He noted that the Chapel Hills Wal-Mart is 12 minutes away, not 20 minutes as
stated by Wilson. Waldmann scoffed at the notion that a little vegetation in the
detention pond would adequately treat the pollution washed from the gas station
and parking lot.
Bud Warner questioned the ability of the sheriff’s office
to respond to the one-to-three police calls per day typical of Wal-Mart stores.
Susan Gates added that it took the sheriff’s department more than an hour to
respond to reports of gunshots on her property.
Noting that the Monument Planning Commission and Monument
Board of Trustees never heard the project, Rick Sonnenburg, Monument town
manager, said Susemihl’s accusation that the town rejected the Wal-Mart is
"not a fact." Referring to the extension of Jackson Creek Parkway
south of Baptist Road, Sonnenburg said, "Any developer that wants to
install a road within town limits needs to go through our planning process. I
have heard no compelling legal advice to the contrary. This is a major concern
of our board."
Sue Wielgopolan said, "A well-planned community is a
desirable community. We support the county’s comprehensive plan, which means
retaining the current zoning. In this case, involvement means opposition to a
bad idea. This project’s shortcomings far outweigh its benefits. Don’t let
Wal-Mart’s hunger for profits hurt our community."
Chaparral Hills resident Betty Coombs said, "The bottom
line for Wal-Mart is that this site costs a lot less than one that is properly
zoned and planned. Is it right for the government to give them an edge over
their competition?"
Rebuttal
Wilson said the expansion from a 184,000-square-foot store in
the original proposal submitted to Monument to the present 203,000-square-foot
plan was due to internal policy changes at Wal-Mart.
He said, "The traffic study has been reviewed by county
staff and CDOT. Everybody agreed as to what was needed to get the roadway to an
acceptable level of service. The interchange will be a bottleneck."
He stressed that this is a land-use issue, not a
"Wal-Mart issue." He added, "The character of the area has
changed and continues to change."
Citing the 30 percent open space and landscaping, he said,
"There is more than enough land area for a facility of this size."
He concluded, "We have come a long way with staff and
can address the issues."
The Vote and Commissioner Comments
Roulier made a motion to recommend denial, seconded by
commissioner Will Brown. The motion passed 7-1, with commissioner Dennis Hisey
casting the lone dissenting vote.
Commissioner Barbara Wait said her vote was based primarily
on concern for the quality of life for the adjacent property owners.
Commissioner Robert Schrader said, "Too many questions
haven’t been answered."
Dickman said, "It seems to me that there is a very
attractive alternative solution. That would be in the long-term best interest of
the community, rather than overbuilding on this site."
Hisey, who voted for the project, said, "Traffic is an
overriding concern. This is our best shot to get the roads upgraded."
Salute said, "The basic test for a rezoning is that it
furthers the master plan. This project does not. I don’t think this is the
right site. This is a square peg in a round hole."
**********
For more information on this project and to provide comments,
contact Carl Schueler, Manager, El Paso County Planning Division, 520-6300, CarlSchueler@elpasoco.com.
Mail comments and questions to the El Paso County Planning Department, 27 E.
Vermijo, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903-2208.
The Coalition of Tri-Lakes Communities has scheduled a
community meeting to discuss the project on Sunday, June 13, 2 p.m., at the
Lewis-Palmer High School auditorium.
Additional information on the project is available at www.ourcommunitynews.org/top_stories.htm#wal-mart
and www.CoalitionTLC.org/wal-mart.htm
or by calling John Heiser at 488-9031.
View photos of the Wal-Mart Hearing May 11
Web site exclusive: Download
the planning commissioners' packet for the PUD rezoning (3.3 Mbytes, 19
minutes at 28.8)
Web site exclusive: Download
the planning commissioners' packet for the Preliminary Plan (257 Kbytes, 2
minutes at 28.8)
By Steve Sery
An application for a Use Subject to Special Review for the
Tri-Lakes Montessori Academy was expected to involve a lot of discussion. The
school, currently with approximately 150 students, is located at the corner of
Highway 105 and Furrow Road, adjacent to Woodmoor, Timberview, and the Timbers.
The proposal is to build two new buildings, increasing the potential enrollment
to 525 students. Hope Montessori, a firm that currently has two schools in
Colorado Springs, would acquire the school.
The school and the principal of Hope Montessori had already
met with neighbors to resolve various issues. The result was that the president
of the Timberview Homeowners Association supported the application, and there
was no opposition. Because both sides worked out issues prior to coming before
the planning commission, the application was in short order unanimously
recommended for approval.
The only item of contention at the meeting was vacation of an
easement for a so-called taxi way at the Meadow Lake Airport. While this type of
item would normally have been quickly approved, the hearing took 2½ hours and
resulted in a recommendation for denial.
By Jim Kendrick
The following are scheduled to take office at the first
regularly scheduled meeting for their respective districts in May.
Donala Water and Wastewater District: Dale Schendzielos (71
votes) and incumbent Ed Houle (59) won four-year terms. Charles Schmidt got 38
votes, Teena Barager 28, Tom Wall 20, and Mark Moore 14. Charlie Coble, Dennis
Daugherty, and Don Pearson have two years remaining on their terms and were not
up for election. Bill Nance is stepping down.
Donald Wescott Fire Protection District: Joseph Potter (90
votes) and Brian Ritz (97) won four-year terms. David Cross (75 votes) and Kevin
Gould (75) won two-year terms. All but Cross were incumbents. Vincent Schauer
received 47 votes. Dennis Feltz has two years remaining on his term and was not
up for election.
Monument Sanitation District: Jeremy Diggins (25 votes),
Lowell Morgan (21), and Glenda Smith (26) were elected. Ed Delaney and Connie
DeFelice have two years remaining on their terms and were not up for election.
Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District: Keith Duncan (52 votes)
and John Hartling (40) won four-year terms. Jim Lipper received 39 votes. Rick
Barnes, John Hildebrandt, and Charlie Pocock have two years remaining on their
terms and were not up for election.
Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District: Si Sibell (299
votes) and Rod Wilson (260 ) won four-year terms. Bob Hansen got 251 votes.
Jeremy Diggins (261 votes) won a two-year term. Tom Conroy received 259 votes.
Bob Harvey and Russ Broshous have two years remaining on their terms and were
not up for election.
county and Monument planning
By John Heiser
At the May 8 meeting of the Northern El Paso County Coalition
of Community Associations (NEPCO), Carl Schueler, manager of county planning,
and Mike Davenport, assistant Monument town manager and town planner, presented
overviews of the land use planning process in each of their organizations and
responded to residents’ questions and comments.
About 30 people attended the meeting. Numerous northern El
Paso County homeowner associations and residential areas were represented at the
meeting including Bent Tree, Chaparral Hills, Falcon’s Nest, Gleneagle, King’s
Deer, Sun Hills, and the Woodmoor Improvement Association.
Schueler said the county is extensively revising its Land
Development Code. The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) will hold workshops
on the effort June 3, June 17, and July 1. There is more information on the
county’s Web site at www.elpasoco.com. He said the goal is to complete the
work by the end of 2004.
Schueler said the county has reorganized so the former
Planning Department is now a division within the Development Services
Department. The two other divisions within that department are Engineering,
headed by Paul Danley, and Customer Service, headed by Imad Karaki. Schueler
said that when the reorganization is fully implemented, instead of working
directly with a planner as in the past, developers would work with a project
manager from the Customer Service division. Detailed questions would then be
relayed to the planning and engineering divisions.
Schueler noted that as projects work their way through the
process, the amount of discretion the county has diminishes. He said, "At
the sketch plan, rezoning, or preliminary plan phase, the BOCC can say, ‘We
don’t like it.’ At the final plat stage, if a project meets technical
requirements such as water availability and road access, it is less appropriate
to say no."
Davenport cited many similarities. He said, "Monument is
revising its zoning and subdivision regulations in a very significant way. It is
almost a complete rewrite."
He said that the revised regulations will encourage
developers to deal with the biggest questions first, such as "Is this the
right site for this project? Does it make sense in terms of the zoning, master
plan, and compatibility with nearby land uses?"
Davenport noted that the town is experimenting with
pre-application presentations. Prior to submitting an application, the developer
presents the concept and gets a general reaction from the town and residents. He
said, "The developer finds out early whether there are major problems with
the project. They get a quick answer before investing a lot of money."
Woodmoor Improvement Association President John Ottino
expressed concern that the traffic impacts of projects are looked at in
isolation. He noted that Colorado Springs and Denver were recently judged to be
among the worst cities of their size in the country in terms of traffic. He
said, "Traffic is becoming unbearable."
Schueler described how traffic impact analyses (TIAs) measure
the existing traffic and then superimpose vehicle trips generated by proposed
developments. He said, "The art is the distribution of those trips." A
list of required on-site and off-site improvements is then developed to mitigate
the impacts.
Bob Swedenburg said, "It sounds reasonable, but
something is broken. It is not working. The situation has gone from bad to
worse."
Davenport noted that the county is revising its major
transportation corridors plan. He added that several years ago, local
jurisdictions worked together to develop a Tri-Lakes area transportation plan
under a Heritage Grant. He said the Heritage Grant study showed that by 2018 the
area would run out of residential land. It identified a series of road
improvements needed to accommodate that growth.
Schueler said, "Roads are expensive to build, so plans
generally assume a certain level of congestion."
In response to a question, Schueler said, "There is no
funding scheduled for interchange improvements. The Baptist Road interchange
doesn’t even work right now."
NEPCO President Dave Swanson asked how the county could
consider approving projects such as Wal-Mart with major impacts on that
interchange.
Schueler said, "The highest level folks at the county
favor approving projects so the pressure gets so great on that interchange that
it will have to be fixed."
Fox Run resident Dave Patton asked, "Why can’t the
county stop approving projects until the infrastructure is in place?"
Schueler replied, "The county has almost no money to do
road improvements. Since there is a pro-development culture and philosophy, the
county is compelled to enter into development agreements. The way to get
improvements done is to approve developments."
He gave as an example the improvements to Woodmen Road that
partially resulted from approval of the Meridian Ranch and Bennett Ranch
projects.
As another example, Schueler said, "Wal-Mart will
absolutely make the connection south to Struthers Road. There is a lot of
pressure to get development under way. Without Wal-Mart, there is nothing in
place to complete Struthers Road."
Swanson expressed concern about the relaxation of
road-building requirements placed on the developer of the controversial
Struthers Ranch project that lies about three-quarters of a mile south of
Baptist Road. Schueler said, "I agree with you." He described it as
"a torture session for all concerned."
On October 15, 2002, when the county planning commission
initially reviewed the Struthers Ranch project, the developer’s representative
justified a many-fold increase in the density because the developer would pay
for a major share of the cost for constructing Jackson Creek Parkway-Struthers
Road from Struthers Ranch north to Baptist Road.
Following BOCC approval of the Struthers Ranch plan,
subsequent rounds of negotiation and renegotiation with the county attorney’s
office reduced that obligation to construction of a box culvert bridge and a
portion of the road within the Struthers Ranch project—leaving no funding for
the three-fourths of a mile of road from the bridge north to Baptist Road.
**********
For more information on NEPCO, contact Dave Swanson at
487-8530 or dcswanson@mindspring.com.
NEPCO’s Web site is www.nepco.org.
Carl Schueler, Manager, El Paso County Planning Division, can
be reached at 520-6300 or CarlSchueler@elpasoco.com.
The county’s Web site is www.elpasoco.com.
Mike Davenport, Assistant Monument Town Manager and Town
Planner, can be reached at 884-8013 or mdavenport@townofmonument.net.
The town’s Web site is www.townofmonument.net.
By Jim Kendrick
Tommie Plank, owner of Covered Treasures Bookstore, was
appointed trustee by the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) in a unanimous vote at
the May 3 meeting. Plank will fill the seat vacated by Byron Glenn, who was
sworn in as mayor on April 19. Also at the BOT meeting, the public hearing on
the comprehensive update to Zoning and Subdivision Regulations was postponed at
the request of Town Planner Mike Davenport. Trustees George Brown and George
Case were absent. Bruce Waugaman, of Monument Boy Scout Troop 17, led the Pledge
of Allegiance.
Plank appointed trustee
Plank has lived in the area since 1982 and served over 12
years on the District 38 Board of Education. She helped found the Historic
Monument Merchants’ Association (HMMA) and has regularly attended BOT meetings
as the HMMA representative. She has also attended numerous Planning Commission,
Parks and Landscape, and town Comprehensive Plan sessions. She was appointed to
serve the remaining two years of Glenn’s four-year term.
Wild Bob’s BBQ request continued
Owner Paul Lundeen requested approval for a hot dog cart,
that would be removed each evening, at any qualifying location in town. Lundeen
also asked that specific approval of any future requests regarding site plans be
delegated to the town planning staff, as is done in Colorado Springs. Lundeen
was unable to attend the meeting. Davenport noted that if the BOT agreed to
Lundeen’s request for a "peddler-type" business license, then a
separate change to the new kiosk-type business regulation would also be
required. Under the new regulation, specific site plan approvals must be granted
by the Planning Commission and Board of Trustees. This regulation was first
approved for Karen and Tim Evans, owners of A Chick and a Windshield, a business
operating in the parking lots of King Soopers and Safeway. Several of these
businesses have been approved under the new regulation.
Davenport proposed a revision to the regulation that would
allow the town planning staff to approve operation at a specific location only
if:
-
The particular location meets all kiosk or mobile
business requirements, including the minimum spacing requirement between
kiosks and mobile businesses.
-
The required site plan is approved by the town planner
and would be subject to all three types of public notice.
-
The maximum number of kiosks operated by one applicant
shall be three within the town of Monument.
The restriction to no more than three locations was
recommended by the Planning Commission. Lundeen obtained a state sales tax
license, applied for incorporation, and submitted a business license
application, contingent on town approval. His vending cart has passed all
inspections and been licensed by the El Paso County Health Department as well as
by the city of Colorado Springs.
Davenport noted that as little as a week would pass before a
location approval and that there would be no restriction on how often the carts
could be moved. Several carts could be located on a single parking lot such as
King Soopers. He said all previous kiosk-type applications had site plans.
Davenport further noted that this requested regulation change would not cover
vendors in operation for one-time events, such as summer street fairs, because
the event sponsor is responsible for conduct of vendors/peddlers and also for
collecting all vendor/peddler sales tax. Drumm asked about adding a regulation
prohibiting the cart from locating in front of Subway. Orten said that the BOT
should not try to prescribe anti-competitive regulations. Davenport noted that
the shopping center owner would control peddler locations to preclude damage to
leaseholders, so the town need not be concerned.
The BOT voted unanimously to continue the application to May
17 to hear Lundeen’s answers to remaining trustee questions regarding the
application. They would consider the effect of the required change in the new
governing regulation before considering the comprehensive update to zoning and
subdivision regulations.
Comprehensive regulation update
Although this agenda item was continued, there were several
issues raised by new trustees on the history of the update, which has been
considered by the Planning Commission and BOT for about a year.
Davenport said the comprehensive update was an attempt to
pull together all land development regulations into a single document with
common standards for all forms and drawings. Numerous tables that can be used as
checklists for various approval processes were created to provide a structured
approach that is understandable by applicants, town staff, consultants, and
neighbors to developments. Inconsistencies between old regulations were mostly
eliminated. A consolidated reference section was created that includes maps of
districts and mouse habitat boundaries. A section on "big box"
building standards and a reference section on all Monument Marketplace
architectural standards was added. The number of pages to list the specific
requirements and procedural steps was drastically reduced in this massive
rewrite.
The result is a user-friendly document that guides people
toward successful approval with checklists, rather than an array of differently
formatted, seemingly unrelated regulations that mostly list only prohibitions
and limitations. Topics are listed in alphabetical order with numerous
cross-references to minimize redundancy. Guidelines for meeting other agency
requirements such as fire inspections are now included as well. Davenport
concluded that the new format makes it easier to fix the few remaining errors
and to incorporate future changes and that it sets a new standard for
accessibility. The Planning Commission approved the update in August.
In response to questions from Orten and Drumm regarding where
changes had been made from the old regulations, Davenport noted that nearly
every single page has changes in format and content. He said it would take him
several months to create a document that listed each and every change. Orten
then agreed that the changes were too extensive to show individually and did not
need further BOT review. However, Drumm disagreed, insisting that he should have
the opportunity to review all the changes. "I can wait to approve this to
avoid problems down the road," he said.
Glenn responded that the staff was busy and didn’t have
time to create the document. Mertz, who directed the Planning Commission review
and approval process as commission chair, said Davenport had done everything the
Planning Commission had asked of him during many hours of page-by-page review
for several versions. Orten said that Monument is the hardest town in the county
in which to get approvals due to the complexity of the old regulations and that
the new document needed to be implemented.
The trustees voted unanimously to individually review the
latest draft document (over 150 pages) and bring questions or comments to the
May 17 meeting.
Appointments completed
The board unanimously appointed Glenn as director and former
Mayor Betty Konarski as alternate director to the El Paso County Water
Authority. Glenn and Konarski will also represent Monument at the Palmer Divide
Water Group. Gary Barber, manager for the Water Group, requested Konarski’s
continued service, citing the "time and energy she has devoted to the
Colorado Water Partnership." He also wrote that she would be able to assist
in the current effort to form a Front Range water conservation district. Town
Attorney Gary Shupp was unanimously reappointed for one year, and the terms of
his contract were extended without change.
School Resource Officer (SRO) Grant
Monument Police Chief Joe Kissell received unanimous approval
authorizing him to finish work on a grant request for $125,000 that must be
submitted no later than May 17. He said District 38 Superintendent Dave Dilley
supports the grant request. A school district employee would be required to
attend training with the new SRO; training costs for both would be covered by
the grant. The grant would provide $41,667 for each of the first three years to
help pay for an experienced patrol officer to serve in Grace Best Elementary and
Creekside Middle Schools during the nine-month school year.
If it wins the grant, the town would have to provide a
matching amount of $22,125 over the first three years and would be obligated to
fully fund the SRO during the fourth year. The grant requires the SRO to spend
75 percent of duty time at the two schools each year, which would be a full-time
job for the nine months school is in session. The SRO would be available for
patrol or other duty in the summer months.
The grant money would free $125,000 from the salary account
to help pay for hiring a replacement patrol officer for the first three years.
Hiring a new officer for four years is a grant requirement. As with the SRO,
there would be no grant money for this new-hire officer during the fourth year
of the grant period.
The SRO would not serve Lewis-Palmer High School, which is
outside the Monument town limits, and is serviced by the El Paso County Sheriff’s
Office. Kissell noted that the sheriff has a number of SROs who can be moved
around the county to cover the high school.
The SRO would perform community policing in school buildings
or on school property, working closely with school staff and students to:
-
Address crime and disorder problems, gangs, and drug
activities in/around the school.
-
Develop or expand student crime-prevention efforts and
community justice initiatives.
-
Train students in conflict resolution, restorative
justice, and crime awareness.
-
Assist in developing school crime policy and recommend
procedural changes.
-
Handle calls requiring police intervention and following
through on investigations.
-
Serve as a liaison between the school and the Police
Department.
Kissell indicated that he would continue the SRO position
after the grant expires if conditions and available resources permit,
supplementing his budget with other grants if possible.
Monument Lake Dam Mouse Habitat Mitigation
The BOT unanimously approved the final payment on this
contract with Western States Reclamation, Inc. for $4,873.60. Western States
reduced the final contract amount by $2,311.10, reflecting the deletion of a
portion of the work originally called for at Dirty Woman Creek Park and the
Monument Lake north beach. The total contract was $19,801.
BOT Orientation and Retreat
The board unanimously approved a schedule calling for two
orientation sessions on May 10 and 24, preceded by tours of the Police
Department building and Public Works water facilities. The retreat is scheduled
for June 19 and is expected to last up to eight hours. A similar retreat was
held at the start of Konarski’s term as mayor in late 2001 to help the board
form goals and build an action plan to accomplish them.
Substitute Water Supply Plan (SWSP)
The Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) staff and board have
taken the position that they will only allow the town to purchase water in order
to refill Monument Lake, even though the SWSP has been approved and the town
already has an agreement with CSU for a one-time refill plus replacement of lake
water that evaporates, when CSU has excess water. However, CSU is 58,464
acre-feet short of their storage requirements and will be reluctant to sell
water to Monument until that shortfall is eliminated.
Konarski met with CSU staff on April 20 to ask that water
flowing into the lake from Monument Creek be allowed to remain and fill the
lake. None of the small amount of water currently flowing in Monument Creek and
through the dry lake bed is owned by the town. Water in Beaver Creek can only be
used for augmentation. Before the purchase can be made, metering equipment will
have to be installed where the creek enters the lake. Another unfortunate side
effect of the low flow is that debris and silt have filled the drain basin and
will have to be removed before the lake is refilled.
Chief Kissell will notify the organizers for the Triathlon
that was to be held in town later in the summer that the lake will not be
filled. There is no expectation of the lake being refilled soon if the drought
persists, even with the recent approval of the SWSP.
Massage Therapy Licensing
Skrzypek asked the board to authorize her to seek a contract
with the city of Colorado Springs to have their Massage Therapy Review Board
review applications that the town receives. Skrzypek and Shupp advised the board
that this would be a more effective alternative to forming and sustaining a
qualified five-person town review board, considering the small number of
applicants. Currently, four applicants are awaiting review. She also noted that
Colorado Springs was having trouble filling positions on its review board. The
BOT unanimously authorized Skrzypek to initiate negotiations for services.
Rural Transportation Authority (RTA)
Orten reported on the status of the countywide RTA
initiative, a one-cent sales tax that would be used for a specific list of new
roads and bridges (55 percent), roadway maintenance (35 percent), and a county
transit system (10 percent). Glenn indicated that the town will discuss the
possibility of forming a smaller RTA with Palmer Lake to keep all RTA revenue
collected within the town. A decision is required by July 15 if the town is to
participate in either option. The details of the countywide RTA list of capital
improvements, evenly divided between the county and Colorado Springs at 20
projects each over 10 years, will not be available to the voters until
mid-September. The RTA projects would be administered by Pikes Peak Area Council
of Governments staff.
If the BOT opts to participate in the county RTA ballot issue
in November and the town collectively votes against the RTA initiative, but it
passes countywide, Monument residents will still have to pay to a one-cent sales
tax for 10 years and 0.45 cents indefinitely thereafter. The same general
scenario would apply to a Monument-Palmer Lake RTA, but the details of which
capital projects would be funded, how long the larger sales tax would last, and
relative sizes of the two tax components (no more than a total of one cent)
would have to be defined by the BOT and Palmer Lake Town Council.
Orten also noted that there is no county funding allocated
for Baptist Road improvements on both sides of I-25 listed on the draft RTA
capital project list because the current plan is to require developers to pay
for these improvements. Upgrade of the Exit 158 interchange of I-25 is
completely separate from this option and has to be funded by Colorado Department
of Transportation. There is no expectation of funding for the interchange
improvement until 2010 at the earliest.
Other matters
A change order for $305 was approved 4-1 to cover the
incremental cost for the new public address/recording system to connect to a
phone. This would allow trustees to monitor meetings from out of town. Drumm
voted no.
Drumm commented that the paving and striping on Old Denver
Highway at Valley Ridge was unacceptable and asked the staff to recommend
options to have the problem corrected.
Shupp noted that both concrete batch plant lawsuit trial
preparations, Ready-Mix and Transit Mix, are moving forward.
For the third time in a row, Pegasus Transit did not attend a
BOT meeting to give an overview of their plans to provide public bus service for
the Tri-Lakes Region.
The meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m. The next meeting will be
held at 6:30 p.m. on June 7 at Town Hall.
By Jim Kendrick
Doug Barber gave the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) a
pre-application annexation presentation on the Zonta Addition, Steve Plank and
Luann Deklava reviewed District 38 high school program options, and the hearing
on the Comprehensive Update to Zoning and Subdivision Regulations was tabled at
the May 17 BOT meeting. The public hearing on the comprehensive update to Zoning
and Subdivision Regulations was postponed at the request of Town Planner Mike
Davenport. Once again, the hearing on Wild Bob’s BBQ, a kiosk-type business,
was continued due to the absence of the applicant. Trustee Tommie Plank was
absent.
Scheduled Guests
Lewis-Palmer District 38: Deklava and Plank reviewed the
school board’s plan for evaluating new programs in a presentation on "The
High School Experience." They discussed a seven-part Statement of Values
that incorporates input and suggestions collected in a series of 34 community
meetings (summarized as "We must teach today’s generation what they need
for tomorrow, not what our generation needed for yesterday"). Suggestions
included:
-
High expectations of academic success for all our
students.
-
Course offerings and academic opportunities that prepare
our graduates to compete in their worlds.
-
Curriculum that incorporates community resources to
enhance the classroom experience, giving our graduates relevant experiences
to assist them in school and career choices.
-
A school culture in which our students make personal
connections and experience a personalized learning community.
-
A safe environment for our children.
-
Safety nets and programs for our students who might
otherwise slip through the cracks.
-
Extracurricular opportunities that engage all our
students.
-
The district has adopted three criteria based on this
input:
-
Only approve solutions that provide equal educational
opportunities for all our students.
-
Only approve solutions that support the statement.
-
Only approve solutions that address district-wide capital
and operating needs.
The Web site www.lewispalmer.org
has more information on these issues under "HS Experience"; all
district taxpayers receive a newsletter that provides updates on these and other
issues from D-38.
Since 1994, Lewis-Palmer High School graduation has improved
from 93 to 97.5 percent and the dropout rate has fallen from 2.0 to 0.2 percent,
while the number of students has increased from 975 to 1,681.
Mayor Byron Glenn asked if there could be more intramural
programs. Trustee Dave Mertz asked if more vocational programs with options for
work study and partner courses from Pikes Peak Community Colleges could be
offered for students on non-college paths. Plank noted that new construction
might require a bond issue and that expansion of commercial activity within the
district might significantly increase revenue, but there are no solid growth
projections. Board President Dave Dilley said the school was trying to add
multi-use facilities and would decide no later than July 23 on whether to expand
LPHS or build the second high school.
Monument Lake
Town engineering consultant Roger Sams of GMS, Inc. gave a
history of dam repairs and land acquisition from the Lake of the Rockies
campground, as requested by the BOT. The lake was drained to improve the dam to
last hundreds of years and to improve spillway discharge down Monument Creek. It
was found that some Lake of the Rockies facilities were on or very near town
property. At the same time, land was obtained from the campground to make
improvements to the shoreline that would improve right-of-way access and enable
recreational opportunities around the lake shore to be built in the future.
Since then, these plans have been significantly modified by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service rulings on mouse habitat preservation. The state has given the
town the obligation to preserve the lake, but there remain no easy answers for
refilling the lake as long as the drought continues. Colorado Springs reservoirs
are below capacity, and the city will not sell water or permit water to be taken
until their reservoirs are full. Full access to the lake’s shoreline via
footbridges over habitat will be very expensive to create.
GMS Consulting Contract Renewed
The board unanimously approved a new annual contract with GMS
for engineering services that started on June 1. The structure of the contract
remains the same, with fixed rates on an as-required basis. The range of GMS
hourly rates rose from $38-$104 an hour to $40 to $110 an hour for various
levels of GMS staff.
Zonta Addition
Town Planner Mike Davenport and developer Doug Barber gave
pre-application annexation presentations regarding the Zonta Partnership’s
preliminary sketch plan; the presentations were similar to the ones previously
given to the Planning Commission (PC) on May 12. Although Zonta does not plan to
build on the 99-acre parcel—bordered by the Santa Fe Trail, Wakonda Hills,
Beacon Lite Road, and Century Park—at this time, they did come to agreement
with the Monument Sanitation District (MSD) on where sewer easements under the
development’s future streets would be located.
The district plans to extend sewer mains across the parcel to
the southern boundary of Wakonda Hills by the end of 2004. These mains would
allow construction of mains in the western portion of Wakonda Hills that cannot
be serviced by the Beacon Lite Road 12-inch collector line. Once the mains in
Wakonda Hills are installed, MSD can offer residents the option to voluntarily
connect to the sewer. About two-thirds of Wakonda Hills homes still have
individual septic systems on one-acre lots that were grandfathered when the
county increased the minimum lot size for septic to 2.5 acres.
(See the Monument PC article for more sketch plan
details.)
Rex Miller of Century Park expressed concerns about loss of
views to the north due to the apartment/condo complex at the southern end of the
parcel. He said he was told that the area north of Century Park was wetlands and
could not be built upon.
Roberta Jackson of Wakonda Hills said she was concerned about
quality of life, traffic, and water issues, saying that since moving here 12
years ago, going home has been like being on vacation. She asked, "Do we
really need this? Monument is not what it used to be."
Julian Drummond, also of Wakonda Hills, spoke against the
projects, saying that the motive for MSD’s push to get sewers installed was to
"suck our sewage or our money from us." He also said that there has
been about 50 percent turnover in the homes since the last survey about whether
or not people in the neighborhood wanted sewer service.
In response, Barber said that people who live by large, open,
privately held pieces of land have to expect eventual development of that land.
Trustee Gail Drumm expressed concern about blockage of views
and the Crystal Creek tributary wetland. Trustee George Brown asked about water
availability and how the town would recoup the costs of a new well ($1.5 to $2
million) and treatment and storage ($600,000 to $1 million).
Glenn said the developer could pay for the well and storage
through escrow. Tap fees for 130 dwelling units at $9,000 only generate $1.17
million. The town would only benefit from the extra water that is available if
all four aquifers are tapped, however. Davenport noted that the purpose of the
presentation was just to determine what the issues were, not the solutions.
Glenn confirmed that all fire access issues are to be explored, particularly
sufficient cul-de-sac turnaround room. He said that if the town annexed Beacon
Lite Road, Barber would have to install curbs, gutters, and sidewalks.
Trustee Frank Orten asked how MSD was forcing the issue.
Barber said that their preliminary sketch would not have been prepared had MSD
not asked them where the best places for sewer easements would be. He added,
"We’ll make a quality neighborhood that makes money or we won’t do it
at all."
Trustee Dave Mertz said that annexation must benefit the town
in the short and long terms, noting the lack of commercial development to
generate revenue. He also said if the town did not annex the parcel, it would
have no say in how the parcel was developed. Barber said he would investigate
the option of developing his own water district.
Davenport concluded the Zonta presentation by saying its
purpose was to consider whether or not this is the right location for the
proposed use, citing the range of house prices and the large lot size for a
development within the town’s borders. He also noted that a new well is not
usually drilled until there is a long-term need to service 400 homes or if 85
percent of current well capacity is already allocated so tap fees have already
been collected to finance the new well. However, this situation does not apply
to the Zonta development, and the initial cost per new house for the well and
storage is far higher than the town’s general criteria. The town may wish to
require the developers to set up their own special taxing or local improvement
district.
Pegasus Transit
The representatives for Pegasus did not show up for the
fourth time in a row, and the presentation was canceled.
Comprehensive Update of Zoning and Subdivision Regulations
The board unanimously tabled the consolidation proposal,
saying it should not be continued again. When the single document that includes
all the numerous separate regulations is ready for review, the hearing will be
advertised again. Since the document is over 150 pages, the board will need
several days to review it prior to the hearing.
Wild Bob’s BBQ Request Continued
Owner Paul Lundeen again was unable to attend the BOT
meeting. The BOT voted unanimously to table the application and will not
consider it again until the zoning regulation consolidation has been completed.
Lundeen’s request requires new changes in the comprehensive update that would
have to be approved in a separate hearing in order to authorize his food cart
business. If the board approves this kiosk-type business application and the
required zoning regulation revisions, the town staff would be authorized to
administratively approve the specific initial operating locations as well as any
subsequent relocations to other parts of town.
Budget Report
The annual development fund has spent more money on Fourth of
July and 125th anniversary activities ($5,000) than has been collected to date,
but less than the budget for the year. Revenues should exceed the account’s
expenditures soon. Sales taxes are down more than expected due to changes and
continuing construction at I-25 Exit 161. The report was accepted unanimously.
Expenditures over $5,000
Sales tax revenue for Triview Metropolitan District was
$13,688.85. The tax money is collected by the state, and then passed through the
town treasurer to the district per the Intergovernmental Agreement between the
two entities. Colorado Machinery was paid $6,757.41 for repair parts and labor
to a town backhoe/front-end loader.
Public Works
The board unanimously approved $2,650 from the water
contingency budget for scheduled water tank cleaning and maintenance performed
by Inland Marine Services. They also unanimously approved repaving Old Denver
Highway from Santa Fe to Buffalo Valley Path, following the installation of new
town water mains under the road. These mains will run from the just-completed
well 9 at the south end of Village of Monument to the treatment facility at well
8 by Beacon Lite and Second Street. A portion of this road is in the county, but
the board felt it was best to do a single complete overlay to make this town
entrance more attractive because there are no county funds available to overlay
their portion of the highway. Wall said planned construction for this year would
be deferred. There was general agreement that the current patchwork paving on
Old Denver Highway was harmful to the economic well-being of the town.
In other matters:
-
Investigation to validate the new well 7 pump/motor and
piping configuration continues.
-
Work on the booster pump station is completed.
-
The replacement automated control system (SCADA) is near
completion.
-
Well 9 drilling is complete.
-
Water demand is increasing as summer approaches.
-
Beaver activity in Dirty Woman Creek under Old Denver
Highway may become a problem.
-
A tree was planted in Limbach Park in recognition of
Arbor Day, to help maintain the town’s status for Tree City USA
recognition.
-
Summer help will be hired for routine park maintenance.
Police Department
Four employees participated in the Special Olympics Torch Run
on mountain bikes. They picked up the torch at the Air Force Academy’s north
gate at about 1:50 p.m. on May 26 and delivered it to a mounted policeman from
the Colorado Springs Police Department at Eighth Street and Beacon Lite Road.
They were joined by riders from Colorado and UCCS law enforcement personnel.
The department has taken delivery of a 2004 Chevrolet Impala
patrol car and will take a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria out of service, transferring
equipment to the new one as soon as possible. The department responded to 245
calls in April. There were 59 cases for the month, including 44 criminal, 4
traffic accident, and 11 incident cases, as well as 32 summons. There were 55
citations issued in 31 categories.
Goldwest Property Pre-Application Presentation
Goldwest proposed construction of senior citizen housing on
the previously platted, but undeveloped, property across Adams Street from Grace
Best Elementary School. It is bordered by the unbuilt First Street right-of-way
to the north, the Santa Fe Trail to the east, and the unbuilt Lincoln Avenue
right-of-way on the south. Goldwest would like to build 13 or 14 senior citizen
one-story duplexes with two bedrooms and two baths and one-car garages between
the units. They would cost about $250,000 and would include front and rear
porches. This proposal would require a complete replatting of the block.
Goldwest would also consider moving forward with single
family homes if required to do so, despite the small lot size in the current
plat. Representatives said Goldwest currently owns lots 11 through 16 on the
northeast corner of the block; it will purchase the remaining 10 lots if the
proposal appears to fit within the town’s comprehensive plan.
Davenport said the possible issues for the board to consider
were replatting, rezoning, and water. There are 16 lots platted currently, but
the school has constructed a fence that encroaches on the west end of the three
southwest lots (lots 6-8.) He said the 16 lots were legal when platted but are
too small for today’s standards for single-family houses. The applicant would
like to increase the density of the zoning, which is currently R-2. Current
downtown regulations require stringent water conservation measures to meet the
new regulations. Although the number of taps could increase from 16 to 26 or 28,
Davenport said that senior citizen water usage is usually far lower than
average, which would partially compensate for the small acreage and somewhat
limited available water under the parcel. The state will not allow driveways
across the Santa Fe Trail, which is contiguous with the east boundary of lots
9-16. Access on Adams Street is also complicated by the school’s short setback
and the existing fence.
Their preliminary sketches showed a narrower-than-standard
road running north-south down the center of the parcel, with access from the
north from the First Street right-of-way. Town regulations provide narrower
options called lanes or park lanes that might apply. However, the developer was
agreeable to standard sized roads and smaller lots. Access from Second Street to
the new block of First Street would be along Adams, north of the school
building. The fence would not allow access to the Lincoln right-of-way at the
south end of the proposed lane.
Davenport said this type of housing would be the kind that
older senior citizens would seek in order to continue living in town. They
typically only have one car and are not interested in yard maintenance and will
accept 15-foot spacing between buildings. He added that while this type of
housing is on the low end for square footage and yard space, it is not low end
in cost. On the other hand, it is difficult to legally limit ownership to senior
citizens. Young families might look at these as starter homes and use more water
and parking than the design can support.
Lake of the Rockies issues resolved
Davenport reported that the staff had administratively
approved an agreement regarding drainage onto Bob Mooney’s property from the
Lake of the Rockies campground. That settlement was a condition of approval of
the Lake of the Rockies PD Master Plan Amendment by BOT on Jan. 20. Both parties
agreed to a minor modification of the conformation of the drainage swales that
were specified in the original BOT conditions. Davenport approved these swale
changes. Also included was a grading and drainage report that was approved by
the town engineer. The six house lots on the north shore of Monument Lake that
were originally shown on the amended master plan were deleted, though they may
be considered at a future hearing. The campground’s RV storage area will be
buffered and fenced.
Summer Intern
The board unanimously approved an administrative clerk to
help the staff with peak planning review activity and authorized $5,500 for 12
weeks of work.
Retreat
The BOT retreat was rescheduled for June 12 at the El Pomar
Center, by the Broadmoor Hotel, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. to go into executive
session on negotiations and a personnel matter. The next BOT meeting is at 6:30
p.m. on June 7 at Town Hall.
By Jim Kendrick
Town Treasurer Judy Skrzypek notified OCN on June 1
regarding the following information:
"There was an error in the Town’s water billing dated
May 26, 2004. The billing date was not changed from May 20 to June
20. This error also generated the comment that your account would be
disconnected if not paid. The current charges are due on or before June 20, and
any previous balance is due upon receipt. Please also disregard the comment
about disconnection. Town Treasurer Judy Skrzypek was responsible for the error
and would like to apologize for her error and any inconvenience that this may
cause. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact
Judy at 719-884-8015 or at jskrzypek@townofmonument.net."
By Jim Kendrick
The Monument Planning Commission (PC) discussed annexation of
the undeveloped/rural 99 acres between Wakonda Hills, Beacon Lite Road, the
northern town limit, and the Santa Fe Trail as well as the 140-acre Wahlborg
Addition southeast of Highway 105 and Knollwood. A standing-room-only crowd
filled the meeting room, the kitchen, and both hallways. Many of the more than
60 people were nonresidents from the neighboring communities of Woodmoor and
Wakonda Hills. All five sitting members of the PC were present; Commissioner Ed
Delaney arrived after the vote on electrified fences.
The Monument Board of Trustees is requesting that volunteers
for the vacancies created by the resignations of Bob Mooney and Tom Donnellan
apply to Town Manager Rick Sonnenburg at 884-8012 or rsonnenburg@townofmonument.net.
The board will schedule interviews so all volunteers appear at the same meeting,
if possible.
Electrified Fences
Town Planner Mike Davenport noted that he had obtained
technical information the commission had requested on April 14 during their
hearing on changing town regulations to permit low voltage electrified fences
within town limits. Julie McCearley, a resident of Jackson Creek, had an
electric fence installed on her property when her house was constructed.
Neighbor John Warren had asked to have the fence removed. She only became aware
that there was a regulation against the fence during a review of the dispute
over the fence. McCearley had requested the regulation be changed to allow her
to keep her fence, citing concerns about her mother’s severe allergies to
animals that might threaten her health if the Warren’s dog entered her
property.
Town Engineer Tony Hurst recommended that if such fences are
to be permitted, then they should be installed with a nonelectrical perimeter
fence that would prevent a person being injured by the inner electrified fence.
He suggested that an alternative might be to permit the use of ultrasonic
devices that would deter pets and wildlife from entering a property. However,
McCearley had expressed equal concern over children entering her yard and
ultrasonic devices would have no effect on these occurrences.
McCearley stated she had been harassed by neighbors who were
unhappy with the fence and asked the commission for a final decision so the
matter could be resolved. She noted that she had never said the neighbors’
dogs had jumped the fence.
Warren read a statement that reiterated his concerns from the
previous hearing that the fence was a hazard for pets and children and that its
presence harmed neighboring property values, whether it remained illegal or not.
He said it was pathetic that commissioners did not know or follow the rules
regarding electrified fences and expressed chagrin that they did not appear to
take seriously his petition against the fence signed by 40 neighbors. Delaney
had previously acknowledged that his rural property within town limits had an
electrified perimeter fence for about 13 years, though the power has been turned
off in recent years.
Chad Randis, president of the Heights at Jackson Creek
Homeowner Association, said the neighborhood covenants took no position on
electrified fences. However, the association position was that electrified
fences are not needed in residential neighborhoods.
Davenport noted that there are still rural properties with
agricultural fences within town limits. He added that electrified fences are
typically found only on agricultural lots of five to 10 acres or more in other
Colorado counties. Commissioners Kathy Spence and Jim Thresher voted with Morgan
in opposing a change in the regulation; Larry Neddo voted for the change.
Pacific Telecom PD Site Plan Amendment
Davenport said that Richard Miller of AFL Telecommunications,
who represents Pacific Telecom, was seeking an amendment to the PD site plan for
the single antenna pole and associated electronics building at 856 N. Washington
St. north of Highway 105 by the dump site. The pole currently supports a
wireless Nextel antenna array installed at 150 feet above ground level that
supports communications in the Monument area. Sprint, PCS would like to add nine
monopole cell phone antennas to this pole, 25 feet below the existing Nextel
antenna array (125 feet above the ground) along with supporting electronic
equipment on a new separate 10-foot-by-18-foot concrete pad next to the pad for
the Nextel electronics. Davenport noted that adding an antenna array, rather
than constructing a second pole of equal size, was less visually intrusive and
more efficient. Neither antenna would interfere with the other’s
transmit/receive capability.
The proposal was unanimously approved, 4-0.
Pre-Application Review of Zonta Annexation Proposal
Davenport reviewed the preliminary sketch drawing submitted
by Doug Barber of Rawhide Realty for the Zonta Partnership, Ltd. The 99-acre
parcel, zoned RR3, is between Beacon Lite Road and the Santa Fe Trail. The
southern 14 acres are already inside the town limit and are part of the Woodmoor/Monument
Fire Protection District. The remaining 85 acres would have to be annexed and
are in the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District. The sketch plan shows 85
single-family homes on 85 acres zoned PRD or R1 and 48 townhouses on the
southern 14 acres zoned PRD or R3.
The purpose of the pre-application review is to identify
potential issues and concerns that the Planning Commission and Board of Trustees
might have before expensive engineering studies and design are performed, saving
time and money for all involved. The goal of these two reviews, Davenport said,
is to consider the question, "Is this the right proposal for this
location?" rather than to make a decision on annexation.
History: One of Zonta’s partners was also a partner in
the development of Wakonda Hills. The group does not intend to develop the land
at this time. They are bringing the pre-application review to the town at the
request of the Monument Sanitation District (MSD) for easements across the
property in order to provide sewer service to Wakonda Hills residents.
Currently, about one-third of those residents have petitioned for inclusion into
the district and are connected to the sewer main that runs along the west side
of Beacon Lite Road. However, the slope of the land does not allow western
Wakonda Hills homes to be connected by gravity flow to the Beacon Lite main. The
district would like to be able to connect these western homes to their system
through the rural parcel and hopes to have all the Zonta mains installed by the
end of this year. The district asked Barber to determine where the roads would
be when the parcel is developed so the sewer easements would be underneath them.
Public Comment: Several citizens wished to speak and ask
questions about the developer’s and the district’s construction plans.
Ed Montgomery asked how much development the aquifers could
support. Davenport said that cooperative Tri-Lakes water studies show that most
of the region can produce about 1.25 to 1.50 acre-feet of water per acre on
average, roughly three times what is required for a single-family-equivalent
home development, if the county well requirement of 100 years of water supply is
used. However, if the town’s 300-year requirement is applied, the amount of
water that can be adjudicated would be reduced by a factor of three, but would
still be sufficient. The available supply of water for the Zonta parcel is
estimated to be 140.9 acre-feet, far exceeding the requirement for the proposed
development. Morgan added that there are no guarantees that the water will last
100 years in the county despite regulations.
Chuck Robinove said that while he thought the Zonta proposal
included nice transitions, he preferred to remain on his septic system. There
was some discussion about a petition to that effect signed by several Wakonda
Hills residents. Robinove also expressed concerns about the cul-de-sacs being
large enough to enable fire trucks to turn around and about the need for a
traffic light at Highway 105 and Beacon Lite Road to handle the additional
traffic, which might be too close to the proposed Safeway light. He claimed that
the cost of connection to the sewer district is between $7,000 and $10,000. He
did not like the name "Wakonda Hills Improvement Project" on the Zonta
sketch plan. Later, Barber said he had used the contour map provided by MSD
because it was the most accurate available and the title was the MSD title for
the sewer main improvements.
(See the article on the Monument Sanitation District board
meeting for accurate connection cost figures.)
Paul Catallo asked where the development’s access points
would be located. Barber said they would be on Beacon Lite Road, and another
access would likely be made through the existing Century Park development.
Joan Curry asked about the location of sewer easements near
or on private properties. Davenport said the goal was to minimize the number of
lift stations. She asked if this would mean all of Wakonda Hills would have to
connect to MSD. Davenport said that the question should be presented to MSD, but
he believed that owners would only have to hook up if their septic systems
failed. He added that the sewer district is not part of the town government.
Rick Thorne expressed concern that the construction of two
houses near his property would block his views to the north and that he had been
told when he bought his house that the parcel was a wetland where houses could
not be built. He also asked that a light be installed at Highway 105 and Beacon
Lite Road, as did Penelope Adams who spoke next.
Linda Drummond expressed concern that her views would be
destroyed by the construction and asked if annexation was the city’s goal.
Davenport said the proposal was consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan,
which was a good reason to look at it.
Mike Kopvcinski asked about the types of houses that would be
built on this site. Mr. Barber answered that there are not details like that
yet, as this is a "first shot" sketch plan and they were looking for
such comments. He also added that he has been developing land for several years
and wherever they have developed, the property values have always risen. He
added that although MSD has the right of eminent domain, they wanted to work
with Zonta in designing the sewer mains and stubs for each dwelling unit.
Barber concluded his responses to citizen input by saying
that they planned to preserve the character of the land’s natural contours as
much as possible, even though it would increase their costs. He said that access
through Century Park was a requirement of the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District
and that they had already approved the size of the cul-de-sacs for engine
turnaround. A mouse/wetland study is under way.
Commissioner comments
Commissioner Kathy Spence asked about the relative density of
the planned townhouses compared to neighboring Century Park. Barber said the
density was the same or lower. Davenport noted that the mobile home park across
Beacon Lite has a density of eight units per acre, far higher than the Zonta
townhomes. She said she would like to see sidewalks along Beacon Lite. Davenport
noted that the Parks and Landscape Committee recommended that a trail be built
along Beacon Lite as well as a connection to the Santa Fe Trail. She later
concluded that the proposal was a good plan, but she said she was concerned
about the costs of providing town water, if annexed.
Commissioner Jim Thresher asked about the affect on town
finances. Davenport said that, in general, purely residential annexations cost a
municipality more than the taxes they produce over the long term, even though
they normally produce an excess of revenue over expense during the first several
years. The Zonta development would require a new well and treatment facility
that would cost between $1.5 and $2 million, as well as a new storage tank that
would cost between $600,000 and $1 million. Legal costs and other physical
factors may increase the town’s expenses even more.
Delaney asked about the maximum height of dwelling units.
Davenport indicated that the maximum is 35 feet, but Barber said no structure
would be taller than two stories.
Morgan said the plan was "classy" but that current
traffic on the dirt portion of Beacon Lite was excessive, particularly when
people used it to avoid backups on I-25 and that it was hard to predict when a
traffic light at Highway 105 would be funded. He wondered if Barber could afford
to develop his own water distribution system if annexation was denied. Barber
said the new construction would require that all lots be connected to the MSD
sewer system.
The PC voted 3-2 for a favorable recommendation to the BOT,
with Thresher and Morgan voting against the preliminary sketch plan.
Village Center at Woodmoor Annexation: Rezoning and Master
Site Development Plan
Davenport gave the staff report on the annexation request for
rezoning and developing the 140-acre Wahlborg Addition, an L-shaped ranchland
parcel surrounded by developments. The parcel is southeast of Knollwood and
Highway 105. Steve Shuttleworth of Zephyr Development was the principal
representative for the applicant, WED LLC. The property, currently zoned RR3
(rural residential 5 acres) is owned by Dwight and Mary Wahlborg. The applicant
is also proposing that the parcel be included by the Woodmoor Water and
Sanitation District.
The proposed mixed use development includes three residential
subdivisions (R1, R2, R3) totaling 342 dwelling units, a 330,000-square-foot
commercial center on 48.4 acres at the northwest corner of the property, and
roughly 27.5 percent open space and trails. The design proposes 182 units of
attached patio homes on 22.8 acres in the center, 48 units of two-story homes
("first home or empty nester") with drive-under garages on 6.5 acres
at the southwest corner, and 112 single-family homes along the south and east
perimeter. The proposal includes 37.5 acres of open space and 23.4 acres of
public land dedication. The patio home portion of the plat is not going to be
developed soon, and a separate hearing was requested for that part of the
development at a later date.
Proposal Review Comments and Concerns: The staff package
included the following issues.
-
The 7.8 acre-feet detention pond is about 0.5 acres in
size and would have to be at least 15 feet deep with vertical walls, which
is not appropriate.
-
There remain concerns about the outfall of the drainage
such as erosion and sedimentation.
-
Planned town growth will require additional police
department resources in the future if current response times are to be met.
-
District 38 may need space for an elementary school,
typically about 10 acres.
-
U.S. Fish and Wildlife indicates that mouse habitat is
not present on the property.
-
A fiscal impact analysis will be prepared for review by
the Board of Trustees to determine if there is sufficient commercial
development to pay for long-term services.
-
Several required notes were missing from the combined
preliminary/final site plan documents.
-
Does the Lutheran Church know it would also be annexed?
-
A majority of the residential lots are smaller than a
half acre.
-
The residential density is 2.85 times that of Woodmoor.
-
District 38 cannot absorb all the new developments that
are proposed within its boundaries.
-
Traffic will be worse.
Shuttleworth and Jerry Haire, the planning and design
consultant from Pinnacle Design Works, presented a lengthy Powerpoint overview
of their site plan. Shuttleworth thanked the staff for working with him over the
past 10 months to meet all requirements. He said the proposal conformed to all
the applicable zoning regulations and comprehensive plans and that it had less
commercial density and fewer attached dwelling units than nearby town
developments. Haire said the development had a 40-foot-wide trail buffer along
the southern and eastern boundaries and a 100-foot-wide buffer between the
higher density residential and commercial portions of the project.
The commercial buildings will have a mining town theme for
their facades, which lets the roughly 100,000-square-foot main structure look
like connected smaller buildings, regardless of how the interior is divided
among tenants. The smaller retail buildings would have a similar consistent
style. The entry on Highway 105 would be aligned with the entry to the Mormon
church, and the west entry would be on Knollwood. Knollwood would be extended
south around the starter/empty-nester homes, curving to the west to connect to
Jackson Creek Parkway when the undeveloped parcel between this development and
the parkway is developed.
Haire said these 48 houses were added to the plan in lieu of
the previously planned 80-unit apartment complex in response to the request of
District 38 for houses for their younger teachers. In response to neighboring
homeowner concerns, there will be no residential street lights, and only split
rail fences will be built around the perimeter and commercial areas.
Public Comment: William Brown said the 40-foot trail
between the new and existing subdivisions would invite crime because they will
be unlit. Lori Schumacher was also concerned about this and asked that
agreements between the town and the developer be in writing.
Shuttleworth expressed surprise that people would find a
nonmotorized hiking/biking trail undesirable and said that the perimeter trail
could be eliminated by making all the perimeter lots deeper. Davenport observed
that the creation of the parks, trails, and open space requirements in the town’s
comprehensive plan had been developed through numerous public hearings over a
three-year review and discussion period.
Wallace Unruh said that the 40-foot buffer was not wide
enough and didn’t provide sufficient space between the developments. Everitt
Smith said the buffer should be widened and that the commercial part of the
development was too close to the homes. There will be commercial development on
all four corners of the Highway 105 and Knollwood intersection.
Susan Shields, vice president of the Woodmoor Improvement
Association, expressed concern that the development would block views and lower
property values due to high density. She said the covenants should be the same
as Woodmoor’s. Haire agreed to make the covenants consistent.
Chris Pollard said he was concerned that Woodmoor residents
would have to share water with this subdivision when watering is already being
restricted. He asked that the parks be designed so they would not require any
watering or irrigation.
Kathy Imada expressed concern about property values declining
due to the new houses and asked that trees be planted in the open spaces. (There
are only a few trees on the pastureland now, by the two Wahlborg houses.)
Randy Ottoway said he is in favor of the 40-foot perimeter
hiking path. He is also developing a commercial property at the corner of
Knollwood and Highway 105 and expressed concern about how the costs he has
already paid for road improvements would be divided among the four commercial
properties at that location and when he would be reimbursed after the other
developments are completed. He also expressed concern about when and how the
highway would be widened and improved, based on the slow progress in improving
the interchange at Exit 161. He was deeply concerned that, if not fairly
apportioned, his share of the improvements would cost more than his property,
since he has the smallest business and traffic load. He also wanted to know what
Shuttleworth’s share of the road and light improvement costs would be.
Davenport could not provide an answer at the time and said there would be
negotiations before the improvements were made.
Jim McGuire, owner of the land at the northwest corner of
this intersection, said he was in favor of the development as proposed and had
only come to the meeting to make sure it would not be another Monument Villas.
He asked the town to ensure that traffic, fire, and revenue needs were met in a
way that would not harm the town’s finances.
Shuttleworth summarized the presentation and comments. He
said he would make the covenants consistent with Woodmoor’s and would be happy
to eliminate the trails and incorporate any modifications through written
conditions. He said the addition is surrounded by urban and commercial
developments. He asked the commission to vote in favor of the proposal. Morgan
said this proposal was complicated and the thick review package had only been
received two days before the hearing, not enough time to review it in depth. A
motion to continue the hearing until the June 9 meeting passed unanimously at
10:10 p.m.
Wal-Mart at Monument Marketplace
Spence asked if the Wal-Mart would actually fit on the
nominally 200,000-square-foot Pad A in lieu of the Baptist Road location. If so,
she asked if the planning staff would be able to approve it or if it would
require new hearings by the PC and BOT. Davenport said that the architectural
standards for the Marketplace have been made part of the town’s zoning
regulations and that the traditional facades Wal-Mart uses do not comply with
these standards. If Wal-Mart wanted to use one of its standard facades, it would
have to go through the hearing process with the PC and BOT to get a waiver.
However, if Wal-Mart agreed to build a "non-standard" compatible
façade that complied with the town’s regulations, then the town staff could
approve the proposal administratively. To show how the process has already been
effective, Davenport said the town required Home Depot to change the color of
the orange stripe to comply with these regulations. The stripe was repainted
using one of the approved colors, "Colorado Rust."
Davenport also said that the County Planning Commission’s
7-1 vote against approving the Baptist Road location, despite Wal-Mart’s
several changes in its façade to make it more attractive, was instructive
because nearly all the people who spoke against it said that Wal-Mart wanted to
build its supercenter in the wrong place and that the Marketplace was a better
location. Spence asked why the Wal-Mart could not be built across Baptist Road
from the Total station. Davenport said that Wal-Mart would never agree to build
on the west side of I-25 because 80 percent of its local customers would come
from the east side and that location would be on the wrong side of the bridge
over I-25.
There are no funds available for improving the Exit 158
interchange now or in the foreseeable future. No official has been willing to
say that funds will be available before 2012—including from the proposed
Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) funding that may be on the ballot in
November. In the most recent iteration of proposed capital projects to be funded
by the proposed countywide one-cent sales tax, the individual projects that
comprise the Baptist Road "corridor" improvement have gone from top to
bottom priority.
In other matters, Assistant Planner Tamara Nazario
distributed a 14-page memo on Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Act of
2000 that Morgan had requested during the April 14 PC meeting. It was prepared
by Town Attorney Gary Shupp.
An interim progress report from Tony Hurst on drainage along
the railroad tracks along Old Denver Highway was also provided to the
commissioners. At the April 14 PC meeting, nonresident Mike Watt had asked
assistance from the town in controlling runoff, erosion, and sedimentation
outflow along the railroad tracks and onto his property from the Santa Fe Trails
and Peak View Ridge subdivisions to the north. Watt was concerned that any new
development will add to the drainage-related problems he and the railroad have
experienced.
Correction: OCN had incorrectly indicated in the
May 1 edition that some sedimentation Watt had experienced may have come from
the Village at Monument. OCN regrets the error.
By Jim Kendrick
The Parks and Landscape (P&L) Committee started its
annual Monument parks visitation tours at 5:30 p.m. on May 11 before holding its
regular meeting at Town Hall. They began the tour by visiting Dirty Woman Creek
Park and will finish the site visits on June 8. They also reviewed the landscape
and open space plans for the Wahlborg Addition annexation and Zonta Partnership’s
pre-application for future annexation. (The specific details of these two
proposals are listed in the article on the Planning Commission meeting of May 12.)
All four members of the committee were present; one position
remains to be filled. The commission has received three applications from
nonresidents volunteering to be alternate members. An alternate, selected by the
Board of Trustees, would be able to vote only if that person’s presence would
create a quorum.
After the tour, the committee discussed current town issues
and received updates on each from Town Planner Mike Davenport. They inquired
about the town’s unsuccessful efforts to refill Monument Lake and the
unexpected need to repair the new dam’s drainage that has become clogged by
sedimentation. The dam was not designed to cope with drought. The committee made
plans for seeking volunteers to contribute trees to be planted and maintained
along the length of Second Street—despite not receiving a Great Outdoors
Colorado (GOCO) grant for that purpose—and expressed concern about being
unable to irrigate other trees the town has planted. They also discussed how
many lots remain downtown that could be used for building more shops and
generating more revenue for parks and landscaping.
The regular meeting was convened at 7 p.m.
Wahlborg Addition
Steve Shuttleworth of WED, LLC has submitted a petition
requesting that Monument annex 140 acres located by the southeast corner of
Highway 105 and Knollwood Drive. The Wahlborg’s pastureland extends east along
Highway 105 and south past where Knollwood dead-ends. Davenport explained
Shuttleworth’s plans for commercial and residential development on the parcel
and answered questions about water, road improvements, and the annexation
process. The committee unanimously recommended two options for parks for the 900
residents who will live in the subdivision at buildout: a single large park, or
three separate parks designed for each of the three distinct residential areas.
Zonta Partnership
Davenport explained that Doug Barber submitted his
preliminary sketch for a pre-application review in order to coordinate the
street location plans in the 99-acre parcel with the sewer easements the
Monument Sanitation District (MSD) needs for service to Wakonda Hills. Barber
has no immediate plans to build or seek annexation of the northern 85 acres of
this rural pastureland between Beacon Lite Road and the Santa Fe Trail.
Davenport said that MSD is building these sewer lines to be able to provide
service to residents of western Wakonda Hills who want it. The committee
unanimously recommended that Zonta be required to build a trail on Beacon Lite
along the length of its eastern boundary that would further extend to the
northeast corner of Wakonda Hills, as well as a trail connecting this new
segment with the Santa Fe Trail.
Staff Report
Davenport covered the status of trail grants and the downtown
entry, as well as a mouse update and the plans for BOT interviews of all three
P&L candidates.
-
The state’s GOCO trail grant has not been awarded yet;
the town scored 74 out of 100, but recently an 84 is the lowest score for an
award. The town has obtained copies of previous winning grants to help
better prepare requests for the next cycle, if unsuccessful this time.
-
Monika Markey continues to lead the efforts to get local
business owners to donate trees for Second Street.
-
Three landscape architects have asked to bid on the town
entry project for the southeast corner of Second Street and Highway 105;
electrical power is available at the site for illumination of a sign.
-
Although U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has initiated a
formal delisting procedure, it could take up to five years. The department
has given out preliminary notifications for other species that may replace
the mouse as endangered throughout the region.
-
Davenport also discussed the possible link between air
pollution and trees being more susceptible to disease.
-
Committee chair John Savage recommended that Public Works
create a parks manager position for the 2005 budget; this was unanimously
endorsed.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. The next meeting will be
June 8, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall with the second half of the parks
tours.
By John Heiser
At the May 26 meeting, the Monument Police Advisory Committee
(PAC) elected Gasper Blea committee chair. Chief Joe Kissell said that Dan
Gilliana, the former chair, is absent because the meeting night conflicts with
classes he is teaching.
Much of the discussion during the meeting focused on future
police stations to replace the current building. The committee recommended
formation of a group to study the alternatives, including a combined new town
hall-police station.
The group is to be comprised of Kissell as project manager, a
police sergeant, a member of the PAC, the town manager, the town treasurer, and
two residents.
Over the next year, the group will tour police facilities and
develop recommendations to be considered by the Monument Board of Trustees.
Kissell said, "We have a very supportive, understanding board."
Kissell reported that he has requested 200 square feet for a
police substation within the combined fire-police station the Tri-Lakes Fire
Protection District is considering near the Monument Marketplace.
In other business, Kissell reported that the department has
given away 75 to 100 of the 600 gun locks the department received. Monument
residents are urged to contact the Police Department if they can use one of
these locks. Blea said, "People are real pleased with them."
**********
For further information, contact Kissell at 481-3253 or jkissell@townofmonument.net.
By Jim Kendrick
The new board for the Monument Sanitation District (MSD) was
sworn in on May 18. Members immediately dealt with the concerns of seven Wakonda
Hills residents who attended the meeting to seek information on plans to extend
the district’s sewer lines to the southern boundary of their subdivision by
the end of this year and then into the western part of their neighborhood in the
future. No district constituents or other citizens attended.
After swearing in new board members Jeremy Diggins, Lowell
Morgan, and Glenda Smith, Board President Leon Tenney said this was his last day
in political office. Tenney was term limited and not eligible for re-election.
He and former board members Darwin Dimmick—who had served since 1972 but
became term limited by the recent change in Colorado law—and Steve Wilcox
received plaques honoring their service.
The new board elected incumbent Connie DeFelice president,
incumbent Ed Delaney treasurer, and Smith secretary. Most of the nearly
three-hour meeting was taken up with signing required forms and discussing
duties. District Manager Mike Wicklund gave an overview of the board’s
responsibilities in setting policy and providing review and oversight.
Tenney noted that the district is now in excellent financial
shape and developing effective short- and long-term plans for the needs of
residential and commercial properties for its current and future constituents.
There is over $1 million in cash reserves for planned capital investments.
Wicklund discussed the financial history of the district over the past two
decades. He also reviewed the operations at the joint use Tri-Lakes Wastewater
Treatment Plant and the shared ownership agreements with Monument Water and
Sanitation District and Palmer Lake Sanitation District.
Infrastructure Expansion Background
Wicklund said that MSD has been studying ways to provide
sewer service to property owners beyond its current northern district boundary
for several years.
There is an existing MSD sewer main that runs along the west
side of Beacon Lite from Highway 105 to the northeast corner of Wakonda Hills.
Many property owners in the eastern portion of this subdivision have requested
voluntary inclusion by MSD and are already connected to this main. Some of the
citizens in attendance said they did not know this. The district would also like
to offer voluntary sewer connections to residents on the west side of Wakonda
Hills, but they cannot be connected to the Beacon Lite main in a cost-effective
manner due to the slope of the terrain.
MSD is in the preliminary planning phase of designing
gravity-driven main sewer line placements for western Wakonda Hills as well as
efficient locations that would enable connections to existing lines through the
rural property between Wakonda Hills and the north boundary of the district,
which is called the Zonta Addition. The majority of Wakonda Hills main sewer
lines would be installed under existing roads. MSD is also looking at
alternatives for connecting to the lines being installed on the Zonta parcel.
In order to most efficiently expand MSD main sewer lines to
western Wakonda Hills lots, Wicklund recently asked developer Doug Barber, of
Rawhide Realty, how the 99-acre rural parcel, owned by the Zonta Partnership,
would be developed. The Zonta parcel is bounded by Beacon Lite Road to the east,
the Monument town limit to the south, the Santa Fe Trail to the west, and
Wakonda Hills to the north. Barber is currently proposing construction of
single-family homes on one-acre lots and a small apartment building complex on
the southeast corner of the parcel, both of which would require sewer service.
Although Barber has informed MSD that Zonta does not plan to
develop their parcel for several years, Wicklund and Barber currently plan on
having the parcel’s main sewer mains installed by the end of this year. They
agreed that the mains should be placed in deep trenches that would be under the
future location of Zonta’s roads. Barber had made a pre-application
presentation for possible annexation and rezoning of the northern 85 acres of
this parcel by Monument at the town’s Planning Commission meeting on May 12
and the Board of Trustees meeting on May 17. The southern 14 acres already lie
within the town’s northern boundary.
Several Wakonda Hills residents had attended those two Zonta
pre-application presentations and had questions about how and where the sewer
lines might be further extended into their subdivision. Currently, individual
wells and septic tanks or mound systems serve their one-acre lots. At both town
meetings, it was suggested that residents attend this MSD board meeting since
the town has no jurisdiction over the proposed sewer lines.
Public Comment
In response to questions about costs during the public
comment portion of the meeting, Wicklund said that submitting a petition for
inclusion by the district would continue to be voluntary and optional. The
expense of the $4,500 tap fee could be spread out over 200 months of
interest-free payments, and they could receive up to $1,000 credit for the cost
of excavation and connection to the MSD stub. This would reduce their monthly
MSD payment to as low as $17.50 plus the standard $20 user fee. Wicklund
promised that all the details regarding inclusion/tap fees, expiring mill levy
taxes for a soon-to-be-paid-off bond, and options regarding connecting to MSD
sewer lines will be mailed to every Wakonda Hills resident as soon as possible.
In other matters, the board discussed future lease rates for
tenants in the MSD building and progress on the audit for 2003. The audit report
should be presented to the board at its June meeting. Board members were
encouraged to attend the Special District Association conference in Steamboat
Springs in September. The board also approved fees to be paid for judges at the
May 4 election.
The next board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the
District Office on June 15.
By John Heiser
At its regular meeting May 27, the Triview Metropolitan
District Board of Directors filled the vacancies on the board, elected officers,
discussed the status of various developments within the district, and reviewed a
draft operational agreement with the Wal-Mart Public Improvement Corporation (PIC).
Composition of the board
There was a bit of confusion at the beginning of the meeting
because Peter Susemihl, attorney for the district, said existing board members’
terms, in particular Julie Glenn’s term, expired on the day of the election
May 4. With that interpretation, a quorum was not present and the meeting could
not be called to order. To overcome that difficulty, the meeting proceeded under
the usual interpretation that board members serve until the oath of office is
administrated to their successors.
Susemihl administered the oath to Charles Burns and Steve
Stephenson who, as two candidates for three positions, were declared elected to
four-year terms at the March 24 meeting.
Glenn, wife of Monument Mayor Byron Glenn, was reappointed to
fill the position vacated by Linda Jones’ February resignation. That
resignation came too late for the position to have been included in the May
election.
Jackson Creek resident and former Monument Planning
Commission member Joseph Martin was appointed to fill the remaining vacancy.
Officers were elected by unanimous consent.
Triview board members and officers are now:
Steve Stephenson, President
Charles Burns, Vice-President
Julie Glenn, Secretary-Treasurer
Martha Gurnick
Joseph Martin
Of these, Glenn and Martin were appointed; Burns, Gurnick,
and Stephenson stood for election, but only Gurnick faced any opponents for the
post.
Aside from the directors, no other Triview district residents
were present.
Ron Simpson, manager of the Triview district, was reappointed
assistant secretary-treasurer.
Stephenson expressed appreciation to Gary Walters and Kathy
Walters for their eight years of service to the district as directors.
The first of several orientation work sessions for board
members was scheduled for Saturday, June 5, 9 a.m.
Monument Marketplace status
Rick Blevins of Marketplace developer Vision Development,
Inc., reported as follows:
-
Wells Fargo Bank: The branch within the Marketplace is
expected to be open by the fall.
-
Jackson Creek Parkway: Paving is to be completed by the
end of May. Striping is to be completed by June 3. A $258,000 landscaping
contract has been awarded to Timberline Landscaping. They are to start work
the first week in June. The parkway is scheduled to be open to the public by
the middle of June.
-
Leather Chaps Drive: Paving of the extension is to be
completed by the middle of June.
-
Delivery of street light poles has been delayed until the
second week of June.
-
Construction of the sewer line to serve the Marketplace
is "a nightmare." Another Qwest fiber-optic cable has been
encountered in the Baptist Road right-of-way, bringing the total to 11. The
resulting delays have added $15,000 to the project cost.
-
The fire district is developing a design for a combined
Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District fire station and Monument Police
Department substation near the Marketplace site. The police portion would be
about 200 square feet.
Leather Chaps median
In response to a question, Simpson said there is no median on
Leather Chaps Drive near Baptist Road because the intersection may have to be
lowered once Baptist Road is regraded. The conceptual design prepared for the
Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority calls for substantial regrading of
Baptist Road from I-25 to Tari Drive. There is no identified source of funds for
much of that work.
WWTF
The Waste Water Treatment Facility (WWTF) is jointly owned by
the Triview district, the Donala district that serves Gleneagle, and the Forest
Lakes Metropolitan District that currently has no users.
Chuck Ritter of Nolte and Associates, engineering consultant
for Triview, said a preliminary concept plan for expansion of the WWTF to use
Sequencing Batch Reaction (SBR) is to be submitted to the state Health
Department in July.
In response to a question, Simpson said the district’s
share of the design cost is approximately $4,300 per month.
Ritter reported that the district has been waiting almost a
year for approval from the railroad for an at-grade crossing of the rails for
access to the WWTF. The current crossing goes under the tracks using a trestle
that will not accommodate the construction equipment needed for the WWTF
expansion.
Well A4
Ritter said connection of raw (untreated) water from the new
well A4 in the Arapahoe aquifer to the reuse system to supply water for
irrigation at Creekside Middle School and along Jackson Creek Parkway should be
completed by the first week in June.
At the March meeting, Simpson noted that last summer
irrigation of Creekside Middle School playfields and the roadside landscaping
consumed 3.3 million gallons per month. He predicted consumption would be higher
this summer due to irrigation of landscaping at the Marketplace and other new
construction.
Wal-Mart operations agreement
Susemihl reviewed the draft operations agreement between the
PIC and the district. He said the county is requiring that a signed agreement be
placed in escrow prior to the Board of County Commissioners hearing on the
Wal-Mart project June 24.
Susemihl identified misconceptions in the document including
the following:
-
The PIC would retain revenues. He said, "They can’t.
The funds must be used for a public purpose."
-
Bonds will not be issued: Wal-Mart would provide funds to
the PIC and receive interest. Susemihl said the PIC should issue bonds.
-
The interest would not be tax-exempt to Wal-Mart. Since
Triview authorized the PIC, interest on bonds it issues would be exempt from
federal and state taxes.
-
The proposed 8 percent interest rate is excessive.
Stephenson said, "The market even for taxable bonds is not at 8
percent." The higher the interest rate, the longer it would take to
repay the bonds issued by the PIC. That would postpone the point at which
Triview receives 1.5 percent retail sales fee, instead of the initial 0.75
percent.
Susemihl said, "This [Triview] board appoints that [PIC]
board. Maybe we should have a representative on that board." When the PIC
was authorized at the Triview meeting Aug. 28, 2002, Susemihl recommended that
none of the Triview directors serve on the PIC board based on liability and
other concerns.
Due to the remaining issues with the agreement and the June
24 deadline set by the county, Susemihl said the Triview board would have to
hold a special meeting to approve the agreement. A date and time for that
meeting was not set.
Water Conservation
Simpson said the district is urging residents to conserve
water. He said that due to use of Kentucky bluegrass and water for construction,
summer usage within the district is three times as high as winter use.
Speed Limits
Simpson reported that the Town of Monument has set the speed
limits on the new sections of Jackson Creek Parkway and Leather Chaps as
follows:
-
Jackson Creek Parkway from Baptist Road to the
Marketplace: 35 mph
-
Jackson Creek Parkway from the Marketplace to Higby Road:
40 mph
-
Jackson Creek Parkway from Higby Road to State Highway
105: 45 mph
-
Leather Chaps Drive: 35 mph
Blevins objected to the 40 mph and 45 mph segments. He said
the signs have already been purchased and all of them call for 35 mph. The board
agreed that the limit should be set at 35 mph throughout. Simpson noted that the
town, not the district, has the authority to set speed limits.
Tap fees for townhomes
Simpson reported that for townhome units, currently the water
tap fee is $2,225 and the sewer tap fee is $2,600. He said he thought it would
be appropriate for the fees to be 60 percent of the fees charged for
single-family houses. The single-family house water tap fee is now $7,365, so
the fee for townhomes would be $4,419. The single-family house sewer tap fee is
now $4,100 so the fee for townhomes would be $2,460.
Simpson added that one of the issues is that there would
likely be centralized water and sewer connections for several townhome units
within a single structure. In that case, the district’s formulas for
commercial, office, and industrial connections might apply.
A decision on the matter was postponed to the next meeting.
**********
The Triview Metropolitan District Board of Directors normally
meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month, 4:30 p.m., at the district offices,
174 N. Washington St. The next meeting will be held June 23.
The first of several orientation work sessions for board
members was scheduled for Saturday, June 5, 9 a.m. For further information,
contact the Triview Metropolitan District at 488-6868.
By Jim Kendrick
Two milestones made the Palmer Lake Town Council (PLTC)
workshop of May 6 memorable: the retirement ceremony for the town’s K-9 team
of John Cameron and Amanda and the surprise resignation of Trustee Randy Jones.
The council also reviewed new business license applications, discussed a zoning
change on Mayor Nikki McDonald’s property, and listened to complaints by Sue
Coons regarding Jones’ extension of Meadow Lane. Denise Cornell and Gary
Atkins spoke to the council about filling the two vacancies on the town’s
Planning Commission.
The PLTC meets twice a month, with the bulk of the hearings
and trustee discussions taking place the first Thursday of the month at the
workshops rather than at the regular monthly meeting on the second Thursday of
the month. Discussions among the trustees and by citizens in attendance are more
informal than a standard municipal hearing protocol and encourage residents to
come observe and interact with elected officials. However, on many issues and
actions, if there is agreement among the trustees and the mayor, then there is
no discussion or hearing at the regular council meeting the following week.
Furthermore, the proceedings of workshops are not recorded as minutes, so
trustee discussion and citizen input do not become public record. The same is
true of the Palmer Lake Planning Commission that first holds workshops and then
meetings, without recording the proceedings of the workshops.
In contrast, if an action is approved at the Monument Board
of Trustees meeting that requires an ordinance or resolution to be drafted for
final approval at the next regular meeting, a member of the town staff will
review the issue at the following meeting and the public will still have an
opportunity to comment prior to a vote by the board; the item will not simply be
voted on as a consent item. Palmer Lake does not have as large a staff or budget
as Monument, however.
Cameron/Amanda Retirement
Police Chief Dale Smith presided over a ceremony honoring the
Palmer Lake Police Department’s senior officer John Cameron for his 21 years
of service to the town. Smith noted John and Charlotte Cameron’s 30th wedding
anniversary as well.
John Cameron joined Palmer Lake’s Police Department in 1983
following his service in the military. During the train derailment in town that
year, "John was instrumental in leading bystanders in extricating a
severely injured train engineer from a fully-engulfed engine …. saving this
person’s life," Smith said. In the late 1990s, Cameron decided to train a
German shepherd as a scent-tracking dog. In 1999, he obtained certification for
his K9 named Amanda. "John has used Amanda not only for searches, but as a
communication tool for various community groups, such as the Boy and Girl
Scouts," Smith said.
Cameron was honored in 1998 as Law Enforcement Officer of the
Year by the Centurion Daylight Lodge of Monument, in recognition of
"service to the community as an outstanding law enforcement officer,
leader, and his professional skill and ability to promote and maintain the
safety and well-being of the Tri-Lakes area."
After reading several letters of commendation and thanks from
Cameron’s personnel file, Smith said, "These letters of commendation have
occurred frequently through the course of John’s career and are indicative of
how John conducts himself as a police officer."
Amanda and the Camerons are retiring to southern Arkansas to
take over a family property there. Cameron presented framed portraits of Amanda
wearing her police dog working vest to the town. Smith said their last day of
work would be June 3.
Trustee Jones’ Resignation
Jones stated that he needed to resign from the PLTC, saying
he had served three years because he thought he could provide expertise as the
roads trustee. He noted that Mayor Nikki McDonald had reassigned him from the
roads position for "conflict of interest" reasons. While he had
initially agreed to be reassigned to parks and recreation, he said he had
reconsidered his workload as a developer and homebuilder. He also stated that as
a trustee he could not effectively react to Palmer Lake resident Sue Coons’
frequent complaints about his developments and the roads. "I can’t sit
here and feel like I have to swallow everything Sue hands me and not respond and
protect myself." He said he could respond to her accusations better as a
citizen and was still willing to serve on a roads committee of citizens if one
is formed. He added that he felt it would be useful to have people swear in to a
judge before speaking to the council "to get to truth."
Saying he would provide a letter of resignation before the
regular PLTC meeting on May 13, Jones then walked out of the meeting. McDonald
responded, "That was a surprise." Town Clerk Della Gins said the town
would advertise for volunteers for a replacement trustee to serve for the nearly
two years until the election in April 2006. No letter was received by May 13,
however, leaving the council in a quandary about when it could advertise for a
volunteer replacement. Coons did not comment on the resignation during or after
the meeting, although she has complained to the council about the quality of
Jones’ grading, construction, and landscaping of roads for his developments.
Committee Reports
Water: Trustee Chuck Cornell noted that the town filter
plant is not ready for operation and a firm startup date has not yet been
determined.
Buildings: Trustee Max Parker noted that progress was
evident in the repair of the Town Hall kitchen steps and the on-going
installation of a sidewalk from the employee parking lot to Town Hall. Some
maintenance work at the Police Department building is required, a tree next to
this building needs to be de-limbed, and an emergency call station will be
installed in front of the building.
April Police and Fire Activity Report: Trustee George
Reese said there were 107 police calls for service, compared to 111 the previous
month, and 16 cases, compared to 12 the previous month. Traffic citations were
down 50 percent from March, 42 to 21. There were 17 traffic and dog warnings and
one dog citation. Trustee Brent Sumner noted that the fire department responded
to 6 medical calls, 2 traffic accidents, 1 "other," and 6 mutual aid
dispatches in April. These 15 calls brought the total for 2004 up to 68, 46 in
Palmer Lake and 22 for mutual aid of other North Group districts.
Seven volunteer firefighters completed Class A Search and
Rescue training. Sumner said there are still many houses in heavily treed areas
of town that don’t have address signs. He suggested the Palmer Lake Committee
for Citizen Awareness (PLCCA) be asked to contact these residents to encourage
them to post address signs, preferably with four-inch-high letters, before
pursuing the issue through enforcement of town ordinances.
In other matters, an inspection of the fire station’s
mechanical and electrical systems is needed in order to plan and budget for
long-term repairs to this historic building.
Mayor’s Report: McDonald asked that local citizens stop
trying to influence or intimidate police officers who are giving them traffic
citations, by saying they are her friends. She said, "It won’t work, and
I won’t allow it."
Town Clerk’s Report: Gins stated that the new town
business directory was done and would be available at the PLCCA meeting on April
29. The town’s sign ordinance needs to be revised because the comprehensive
plan only provides guidance. The calling tree for large wildfires needs to be
updated, and the town’s sirens have limited use because of the town’s growth
since the sirens’ directional broadcast patterns were initially established.
There are mosquitoes in the ponds already, and the town must
begin treatments to prevent the spread of West Nile virus. The flow in the main
north portion of Palmer Lake is sufficient to prevent a problem, but the
separate standing water areas at the south end of the drought-affected lake bed
must be treated.
Fountain Creek Watershed Study: Bob Miner noted that the
Army Corps of Engineers had surveyed the area April 27-29. The corps wanted to
better understand the washout of the bridge on Ox Bridge Road in 1999, which
would have had a substantial impact had there been a wildland fire in the
aftermath of the bridge destruction.
Town Staff: Susan Miner will get together with Parker,
Sumner, and Gins to review the history of merger actions and options for the
Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department. The annual Elephant Rock bike race along
the Front Range will take place on June 6.
New Business License Requests
Deahna’s Grove: Deahna Brown, a licensed massage
therapist and registered yoga therapist, received unanimous authorization to
have the license for her proposed location at 755 Highway 105, Suite O,
scheduled as a consent calendar item on the May 13 regular meeting agenda.
Tantastic: Kirstin Dinwiddie has purchased this business
at 755 Highway 105, Suite F, but discussion of the change of ownership was
postponed.
Sundance Chiropractic Clinic: Dr. Christy Meislahn is
renovating a home on 20 Primrose Street, to provide office space on the lower
level for her practice. She noted that Wes Young, a state medical physicist who
will act as final installation inspector, would review her floor plan,
particularly the location and shielding of the X-ray facility. Trustee Max
Parker expressed concerns about radiation shielding above the machine to protect
occupants who might be upstairs during an X-ray session. Meislahn said she would
be living there alone and no one would be upstairs. Parker thought there should
be shielding in the basement ceiling in case the residential situation upstairs
changes later. Meislahn noted that the proposed shielding for all occupants on
the lower level is already approved in concept and that the state is the final
approving authority of the facility design.
Mayor McDonald’s Rezoning Request: Mayor Pro Tem Chuck
Cornell took charge of the meeting as McDonald presented two requests that would
allow her to build a house for her sister Wilma French on her property, which
consists of lots 1-16 in Block 12 of the town’s Trinity Addition. She
requested a vacation of the town’s never-used right-of-way through her parcel
for Fair Street. She also made a request for conditional use to build a second
family residence on her consolidated parcel in a C1 zone. She said that Fair
Street was never built through her pasture. Gins noted that the actions would
require an ordinance be drafted and approved at a regular council meeting
hearing. Coleman said he supported her request because the town would retain its
utility easements and collect more taxes than they would on raw agricultural
land. McDonald said there were no plans to build the house at this time, but she
wanted to have the option if needed in the future. The item was scheduled for
hearing on May 13, and was not a consent item.
Extension of Meadow Lane: Sue Coons said she was
following up in person on a letter she had written the town addressing several
complaints about the condition of roads and drainage after Jones finished the
extension of Meadow Lane for his new development. She showed the trustees a
number of pictures.
She said the removal and replacement by Jones of her driveway
culvert had been unsatisfactory and was an inch or so too high. It was proposed
that the town install an oval culvert of the same throughput capacity but lower
profile, to lower the grade of her driveway. She said the grading of the road,
the drainage of the roadside ditches, and the re-vegetation of the roadway were
unsatisfactory. It was agreed that the trustees and the town road supervisor Bob
Radosevich would meet at her property to observe the situation directly so they
might better understand the town’s legal obligations and the full extent to
which town, county, and state regulations may apply to her complaints.
Radosevich was out of town for several weeks, and the meeting will be scheduled
at a later date.
McDonald noted that they had received an inquiry from the
town of Monument about forming a distinct Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)
separate from the countywide RTA that is likely to be on the November ballot. It
would also be separate from the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority. The
benefit would be that the two municipal governments could choose their own
in-town sales tax rate (no more than 1 percent) and proportions for capital
improvement and roadway repair. They could also determine their own sunset date
for the capital improvement portion of the new sales tax, and all revenue would
stay entirely in the district. Currently, none of the county’s proposed
one-cent tax would be spent on new bridges or roads in either town for the
entire 10-year life span of the county RTA. No decisions were made, and there
was no further discussion of this issue.
The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.
The following article was inadvertently omitted from the
printed newspaper. OCN regrets the error.
By Jim Kendrick
The Palmer Lake Town Council unanimously approved two new
business licenses as consent items as well as a change of ownership business
license at their regular meeting on May 13. The council also unanimously
appointed two planning commissioners and a new police officer. Mayor Nikki
McDonald’s request for a conditional use to build a second house on her 16-lot
parcel and also to vacate the never-used Fair Street right-of-way across her
property was unanimously approved by the five trustees, after she recused
herself from voting. The vacancy created by the resignation of Trustee Randy
Jones on May 6 has not yet been filled. There were 12 citizens in
attendance.
New Business Licenses: The new approved business
licenses were for Deahna’s Grove massage therapy and yoga salon and for
Sundance Chiropractic Clinic. The informal hearing for these two new license
applications occurred on May 6. A very brief hearing was held for Kirstin
Dinwiddie’s request for a change of ownership for the Tantastic indoor tanning
salon; no citizens opposed the change, and the council wished her good luck
after she told them this was her first business venture.
Appointments: The appointments of Denise Cornell and
Gary Atkins to fill both vacancies on the Palmer Lake Planning Commission as
well as the appointment of Nikki Tezak as a new Palmer Lake police officer were
unanimously approved without discussion.
Committee Reports
Fire Trustee Brent Sumner and Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire
Department Chief Julie Lokken announced the donation of a new Ford F-450 Super
Duty brush truck by the department’s volunteer association. The association
also holds several fund-raising events throughout the year to pay the $212,000
loan on the department’s pumper fire engine. The council and the citizens
attending the meeting stepped outside town hall, and Lokken gave them a brief
description of the features of the equipment already installed on the
custom-modified vehicle. A few firefighting items remain to be installed; they
are on order and funded. Lokken said the brush truck is expected to be fully
operational in June. With this addition, all of the Tri-Lakes fire departments
now have brush trucks.
Bob Miner, the town representative to the Fountain Creek
Watershed study, indicated that the Army Corps of Engineers may be requesting
some registration and inspection information on the Greeley Bridge that would
have to be researched in the town archives.
In items not on the agenda, Trustee Gary Coleman
informed the board that the house at the intersection of Pie Corner and
Columbine may have been sold without proper inspection of documentation of
setback waivers by the town for the house and the recently constructed garage.
After a lengthy discussion, it was determined that since the house was built in
1910, long before there were any zoning regulations, and since the sale had
already closed without town review of the garage setbacks, it was a legal
nonconforming property. During the discussion, Coleman noted that there might be
some boundary issues involving this and several neighboring parcels that were
platted by hand in 1888.
The new owners, Martin and Annette Roenistad, were
unanimously authorized by the council to apply for a variance documenting the
legality of the property at no cost. There is no time limit on their application
for the variance, since it is only a formality and not legally required for
resale of the property.
The next PLTC meeting is at 7 p.m. on June 11 at Town Hall.
By Jim Kendrick
Newly elected members were sworn in and officers elected at
the meeting of the Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) board on May
26. Newly elected Director Dave Cross and reelected incumbents Brian Ritz and
Joe Potter were administered the oath of office by term limited President Bill
Lowes. Incumbent Kevin Gould was also reelected but was out of town and sworn in
on his return. The board elected former secretary Ritz to the position of
president, and Cross was elected the new secretary. Incumbent Dennis Feltz was
reelected to be treasurer.
Treasurer’s Report:
The checking account balance had become very large due to
property tax remissions, and around $500,000 was moved to an account bearing
higher interest at Colorado Trust. The first draft of the 2005 budget will be
ready for the August board meeting.
Station 1 Expansion Modified
The plans for adding an engine bay and office space to the
main Gleneagle Drive station have been changed slightly. This station has been
renumbered from Station 3 to Station 1. The northern setback distance from the
neighboring Bethesda building has been increased to 25 feet from the original
plan of 15 feet. Bethesda donated the land for station 1. The addition will now
be only 24 feet wide, but the new engine bay will be wider. The addition’s
office space will be moved to the rear of the building. The addition’s roof
line will be lowered, which should save some money. The interior of the station
will be repainted at the same time the addition’s interior is painted.
Chief’s Report
State Benefits Plan Amended: The firefighters voted to
amend three components of their retirement package and to add a defined benefit
health plan that is funded by a new 1 percent pay deduction.
District Insurance Provider Proposals: Two other insurers
have asked to provide competitive bids in addition to the renewal proposal of
the current insurer, Volunteer Fire Insurance Service. The policy renewal date
is October 1.
Grant Application: The district has applied for a Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for a firefighter health and wellness
program. The grant would pay for equipment to be installed in a new workout room
in the station addition.
Brush Truck Construction: The new brush truck is nearly
finished, with only some electrical work and installation of the light bar
remaining.
Bunker Gear Purchase: Approximately $4,400 from the
expendable supplies and equipment account will be spent on new individual
firefighter equipment.
Training: Chief Bill Sheldon and Assistant Chief Vinny
Burns have attended two of the five parts of the new national chief
certification program. This pilot program is being offered in Colorado and then
will be offered nationally. Four firefighters will also be sent to the state
firefighter school, two paid and two volunteer. The North Group will be offering
a two-day seminar in July at the Pikes Peak Community College Rampart Range
campus for up to 40 firefighters. Shawn Pearson has been selected to attend
paramedic school. Seven new volunteers have joined the department in the past
few months, all with EMT-basic ratings.
Pump Tests Completed: The North Group conducted no-cost
pump tests for 12 fire engines at the Air Force Academy. The DWFPD pumper passed
without problems. The pump throttle on the back-up pumper that is kept in
reserve at Station 2 was found to need some minor hydraulic and electrical work.
District Survey: Potter suggested conducting another
district-wide survey to determine which constituents might need special
assistance during snowstorms or other emergencies—this time as part of the
Department of Homeland Security’s Citizen’s Corps program. The survey would
provide the district and homeowner associations data on how to assist people who
might need help during weather emergencies—for example, electric generators
for health care equipment during a power outage.
Special District Association Conference: Cross and Potter
will be attending the September event in Steamboat Springs.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): Sheldon noted that the
Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District (W/MFPD) board took no action to
revoke the MOU with DWFPD at their meeting on May 21 and that new W/MFPD
president Si Sibell had again advocated a merger of all four north-end fire
departments.
The open session was closed at 8:10 p.m. to go into executive
session to discuss a personnel matter. There were no announcements regarding
this session after the board adjourned. The next board meeting is at 7 p.m. on
June 15 at Station 2.
By John Heiser
At its meeting May 20, the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District
Board of Directors welcomed Keith Duncan and John Hartling as new board members,
elected officers, and approved petitions for inclusion of two additional parcels
and a subdivision filing east of Highway 83. Outgoing director Oscar Gillespie
was given a plaque and thanks for his nine years on the board. Outgoing director
Gary Morgan, who did not attend the meeting, will also receive a plaque.
Public Comments
Resident Ketch Nowacki asked, "Why is our district
interested in merger/consolidation? What is in it for us?"
Board president Charlie Pocock replied, "There would be
the capability to provide better overall service to all the citizens. However,
we do have some areas of concern. We need to explore those. The Woodmoor/Monument
Fire Protection District is meeting tomorrow. I don’t want to preempt their
meeting. If there is no advantage, we will go our separate ways."
Chief’s Report
Chief Robert Denboske reported as follows:
-
During April, the district responded to 109 calls,
bringing the total so far this year to 383. The 109 calls during April were
as follows: 32 medical, 14 fire, 49 traffic accidents, 11 public assists,
and 4 hazardous materials. 24 people were transported to area hospitals.
-
Three district personnel passed hazardous materials
awareness training, three others passed hazardous materials operations
training, with six more currently being trained, and one person completed
Fire Fighter I training.
-
Smeal accepted the district’s order for two pumper
trucks. A pre-manufacturing meeting in Nebraska is scheduled for the second
week in June.
-
District personnel completed walk-throughs of the Home
Depot store. Resolution of alarm system/E-911 communication problems is
needed prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
-
The three-day Insurance Services Organization (ISO)
inspection started April 19. Results should be known within 180 days. One
item the district needs to complete is the hauled water rating test
requiring that they deliver 250 gallons per minute for two hours. Denboske
added that some insurance companies use their own rating system rather than
ISO; however, ISO is not going away. ISO is expected to inspect the district
again in three to five years.
-
There was a recent fatal accident on Highway 83. Four
people were in the cab of a pickup truck that hit a tree. One person died at
the scene. One more died at the hospital. Tri-Lakes used ambulance and
rescue services from the Black Forest Fire Protection District and the
Woodmoor/Monument district and Flight for Life. Denboske said, "The
scene went very well. All personnel worked well together. Sorry that there
was not a better outcome."
EMS report
Ron Thompson, assistant chief and Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) coordinator, reported that four additional district personnel have
completed CPR training. The district is planning to schedule community CPR
instruction one Saturday per month.
Station 2
Thompson reported as follows on construction of the new
station on Roller Coaster Road near Highway 105:
-
The north and west masonry walls are being constructed.
-
A larger pressure tank may be needed to accommodate the
pump motor in the Great Divide Water Company well that is to supply water to
the station.
-
Five more trees have been removed.
-
The district has a good working relationship with the
builder and architect’s project manager.
Thanks to outgoing board members
Pocock said, "It has been a real pleasure to have had
Oscar Gillespie and Gary Morgan as volunteers and members of the board." He
presented Gillespie with a plaque in appreciation of his nine years on the board
(appointment plus two elections). Morgan will also receive a plaque.
New board, elections
Duncan and Hartling were sworn in.
The following officers were unanimously approved:
President - Charlie Pocock
Vice-President - Rick Barnes
Secretary - John Hartling
Treasurer - John Hildebrandt
The new board reaffirmed the regular meeting time and date as
7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.
Financial Report
Director and District Treasurer John Hildebrandt reported
that as of the end of April, the district had received 51 percent of the
anticipated revenue for the year and had expended 28 percent of the annual
budget, 5 percent less than expected at that point in the year.
District debt
Hildebrandt said the district has mortgages on Station 1,
Station 2, and equipment. He said they are 12-, 16-, and 20-year mortgages. At
the March board meeting, Hildebrandt said the district has a total of $1.8
million of debt.
Class A Uniforms
The board unanimously approved a one-time expenditure of up
to $5,600 to purchase dress uniforms for the 12 current full-time personnel.
Inclusion hearings
Initial inclusion hearings were held on the following
petitions:
-
Approximately 40 acres owned by Karen and Everitt Wiggins
near Hodgen Road and Thompson Road.
-
Approximately 40 acres owned by Alfred Stewart near
Hodgen Road and Steppler Road.
-
Whistler Ranch filing #1, 23 of the 24 properties
(excluding lot 12).
All the petitions were signed by 100 percent of the property
owners. The board unanimously approved all the inclusions.
**********
The Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District board normally meets
at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the district firehouse, 18650
Highway 105 (near the bowling alley). The next meeting is scheduled for June 17.
For more information, call Chief Denboske at 481-2312 or
visit www.tri-lakesfire.com.
By Jim Kendrick
Board members Si Sibell, Rod Wilson, and Jeremy Diggins—all
endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 4319 and
by the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District Board—took turns nominating and
seconding each other for president, vice president, and treasurer of the
Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District (W/MFPD) Board at the first meeting
with the newly elected board members on May 21.
After these three were elected, Bob Harvey refused Diggins’
nomination for re-election to the board secretary position. Former treasurer
Russ Broshous was elected secretary. Although many voters had expected that the
new majority might choose to immediately terminate the month-old merger
agreement with the Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) due to their
strongly professed allegiance to TLFPD, none of the three candidates made such a
proposal at this session. Interim Fire Marshal Tom Eastburn was promoted one pay
grade, and his position was made permanent by unanimous vote of the board.
Heavily Attended Session
The board honored outgoing President Bob Browning and
Director Tom Conroy, who received plaques commemorating their service to the
district. Bill and Gloria Ingram and Ruth Higgins, organizers of the Conroy-Diggins
debate, and W/MFPD Captain Larry Garner and his wife Marsha were there as well.
Also in attendance were Palmer Lake Town Council Trustee
George Reese, his son-in-law Ty Rinaldo–a W/MFPD firefighter, and grandson
Tucker Rinaldo. After the open session was concluded, Reese said it was good
that the firefighters were no longer being excluded from the board meetings
under threat of reprisal by Youtsey. When asked by OCN which firefighters
had been threatened with punishment and by whom, Reese refused to say who had
given him this information—which, if true, would violate Colorado state law.
When pressed by OCN as to whether a single firefighter or several
firefighters had made this charge or if Reese or those firefighters had spoken
to Youtsey about this threat, Reese again refused to answer.
When informed of Reese’s comments, Youtsey categorically
denied this oft-repeated but unattributed charge. No W/MFPD firefighter has ever
made this specific charge in person or in writing to any official of the
district, although this type of charge has been made in letters to the editor
written by Pueblo resident and IAFF representative Dave Blagg and sent to
several regional newspapers.
Browning Swears in New Members
Out-going president Browning opened the meeting by thanking
all who had worked with him. He said he was excited about the future of the
district and congratulated the new board, saying he was eager to see what they
would be able to achieve in finishing the consolidation efforts that had begun.
Browning then swore in Sibell, Wilson, and Diggins and signed all the required
forms to transfer authority to his successor. He and Conroy were presented large
bronze-colored plaques commemorating their service to the board.
Election of Officers
Diggins nominated Sibell for president, and Wilson seconded
the nomination. Harvey nominated Broshous for president, but Broshous said he
was withdrawing and there was no second. Sibell said he would like to withdraw
too, but there were no other nominations, so he accepted election. Diggins then
nominated Wilson for vice president and Sibell seconded. He was elected
unopposed. Wilson nominated Diggins for treasurer and Sibell seconded. Diggins
was elected unopposed. Sibell nominated Broshous for secretary, Diggins
seconded, and Broshous was elected unopposed. Harvey declined nominations for
treasurer and secretary.
Minor Administrative Details
Arkowski noted that she was leaving on a five-week vacation
and would miss the next board meeting and be unable to prepare a May financial
report for that session.
Diggins proposed that all board members donate their stipends
to a firefighter picnic fund. He made no mention of how the money was to be
transferred or administered since it was not part of the 2004 budget submitted
to the state before Dec. 15, 2003. Arkowski noted that the stipends were
budgeted and funded solely as stipends.
Harvey said the elimination of bonuses needs to be discussed
simultaneously with this kind of proposal. He moved to table the motion until it
could be discussed in what he said would be a proper manner.
Financial Report
The special district election cost $1,045.89, but only $800
was budgeted. Sibell expressed concern that station repair and maintenance
expenses were over budget. Youtsey noted that these were actually under budget,
and Broshous assured the board that having spent $1,803.52 (28.6 percent) of the
$6,300 allotted during the first four months of the year was in fact under
budget. Total budget expenditure through April 30 were $401,625.41 of a budgeted
$1,326,572, or 30.28 percent. Arkowski noted that no large budget items or
out-of-the-ordinary expenditures were expected during her absence. The board
unanimously approved the report.
Chief’s Report
Youtsey urged that all board members, especially the new
ones, to attend the Special District Association (SDA) Regional Workshop in
Colorado Springs on June 16. Harvey made a motion to require that Youtsey,
Assistant Chief Jim Rackl, and shift captains attend this workshop. He added
that the district would pay all overtime, mileage, and associated fees for these
firefighters. The district will also reimburse board members for mileage and
fees if they attend the workshop. The motion passed unanimously.
Youtsey also asked board members to attend the statewide SDA
fall conference in Steamboat Springs Sept. 22-24. Broshous and Sibell confirmed
that they would attend. Diggins said he would attend as a board member for
Monument Sanitation District.
The board voted unanimously to support the majority wishes of
the firefighters, who voted 7-3, to participate in a new "statewide health
care defined benefit plan," administered by the Fire and Police Pension
Association. Three amendments to the plan were approved by the firefighters and
unanimously endorsed by the board. All W/MFPD firefighters are now required to
donate 1 percent of their salaries to the new health plan.
All field work at the station for the 2003 audit has been
completed, and the auditor will present his findings at the June meeting.
Both district engines’ pumps passed their annual tests,
required by NFPA Standards, which were administered at no cost at the Air Force
Academy’s testing pit through the auspices of the North Group Chief’s Group.
This pump test is a critical component of required Insurance Services
Organization (ISO) ratings that determine fire insurance rates within North
Group districts.
Rackl announced a North Group training session with the
Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) on May 22. The training will involve
using water tenders to fight fires in areas with no hydrants. Under existing
mutual aid agreements, the North Group districts would assist CSFD in fighting
such a fire in city limits. The city has annexed areas that are currently rural
in nature and would need help from North Group districts’ water tenders, as
they have none of their own. A water tender is a fire truck designed primarily
to ferry water—typically 1,000 to 1,800 gallons in the North Group service
area—from a lake, underground cistern, or distant hydrant to a remote fire
location.
Old Business
Rackl reviewed the inspection policy to be sure board members
know the current three-tier system. Small-risk businesses may perform a
self-inspection at their option, though only half the eligible businesses choose
to do so. Medium-risk businesses are assigned to a captain and his shift for
inspection, under the fire marshal’s supervision. High-risk businesses require
inspection by the fire marshal, because of the complexity of regulations
regarding structures with sprinkler systems, cooking and/or sleeping facilities,
high occupancy, or areas for public assembly.
Broshous noted that the six-month interim period for the fire
marshal position occupied by Captain Tom Eastburn would expire in June and
sought a motion to make the position permanent and designate Eastburn the new
fire marshal. Board members noted that the position had already been approved
for funding for the entire year and that a fully funded captain’s position
would now be made available. The board voted unanimously to make Eastburn the
permanent fire marshal for the district and promoted him one pay grade. Eastburn
will remain available to also perform captain duties during normal shift
operations. Eastburn has been uniformly praised by the Woodmoor/Monument
business community for his professionalism and in-depth knowledge during
numerous inspections since he took over the position.
There were 66 calls in April bringing the total for 2004 up
to 201. The types of calls were: Structure Fire – 2, Automatic Alarms – 5,
Medical – 40, Traffic Accident – 12, Wildland – 2, Public Assist – 2,
Other -3. Medical responses included 21 Advanced Life Support, 7 Basic Life
Support, and 28 Transports from W/MFPD. There were six AMR ambulance responses
to other areas.
The board went into executive session at 9:08 a.m. to discuss
a personnel matter. No announcements came from that session. The next meeting
date has not been set. Sibell requested that board meetings be switched to
evening sessions at 7 p.m. Board members will submit their specific preferences
for day and time, and make a decision to provide the required three-day public
notice for the June meeting.
By Jim Kendrick
Haley Rich of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office helped
obtain the chipper that is seen and heard along Woodmoor Drive each weekend at
the Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District (W/MFPD). It took her months to
win the grant, with the support of the Pikes Peak Wildfire Protection Partners,
a Front Range wildland firefighting cooperative organization.
Volunteers from W/MFPD, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
and Wildland Fire Team, the Woodmoor Improvement Association, and members of the
Community and Student Emergency Response Team (CERT/SERT) don yellow hard hats
and slickers, then take slash, and tree trunks and grind them into chips and
mulch.
Local citizens line up their pickups and trailers each
Saturday to recycle the wood they have cleared. Huge dumpsters are quickly
filled with the shredded tree parts and then monitored for spontaneous
combustion. This program has been extremely popular, so check with the fire
station at 488-3303 before coming over with slash, to make sure the dumpsters
still have room.
CERT is a pilot program for local community participation in
Homeland Security and is sponsored by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
transfer grants. CERT is directed by Susie Wickman and Steve Sweet and was
started in 2003. It provides support for first responders. The chipper is funded
by a federal grant from the Forestry Service as an outgrowth of lessons learned
from the Hayman fire. It is being paid for by $11,000 worth of volunteer
chipping labor, which will be completed soon. Then the chipper will become a
permanent asset to the Sheriff’s Office and wildland fire team.
for fires with no hydrants handy
By Jim Kendrick
On a crisp clear Saturday, May 22, North Group firefighters
trained northern Colorado Springs Fire Department crews to fight fires using
portable water tanks in areas without hydrants.
Crews used pumpers and conventional tenders (water-carrying
engines) from the Donald Wescott and Black Forest Fire Protection Districts and
the six-wheel drive all-terrain wildland tender from the Palmer Lake Volunteer
Fire Department to practice delivering water to a remote scene. The water was
released rapidly into 1,500-gallon portable water tanks ("porta-tanks")
that store and deliver water to a pump engine that in turn deliver water to a
city engine for fighting a wildland-type fire. The porta-tanks look like a
children’s swimming pool from the 1950s but are indispensable elements for
providing water at remote locations.
The exercise took place at the Intel Building parking lot at
Highway 83 and Federal to provide good access should any of the engines have
been called into emergency service during the training. The full-time fire crews
participating were assisted by volunteers from Palmer Lake, Wescott, Black
Forest, and Woodmoor/Monument
Sloppy Joe sandwiches and soft drinks were supplied to the
hard-working crews by the Pikes Peak Area Rehab Services volunteers. Many
throughout the Pikes Peak region became familiar with their large red barbecue
and chili Winnebago-type wagon during the Hayman fire, one of many incidents
where these volunteers have provided food and fluids during wildland fires. They
are on the road nearly every weekend during wildfire season, for training or
actual fires. If interested in becoming a volunteer, contact Jim Hatfield at
598-3454 or FiremanHatfield@aol.com.
North Group fire departments perform a variety of training
exercises with each other and with neighboring departments year-round to better
support each other when assisting in multi-department emergencies. North Group
districts also have different kinds of equipment based on the communities they
serve, which enables each to have different kinds of engines available without
having to pay for each of them.
The North Group chiefs meet once a month to coordinate
firefighting and certification training, minimizing costs for all. On June 16,
for example, the group is sponsoring a nationally certified instructor for
classes in on-scene incident command and tactics for large-scale fire operations
for 40 firefighters. The districts could not conduct this level of training on
their own in a cost-effective manner.
By Jim Kendrick
Representatives of most of the Tri-Lakes region’s police
and fire services conducted a simulated command and control exercise in Palmer
Lake’s Town Hall on May 25. The exercise, funded by a grant of $74,000 from
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was designed to prepare various
agencies to coordinate a response to a chemical attack.
Palmer Lake Police Chief Dale Smith, who applied for the
grant, organized and scheduled this event with the help of consultant Gray
Buckley.
Participants came from the Monument Police Department; the El
Paso County Sheriff’s Office; the Palmer Lake, Air Force Academy, and Cimarron
Hills Fire Departments; the Black Forest, Tri-Lakes, and Woodmoor/Monument Fire
Protection Districts; the FBI; and Union Pacific Railroad.
The scenario was the collision of a stolen rental truck,
filled with chlorine gas and perhaps some explosive materials, with the rear end
of a train at the railroad crossing on County Line Road and Highway 105. The
collision caused a toxic gas leak. The chiefs of all the local emergency
services—the Palmer Divide Public Safety Group—simulated taking command of
their forces to contain and control the incident for approximately 80 minutes.
The participants practiced deploying their equipment, setting
up roadblocks, considering evacuations, and caring for the "injured and
contaminated." Several observers from AMR ambulance service and state and
federal agencies provided assessments and observations after the exercise. The
participants all agreed on the value of these kinds of learning exercises and
the quality of the lessons learned in the critiques and discussions after the
drill had been concluded.
The same participants will be involved in another training
exercise in Palmer Lake—this time with fire engines, police cars, and a
variety of other emergency equipment—on Aug. 14 at 8 a.m. Residents should be
aware of the exercise and the noise, confusion, and traffic delays it may
create.
By Tommie Plank
The board approved the preliminary budget for the 2004-05
school year. Next year’s budget provides for enhancements of the gifted and
talented program, mathematics labs at the middle schools, supplemental
instructional materials, added funds to maintain low teacher-to-student
classroom ratios, extra days for middle and high school counselors, and the
addition of boys’ and girls’ lacrosse and boys’ swimming to the
inter-scholastic athletic program. Salary increases in the approved budget are
designed to reward longer-term, more experienced teachers for their loyalty to
the students of District 38. Fifteen- to twenty-year teachers holding at least a
master’s degree will receive significantly higher increases. The average
teacher increase will be 6.1 percent, with a range of 3 percent to 9 percent
increases across the schedule. The budget also maintains the district’s
generous benefits package.
Student enrollment at the district’s Monument Academy
Charter School has been capped at 637 for the 2004-05 school year, and will
include a maximum of 40 students in grade 9 and 30 students in the newly
approved grade 10.
Dr. Pete Heinz summarized the May 4 District Advisory
Accountability Committee (DAAC) meeting, which featured a presentation of the
CSAP (Colorado Standards and Assessment Program) testing, and announced that
Karen D’Amour will chair the committee next year. Heinz, who is chairman of
the language department at Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC), complimented
LPHS students by stating that they stand out at PPCC as being prepared to learn
and coming with the tools it takes to be successful. Later in the meeting, Heinz
was presented with a board commendation for his contributions to accountability
in District 38. He has been involved with the accountability committee since
1994.
Stephen Fehrman reviewed the year’s work of the Student
Accountability Committee. Next year’s president will be Sydney Clewe.
Board commendation certificates were presented to Ryan Capp
and Lisa Phillips for their work in helping to make the elementary kit-based
science program successful. John Mann was commended for his development of the
popular LPHS aerospace math class. He has also arranged for University of
Colorado college credit to be given to students who pass this higher-level
elective course.
LPHS senior Rebecca Munger was congratulated by the board for
winning a National Merit Scholarship. She has also been named one of the Gazette’s
Best & Brightest students in the Pikes Peak Region. Dr. Keith Jacobus
announced that this year’s graduating class of just under 400 students has
been awarded over $5.2 million in scholarships.
Denny Hill and David Porter of Strategic Resources West (SRW)
provided an overview of the economic/demographic, housing, and enrollment
analyses they had performed to help the board in its revision of the district’s
growth plan. On several graphs they compared employment growth, employing units,
retail sales, population data, median ages, home sales, history of births,
housing growth, residential lots inventories, and student enrollment growth
rates from 1990 to the present within District 38 boundaries.
"Based on availability of commercial land and planned
nonresidential development projects, we expect to see considerable growth in the
office and business parks in the north I-25 corridor over the next several
years," explained Hill. "This corporate growth would generate nearly
35,000 workers over a 20-year period, through 2020. This employment growth would
exert the most influence upon housing and population growth in the
district.". As a result, he said, "We can anticipate the addition of
nearly 1,900 homes to the district’s housing stock over the next six
years." These new homes are expected to generate an additional 180 students
per year, with an average of 30 percent, or 54 a year, being high school
students.
SRW research shows that the population for the district will
continue to be clustered around the I-25 corridor. On one map they pinpointed
where each current LPHS student lives. A boundary line drawn at Furrow Road
shows that of the 1,699 high school students identified on the map, only 567
live east of Furrow. They also indicated that Grace Best Elementary School,
which draws students from Jackson Creek as well as housing developments along
Old Denver Highway, would be the school most impacted by growth. If the numbers
of elementary schools and boundaries remain as they are today, Grace Best is
projected to have over 800 students by 2009.
President Jes Raintree reported that board members have
completed most of the meetings with district and community groups, and have met
with 80 high school students to receive their input on high school education.
The students indicated they want more Advanced Placement and foreign language
classes, would like to see driver’s education and home economics for boys
offered, do not want to share lockers, and were in favor of an intramural sports
program.
Superintendent Dave Dilley described two additional growth
options for the board to consider, separate from the scenarios of building a
second high school or enlarging the current high school campus. A third scenario
would be the reorganization of District 38 secondary education to group grades 6
and 7 at Creekside Middle School and grades 8 and 9 at Lewis-Palmer Middle
School, perhaps in a more junior high-oriented setting. Grades 10, 11, and 12
would remain at Lewis-Palmer High School, which would drop the high school
enrollment figure to about 1,350. He described advantages that would be gained
from such a restructuring, such as curriculum enhancement, but also noted there
would be some disadvantages.
A fourth option might be to develop a school of choice
similar to the D’Evelyn School in Jefferson County that is rich in rigorous
academics and has been quite successful. These options will be investigated
further.
The next regular Board of Education meeting will be June 17
at 7 p.m. at the D-38 Administration Building.
By Chris Pollard
The first order of business for May was to interview two
candidates for the Public Safety Director position that recently became open
following the resignation of Susan Cooley. As the result of a widespread
publicity campaign, the board received four applications. Two of the applicants
attended the May board meeting.
Hans Post, who recently moved to Woodmoor, said he has
extensive knowledge in the security field and the time available to help the
Woodmoor Public Safety Chief, Kevin Nielsen and his team.
Eddie D’Aurora, was the second person to be interviewed. He
has served in the position before and felt he had the vision to get the job
done. He expressed an interest in improving participation in the neighborhood
watch program, in particular. When asked how he would slow down speeding
drivers, a problem in some areas of Woodmoor, he said he thought the County
Sheriff’s Department would have to be involved, because handing out tickets
was one of the most effective ways of resolving the issue.
No decision was made on the selection of the replacement in
the public portion of that meeting but Hans Post was later selected for the
position and attended the June meeting.
Mike Smith, in his last meeting in the position of
Architectural Control Committee Director, presented a rough draft for standards
for maintaining property. He said that in some ways there may be difficulty
getting people to maintain their property because even a small paint touch up
currently requires formal approval. Some aspects of house maintenance, such as
siding and gutters, had been excluded from any requirements in the past but in
theory were in the same category as decks, since all are attachments to a house.
Roofing was another obvious choice for required maintenance. Surprisingly, in
the past, an incident occurred where a resident used plywood to replace a broken
window for an extended time and it was felt that this was the type of issue that
needed to be addressed to maintain property values in Woodmoor.
In terms of landscaping, there was no language in the draft
standards to deal with mistletoe or drainage ditches, even though it had been
determined that owners are responsible for maintaining their lot all the way to
the road. Jim Woodman, Director of Forestry, said it may not be clear when to
cut down a mistletoe infected tree. There is currently no requirement to cut
trees down for this and it probably needs to be decided on a case-by-case basis.
A decision on the matter was delayed, and the directors were asked for further
comments on the proposals.
There was some discussion as to whether there should be rules
on the type of rocks used as rip rap or fill in ditches because in some instance
sharp rocks had been used. Some board members expressed a desire to limit people
to using only rounder and smaller rocks. Further discussion centered on whether
fences and gates should be maintained in their original condition rather than
being painted with solid colors.
John Ottino, President of the WIA, brought up the issue of
the high school, commenting that in his opinion lots of people were against a
mega high school. He had drafted a letter "against" a mega high school
but had worded it in terms of the effect of enlarging the current school and the
likely traffic increase in the South Woodmoor area. He specifically excluded
comments related to quality of education.
Mike Varnet, Treasurer, gave an update on the 2003 audit
regarding those accounts for which only minor issues had been raised. As far as
the current financial situation for the first five months, he noted that, in
general, most budget line items were close to the planned amounts expected
through the end of May. The major exception was for "planned income from
new construction." Income has been slow, making it difficult to reach the
goal of $58,000. A large part of that budget had been dependent on income from
the Walters project that has not yet been started.
Alan McMullen, Director of Common Areas, presented a couple
of ideas for community activity. One was for the WIA to organize a yearly flea
market – selling spaces near the WIA Barn and providing food and drink for
sale so the event would bring the community together and raise some additional
funds. The other idea was to organize a firewood sale. Many residents need to
get rid of dead trees and it was suggested that wood larger than around 8 inches
in diameter could be cut into firewood length pieces and brought to a central
area where it could be sold to other residents. A suggested price of $45 per
cord was mentioned; proceeds would go to the WIA. Jim Woodman, Forestry, raised
the critical issue of people leaving pine beetle infested wood in the pile and
said some mechanism would be needed to control what was donated. No definite
decisions were made on either issue.
A more immediate issue was whether money should be spent to
restock the ponds with fish to replace those that had been lost due to winter
kill. He proposed that around $500 be spent to restock with grass carp to keep
grass from growing in the ponds and other types of fish to control mosquito
larvae. Kevin Nielsen, Chief of Public Safety and local expert on mosquito
control, cautioned as to the effectiveness of the latter versus traditional
methods.
Jim Woodman, Director of Forestry, presented a a video giving
practical information on why some houses are more susceptible to fire than
others. There are really two aspects to this: The materials used in the
construction of the house and the nature of the vegetation in the area of the
house. In many cases, houses have not been set afire by the initial flames and
firestorm, which may pass by quickly, but by the seemingly less harmful
firebrands or burning embers. Construction of the house and the deck may lead to
spaces that can accumulate burning material in the event of the fire and then
cause it to spread to the structure. It was pointed out that scrub oak must be
kept further from the house than the taller ponderosa pines.
Vegetation must be managed but the fundamental issue is the
choice of external building materials. For those skeptical of the fire
resistance of modern asphalt shingles, a short experiment was shown in the video
where a roof of this material covered with a good layer of pine needles was set
ablaze with little adverse effect.
Woodman said that residents needed more training on how to
keep the area around their houses defensible and make better choices about
upgrading their roofs and siding.
In the June meeting, the board quickly approved a proposal
from Camilla Mottl, Executive Director, to have a new website built that would
better serve residents by providing more content and up to date information. It
was suggested that board members look at other websites, particularly those of
small towns, for ideas and to prepare for reviewing the proposals that would be
made by the outside contractor.
Ron Yamiolkoski, the new Director of the Architectural
Control Committee (ACC), presented a detailed proposal for the charges to be
requested of Pulte Homes prior to and during construction of the Walters Commons
development. Yamiolkoski said it would be unreasonable to ask for the full
payment of landscape deposits up front and that this should be replaced by a
requirement of approximately one third in cash and the remainder to be in the
form of a bond. The concern was that if the development did not follow up on
initial grading, there would be insufficient funds for the WIA to restore the
landscape.
For the buildings themselves, the standard system of deposits
and charges would apply. Refundable deposits would not be returned until all
houses in a "unit" were completed. Deposits would be reduced by any
change orders or charges for additional visits by ACC monitors. There was an
issue raised as to whether occupancy could be withheld until all relevant roads
and parking had been completed but the WIA has no authority in that area. It was
noted that the ACC had not received final plans of the buildings or landscaping
reflecting the changes demanded by El Paso County. The ACC voted to limit Pulte
homes to one advertising sign even though the builder requested two signs plus a
trailer.
In a later, related, discussion about the status of the
conservation easement next to this development, several board members raised
concerns about whether promises made to local newspapers regarding the easement
would hold up.
By Bill Kappel
May 2004 Weather Summary
After many days of beneficial rain and snow in April, May
took a turn back to the mild and dry conditions that were common during March.
Quiet, dry, and mild conditions prevailed until the afternoon
of the 10th, when the first severe weather outbreak of the season took shape.
Most of the activity stayed east of the Palmer Divide and Tri-Lakes area, but
places like Calhan and Elbert weren’t so lucky; several tornadoes touched
down, and the areas received damaging winds and large hail. A strong cold front
moved through during the early morning hours of the 12th, dropping temperatures
twenty degrees. Rain and snow developed by afternoon, and by evening snow
showers were common across the area. By midnight, 1-2 inches of wet snow had
fallen above 7,000 feet, but most melted while it fell.
Cloudy and cold conditions stuck around for the 13th, with
highs only reaching the 30s to low 40s. More precipitation developed during the
afternoon, as the tail end of the storm moved through. Heavy, wet snow with big
flakes fell from 4 to 6 p.m. throughout the area, with most locations above
7,300 feet receiving a coating of 3-4 inches. Unfortunately, this turned out to
be the only significant storm of the month for the Tri-Lakes region. For most of
the rest of the month, temperatures remained at or above normal, with morning
sunshine and afternoon clouds common. Scattered showers and thunderstorms
occasionally developed but didn’t bring widespread precipitation to the
region.
Memorial Day weekend saw a cold front move through, producing
windy and cool conditions but not much precipitation. Temperatures did fall
below freezing over most of the region on the mornings of the 30th and 31st. The
area needs some widespread moisture soon, or it could be another long, hot
summer.
The month of June usually brings a variety of weather to the
Tri-Lakes area. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, usually producing beneficial
rain but dangerous lightning. Average precipitation for the month is between 2
and 3 inches, the fourth wettest month of the year.Average highs reach the mid
70s, with overnight lows generally in the 40s to low 50s. Exceptions can, and
often do, occur. In the past, highs have been known to reach into the 90s, and
strong cold fronts have brought brief shots of snow to the area and lows below
freezing. June 2003 saw examples of some of the cool weather that can affect the
region, with cold, fog, rain, and a rain/snow mixture from the 4th to the 5th.
The outlook for this June is for average temperatures with near normal
precipitation.
For a complete look at monthly climate summaries for this
area, please visit http://users.adelphia.net/~billkappel/ClimateSummary.htm.
May 2004 Weather Statistics
Average High 70.4ºF
Average Low 35.7ºF
Highest Temperature 81ºF on the 5th, 6th, 28th
Lowest Temperature 15ºF on the 1st
Monthly Precipitation 0.92"
Monthly Snowfall 6.4"
Season to Date Snow 113.3"
Season to Date Precip. 14.26"
Remember, weather affects all of us every day and is a very
important part of life for us on the Palmer Divide. We want to hear from you. If
you see a unique weather event or have a weather question, please contact us at our_community_news@hotmail.com.
Bill Kappel is the KKTV 11 News morning meteorologist and a
Tri-Lakes resident.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in letters to our
community should not be interpreted as the view of OCN even when the letter
writer is a reporter for OCN.
Letters to Carl Schueler, manager of county
planning, regarding the Wal-Mart proposal
As a registered voter, taxpayer, and property owner, I
strongly object to the proposal for a WalMart 24-hour Supercenter, with gas
station, with tire lube express, with parking for 1,000 cars—or any other
traffic-generating; peace shattering; air-, noise-, and light- polluting
proposals. If necessary, I will join forces with any organization to boycott
WalMart, or any other similar project supporters.
How close is your home to this site? You probably don’t
have to tolerate the dirt, noise, and traffic created by a WalMart. What
compensation is proposed for those residents living within a mile?
Any member of the Planning Commission who approves this
proposal will find it very difficult to get reelected, reappointed, or keep
his present position.
In WalMart’s efforts to increase profits, they should
upgrade and clean up the Razor Back Road store (one of the seven WalMarts in
Colorado Springs).
We do not need or want a WalMart or other 24-Hour Super Store
in our community! You don’t need the ill will by approving one.
Patrick J. O’Shea
We firmly oppose a Wal-Mart
SuperCenter in Monument. We do not need this kind of urban sprawl here. There
are already two Wal-Marts located in close proximity to Monument: one is on
North Academy Boulevard, about 10 minutes away, and the second one is located in
Castle Rock, about 20 minutes away. How many Wal-Marts do we need in a given
area? Another Wal-Mart in Monument would just be market oversaturation—we
already have a King’s Sooper, Safeway, Home Depot (new), and Ace Hardware for
our local shopping needs—and would create more overcrowding, traffic
congestion, trash, and environmental stress when it is not needed. Also,
Wal-Mart is well-known for driving small local businesses out of business.
Although one-stop shopping is nice at times, a diversity of selection is better,
and we believe that these local businesses should be given a chance to survive
for the sake of the Monument community.
Please join us in loudly saying "NO" to Wal-Mart
here in Monument.
Glenn and Monica Whiteside
Wm. R. Landin, having submitted a letter expressing his
opinion, felt "attacked" (OCN, May 1, 2004, "Re:
Re: Tickets") when his opinion wasn’t agreed with in a rebuttal
by Diane Wilson. She addressed him by his name, which would seem to most as a
respectful thing to do, but it obviously inflamed him. He spouts historic events
out of context to justify his "warning" to the community about the
"possible abuse of government power by the Monument police department"
(you know that small office of 12 that runs by sheer dedication because there is
never enough GOVERNMENT funding to support all the needs of the expanding
community?). I was relieved to see that rebuttal from Diane Wilson appear,
because as an involved citizen she took the time to take a stand—whereas I
didn’t make the effort, even though I was of the same opinion and, come to
find out later, were many others, when the discussion reached block party
proportions. Now, in rebuttal and defense of a responsible citizen:
Landin tries to use the Boston Tea Party in his defense. This
event took place when a majority of people wanted to break free of the
oppression of a single ruler. Landin brings up the founding fathers—again
several persons, supported by the MAJORITY, laid the foundation for a DEMOCRACY
(Look that up in the Internet!) versus, say, Benedict Arnold, a known single
dissenter. But why go back so far in history? Without using the Internet, let’s
revisit some events that follow this vein of reasoning:
Abraham Lincoln/the Union — John Wilkes Booth
John F. Kennedy/Popularity unmatched — Lee Harvey Oswald
Martin Luther King Jr./Minorities — James Earl Ray
Self-centeredness always causes more harm than good. Only
when the needs of the many are considered and compromises are made can we all
enjoy the blessings we have living in this country with the government we do
have. Landin states, "Every citizen…has the responsibility…to resist
oppressive government." How "courageous" he must feel to
disrespect a small-town police officer. Wm. R. Landin, did you also spit on the
soldiers returning from Vietnam?
Monika Cline
On Saturday, May 15, one mile north of Palmer Lake on Highway
105, a friend of mine was purposely hit by a vehicle while riding his bike. He
was riding in a responsible manner, and according to the police it was a case of
"road rage." My friend has not yet gotten out of the hospital. He was
banged up pretty good by a guy who decided that cyclists shouldn’t have a
place on the road.
Lots of us ride bikes–some for transportation, some for
recreation, or both. The roads are there for cyclists as well as cars. The roads
are narrow and not shouldered the way they ought to be to make it safe for
everyone, but maybe our state government can do something about that. Try
letting them know it is needed, so more incidents like this one do not occur. I’ve
seen a lot more of this recently, and roads I once felt very comfortable riding
are no longer very safe to cyclists because of hugely increased traffic loads
and lack of enough shoulder to ride safely on with all the angry drivers.
Cyclists are at the mercy of the vehicle traffic, and
sometimes it’s not a very benevolent relationship. But there is no excuse ever
for drivers to think they can "teach a cyclist a lesson" by brushing,
honking, intimidating, or even striking a rider! It is so wrong! There is
increased cycling traffic on roads this time of year, and drivers need to be
aware of it. Cyclists need to be considerate so as not to get on the wrong side
of vehicular assault. It’s just smart to ride and drive with consideration for
others.
Please treat one another with respect or even kindness. I
recently heard a guy say, "I used to live here twenty years ago and it hasn’t
changed all that much except there are 400,000 more cars on the roads."
That pretty much sums it up.
Finally to this individual who hit my friend: Just what kind
of lesson do you teach someone when you purposely hit him with a car?! You would
probably go out of your way to miss a dog, cat, squirrel, deer, etc., but you
purposely hit a man on a bike?! Tell me that makes sense!
Tim Watkins
By John Heiser
Some in our community have wondered why so many residents are
opposed to the Wal-Mart proposal while almost no objections were raised to the
now-approved Monument Marketplace project—which, in terms of retail square
footage, is more than three times the size of the proposed Wal-Mart.
Here are a few aspects of the two proposals that account for
the different response:
-
Comprehensive planning: The Marketplace is in an
area that has been planned for a regional commercial center since at least
the 1980s. The agreement signed by the town when the 1,600-acre Regency
Park/Jackson Creek area was annexed in 1987 specifically guaranteed that
intense commercial uses would be allowed. The proposed Wal-Mart site is
shown in the county’s comprehensive plan as mixed use (residential and
low-impact commercial) and in Monument’s comprehensive plan as community
commercial that draws principally from the local neighborhoods. Regional
centers typically draw customers from up to 20 miles away.
-
Zoning: The Marketplace site is properly zoned for
a regional commercial center, and the approved plan includes a
200,000-square-foot commercial pad. The Wal-Mart site is zoned for
medium-density multifamily, a much less intense use than the zoning required
for a commercial center. Wal-Marts typically require the most intense
commercial zoning on the county books.
-
Impact on the neighbors: On the east, the
Marketplace site is separated from Creekside Middle School and the nearest
residence by a sizable open space/mouse habitat area. On the west, it is
bounded by I-25. On the north, it borders a drainage way. On the south is
more planned commercial development. The Wal-Mart site is bounded on the
north by Baptist Road and on the west by Jackson Creek Parkway. On the east,
it backs up to a Lutheran church that would be left at the top of a high
retaining wall and steep slope. On the south, it borders five-acre Chaparral
Hills lots, some with homes valued at $500,000 or more.
-
Monument sales tax: The Marketplace site is within
the boundaries of the Town of Monument, so the town will receive 3 percent
sales tax on all taxable items. The Wal-Mart site is just outside the town
boundary. The town would receive no sales tax from the store and stands to
lose $500,000 or more per year in sales tax revenue from existing stores.
That reduction in the budget would mean that approximately seven town
employees would be let go, three to four of whom could be police officers.
-
Revenue to Triview: The Marketplace site is within
the boundaries of the Triview Metropolitan District. Based on long-standing
agreements with the town, the district will receive half of the 3 percent
local sales tax collected from stores at the Marketplace. The Wal-Mart site
lies just outside the Triview district. In return for the extension of
service, Wal-Mart would pay Triview’s usual fees and would initially pay a
3 percent retail sales fee to a Public Improvement Corporation (PIC), a
private, nonprofit corporation authorized by the district. Initially, the
PIC would pass one-fourth (0.75 percent) through to Triview and keep
three-fourths of the fee to pay off the $3 million to $5 million in bonds
issued to build the road improvements for the Wal-Mart. The agreement is
that at the end of three to five years when the bonds are paid off, the
district would receive the entire retail sales fee, which would at that
point be reduced to 1.5 percent. If the Wal-Mart site were within the town,
Triview would receive 1.5 percent sales tax from the day the store opened.
-
Traffic: Ease of highway access is a major factor
in the success or failure of regional retail centers. The Marketplace site
is on the nearly completed extension of Jackson Creek Parkway from Baptist
Road to Higby Road. The traffic from the store would be split between
Highway 105, Higby Road, and Baptist Road. Traffic from the Wal-Mart site
would be split between Baptist Road and the proposed extension of Struthers
Road-Jackson Creek Parkway south to Northgate Road. The improvements to the
Highway 105 interchange are currently being completed. Funding for badly
needed improvements to the Baptist Road and Northgate Road interchanges is
perhaps a decade away.
-
Funds for road building: Bonds to construct the
extension of Jackson Creek Parkway from Baptist Road to Higby Road for
access to the Marketplace site have been issued by the Triview district and
will be repaid from anticipated fees and sales tax revenue from the stores
in the center. Unless voters choose to modify the sales tax sharing
agreement with Triview, taxpayers outside the Triview district are not being
asked to participate except through purchases at the Marketplace. As a
condition of the Marketplace project’s approval, the developer is paying
for additional road improvements, including expansion of Baptist Road to two
lanes in each direction over Jackson Creek and improvements to the ramps at
the interchange. The additional road improvements to be implemented by the
Wal-Mart PIC are still being negotiated but appear likely to be focused
primarily on those needed to get customers into and out of the store’s
parking lot. County planning says Wal-Mart will be forced to complete
Jackson Creek Parkway south to Struthers Ranch. Some residents are skeptical
based on the Struthers Ranch experience where the county attorney’s office
negotiated away much of the roadwork the developer implied would be done. It
remains unclear how the rest of the needed improvements to Baptist Road
identified by the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority’s design
project are to be funded. Interchange improvements are typically done
entirely with taxpayer dollars, even when specific developments such as the
two discussed here trigger the need for them.
-
Police protection: The Monument Police Department
will serve the Marketplace site. The Wal-Mart site would be the
responsibility of the county sheriff. Since only a small number of sheriff’s
deputies are available in this part of the county, response would likely be
slow. Even though the town would receive no funding from the store, the
Monument police would probably end up having to handle incidents until a
sheriff’s deputy arrived.
-
Voter control: The Marketplace proposal has gone
through the town’s land use process. The Triview district is implementing
the infrastructure improvements. In both cases, the boards are elected by
and accountable to local voters. The Wal-Mart proposal is going through the
county’s land use process. The PIC proposed to implement the
infrastructure improvements for Wal-Mart is a private corporation with
closed meetings, no open records, and no voter control.
Based on these considerations, it is clear why the
Marketplace proposal did not draw the kinds of outspoken objections the Wal-Mart
proposal has. Even so, the Marketplace is not without some significant issues.
In particular, Jackson Creek residents should be asking why
Triview took on the entire $15 million cost to construct the infrastructure for
the Marketplace when the district already had a staggering existing debt of
nearly $25 million. According to Mike Davenport, Monument assistant town manager
and town planner, it is customary for the costs of a major arterial road such as
Jackson Creek Parkway to be shared one-third each by the landowners on each side
of the road and one-third by the governmental entity, in this case Triview. The
rather unsettling situation here is that the landowner exerts tremendous control
over the district and its actions because the landowner is also the district’s
predominant bondholder and developer: Tim and Tom Phelan and their corporate
entities including Colorado Structures, Centre Development, Jackson Creek Land
Company, and Vision Development.
Jackson Creek taxpayers should also be asking what would
happen if the Marketplace fails. The Tri-Lakes population at this point is
insufficient to support an additional 650,000 square feet of retail space, so
perhaps 80 percent of the customers must be people from outside the area who are
willing to brave the local traffic congestion and shop at the Marketplace. Will
they do it in sufficient numbers? It is anyone’s guess. If not, Jackson Creek
residents will be looking at a total of almost $40 million in debt, roughly
$67,000 per house—growing each year as the income to the district continues to
fall short of the interest charges.
In light of all this, why is it that only one Jackson Creek
resident (outside of the board) attended the Triview district board meeting at
which the decision was made to go forward to obtain the $15 million to construct
the Marketplace infrastructure?
Both of these proposals ignore deep underlying issues. They
are both big-box projects. Many small towns like Monument have lost their
historic districts and many of their small businesses to such developments. It
is the sort of topic that should have been addressed as part of the update to
Monument’s comprehensive plan. Even though many attendees at the public
meetings on the plan expressed a very strong preference for maintaining a
small-town atmosphere, the plan as it was finally approved does little to ensure
that. Many other small towns have implemented store size limits as one means to
encourage local entrepreneurial businesses. This option deserves to be seriously
explored before more of the area takes on the look of North Academy Boulevard.
This is an updated version of A Perspective on Our Community
published in the July 10, 2003, issue of OCN.
By Woody Woodworth
A perennial is a plant that endures more than two growing
seasons. Generally, flowering perennials are herbaceous (nonwoody) plants that
die to the ground each fall and re-grow the following spring from the same root
system. If a bare winter garden is not your idea of beauty, evergreen perennials
maintain their leaves year-round, offering an attractive border or ground cover.
Some perennials, such as delphiniums, can be short-lived and may last only three
years, while others, like peonies, can live for decades if given the care they
need.
Perennials are available for almost any type of growing site.
The size of a perennial can range from a few inches—which would be a very low,
creeping ground cover—to several feet tall and wide.
Texture, color, form, and fragrance are some of the features
that are added to a garden when perennials are planted. Coordinating the season
of bloom with the unlimited range of colors keeps gardeners happily preoccupied
with the landscape.
Caring for a perennial garden is not a very complicated task.
Knowing garden conditions, temperature, light, soil, slope, and drainage, and
planting accordingly will produce the most successful garden. It is best to
plant perennials in spring and fall, except in cold areas, where they should be
planted at the end of summer to allow them time to become firmly rooted.
When choosing perennials for a flower garden, select
varieties with medium to long stems and a succession of bloom times. Foliage and
flower shapes are equally important, to maintain interest. Use your favorite
colors and include fragrance to add your own personal touch. Roll your landscape
with small hills and boulders. Curve pathways of mulch and flat stone to achieve
a relaxing flow through your garden paradise.
Get a jump-start with some late spring and early summer
bloomers that are sure to get early cuttings from your garden. Oriental poppy,
bearded iris, foxglove, lupine and salvia will all combine well with the
branches of late spring flowering shrubs and trees. Plant plenty of these
"sure bets," too: columbine, Siberian iris, painted daisy, allium, and
coral bells.
You’ll see a dazzling exhibition in midsummer when garden
perennials are at their best. Nonstop blooms and growth patterns are impressive,
to say the least. Use agastaches, liatris, delphinium, Russian sage, and
penstemon to obtain sharpness and contrast. Shasta daisy, purple coneflower,
monarda, valerian, and yarrow will soften the bouquet with round-shaped petals.
In your new garden, remember to add fillers like ornamental
grasses and boulders for contrast. Garden fillers soften the landscape and take
your eye away from seeing only flowers. Use three of the 5-foot Karl Forester
ornamental grasses in a cluster, then border them in a semicircle with smaller
clumps of Elija Blue fescue. The contrast is amazing when the short, blue clumps
send their plumes up in midsummer against the green, bushy, taller grass.
Some medium-size perennials used in clusters are Brilliant
Red dianthus, soapwort, Goblin gaillardia, gazania, and spurge. Use them against
boulders or small rock walls and ledges. Plant them in numbers, by each other,
to achieve the color and effect you want.
Sedum can flourish in your hot, dry areas. They take a lot of
neglect and will reward you with yellow, pink, and red flowers. Sedum tolerate
poor soil and are perfect for filling in between rock wall areas and along
pathways. Acre, dragon’s blood, bronze carpet, and autumn joy are only a few
of the common sedum. They are available in variegated, short and stubby, and
fernlike shapes that are as bulletproof as the most common varieties.
Eventually summer will blend to autumn, and the change in
season will bring the fall colors to your garden. Mums, fall asters, and autumn
joy sedum are great for this elevation and will provide a different crop of
flowers and color pallet. We’ll talk more about fall plants in an upcoming
issue of OCN.
Woody Woodworth owns High Country Feed & Garden and is a
member of Garden Centers of Colorado and the Green Industry.
By Judith Pettibone
Birding can be as simple as a quiet moment between you and a
feathered friend at your feeder. It can also be a hobby. For some, this hobby is
just an excuse to hike; for others, it is much, much more. No matter the reason
for wanting to identify birds or learn more about birding, there are numerous
titles to help you in your search. And just for fun, there is even fiction with
a birding theme.
The Big Year: The Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession
By Mark Obmascik, $25.00
Reading more like a novel than a book of nonfiction, The
Big Year is an absorbing chronicle of birding’s biggest and wildest
competition. "Competition birding" might seem oxymoronic until you
encounter the concept of "The Big Year" ("big" is the
operative word: A competitor might spend upwards of $100,000 and bird almost
continuously for 365 days). Except for those "ultra" competitions
where athletes stay on their feet for 100 miles, it is difficult to conceive of
a more arduous competition. On the morning of every January 1, a few intrepid
souls begin their "big year." The goal is to identify (honor system)
the most birds in one geographic area, say North America, in one calendar year.
Obmascik calls it "a 365-day marathon of bird-watching." Sound nuts?
You still may think so after the last page, but you’ll have a swell time
enjoying the craziness of the three obsessed human beings in this book.
Chronicling this odyssey, Obmascik eventually becomes hooked himself. Obmascik,
a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Denver Post environmental writer, is also a
frequent contributor to Outside magazine.
Sibley’s Birding Basics
By David Allen Sibley, $15.95
Sibley is considered America’s premier birder and bird
artist (see his art at www.sibleyart.com). He states on the inside cover that
"I wrote and illustrated this book to help every inquisitive birder, from
novice to expert. Whether you can identify six birds or six hundred, you’ll be
a better birder if you have a grounding in the real nuts and bolts of what birds
look like, and your skills will be even sharper if you know exactly what to look
for and how to record what you see." Well stated! The chapters in this
primer consist of identification, taxonomy, understanding feathers, wings,
tails, and "bare parts" (eyes, bill, and legs). Surely this little
book is all you need to get birding.
The National Audubon Society Sibley Guide to Birds
By David Allen Sibley, $35.00
This beautiful book has 6,600 detailed illustrations and
descriptions for 810 species. Sibley began his interest in drawing birds at the
young age of seven, following in the footsteps of his well-known ornithologist
father, Fred Sibley. This 500-plus page field guide is the next in the long line
of prestigious guides—Audubon, Peterson, and now Sibley. The user-friendly
format makes comparisons easy, without losing the uniqueness of each species.
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
By David Sibley, $19.95
Moving right along to one more Sibley book—a narrower focus
than the Audubon book but beautiful and, again, user friendly. This book
identifies over 800 species.
National Geographic: My First Pocket Guide, $7.95
You’re hooked, and now you want to hook your young children
or grandchildren. With an attractive graphic design, great close-up photography,
a beginning guide to bird identification, and the right size for small hands,
this is a perfect "first field guide" for children.
The Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible: The A-Z
Guide to Feeders, Seed Mixes, Projects and Treats
By Sally Roth, $29.95
If you build it and fill it, will they flock? Using this very
complete book will probably maximize the chances of your being successful. With
information on attracting a variety of species, sections on seed mixes, and
gorgeous photography, this book is a pleasing guide to feeding your local birds.
Birds of Denver and the Front Range
By Chris C. Fisher and Greg Butcher, $9.95
Parked on the windowsill next to the binoculars, this
well-done book has helped our family identify many of the birds we see. Each
page covers a species with "Quick I.D. Tips," what time of year you
might see the bird, and a short text. If you’re new to the area, or merely
want a short book about local birds, this would be a good choice.
Birdwatcher’s Mystery Series
By Christine Goff, $5.99
Set in the Rocky Mountains, Goff has written these mysteries
with a bird-watching theme. The titles say it all: Rant of Ravens,
Death of a Songbird, A Nest in Ashes, and her most
recent, Death Takes a Gander. Margaret Coel says about Goff’s
first novel: "What you expect from a good mystery—a smart detective and a
plot that takes some surprising twists … a terrific debut!"
Meg Langslow Mystery Series
By Donna Andrews, $6.99
Andrews’ latest book Revenge of the Wrought-Iron
Flamingoes joins her other two in the series called Murder with
Peacocks and Murder with Puffins. An Agatha Award winner,
Andrews has come up with an intriguing heroine who happens to have the unusual
occupation of ornamental blacksmith. Andrews is known for her witty dialogue and
delicious sense of the absurd.
***
The winter birds have migrated, and the spring birds are
arriving. Celebrate the longer days and our returning feathered friends with a
book for (or about) the birds.
Until next month, happy reading and watching.
By Judith Pettibone
Forget French!, the billboard screamed at me. Learn
E-Commerce! It was 4 a.m. and too dark in the airport shuttle to get out my
notebook. In my pre-dawn stupor, it took a few minutes to register … Forget
French?!
I loved/hated French while in high school and college. Seven
years of study and I was barely prepared to order omelets in a Parisian café.
Admittedly, my husband was impressed, but it wasn’t much. My fault, I’m
sure.
I have always wished I had learned more and have always been
envious of my Canadian friends’ children. The four of them are bilingual due
to full-immersion French from kindergarten. One is tri-lingual, and one is
quatra-lingual. His fourth language is Mandarin Chinese! I am convinced that the
blitzkrieg approach to learning language is the only way to go. In fact, I have
been known (as the devil’s advocate, of course) to argue against high school
language requirements. But to Forget French! for E-trade. Excuse me.
I understand about priorities for kids in the new millennium.
It is not easy, in this crowded and noisy world of knowledge options, to know
what to keep in the sorting process. The more our kids have to learn in a finite
time, the harder the decisions become. What to save and what to discard are
being considered in every curriculum committee across the country. Not having a
crystal ball can make it an eye-crossing discussion.
Of course, Forget French! was glib. And since I was
half-asleep, I’m not exactly sure where it was going. But I do know that the
billboard made me think along lines probably unintended by the ad writers. With
the increasing use of English worldwide, will French just disappear from the
high school curriculum? If it does, what are we losing and what will replace it?
Does manipulating e-commerce provide a child with the mental discipline and
patience required when learning another language? Does e-commerce give the gift
of communicating, even briefly, with someone who does not speak your own
language?
Perhaps even more importantly, if e-commerce Forget(s)
French! what is next? Forget Art!? Music!? If a class doesn’t obviously and
concretely link up to one’s future job, is it out of here? Into the
"unnecessary" category could tumble all the languages (except
Japanese? or Arabic?), art, music, literature, and philosophy.
It is tempting to say we know what education our kids will
absolutely need to prepare them for their future. In acting certain, we would be
fooling ourselves and maybe looking foolish as well. Are there skills that all
kids need? Of course! I think. Aside from reading, writing, and basic
mathematical calculation, I’d guess we could argue about everything else.
But to Forget French! and whatever else might follow? I know
this much for certain: We might produce proficient e-commercians but they would
not be able to order omelets, enjoy a symphony, appreciate a piece of art, have
a rewarding hobby, muse about life, and certainly never be able to finish a
crossword puzzle.
Soldiers call on Society
By Leon Tenney
Palmer Lake Historical Society hosted two of the local
Buffalo Soldier reenactors, George Payton and Andy Bell. They were wearing
actual uniforms of the 10th U.S. Cavalry, not costumes. They brought original
saddles, blankets, and other equipment of that old-time regiment. Andy and
George were retired sergeant-majors of the U.S. Army. The presentation covered
two subject areas: the equipment and the history.
George began by telling us of his Army career, which spanned
over 20 years. He loves horses, but never got to ride them, since the Army ended
its mounted army in World War II. However, he managed to finish his career on
horseback when he was promoted to sergeant-major in full old-time Cavalry
uniform in the 10th Cavalry at Fort Carson about 20 years ago. Now, in between
re-enacting, he runs an archery shop in Fountain. George has reached the level
of historical accuracy where he actually performs mounted drills on horseback.
However, he did not do so in the Palmer Lake Town Hall that night. You will have
to catch up with him when his unit performs outdoors.
ext up was Andy Bell, who spent 30 years in the service, from
teenager to grandpa. His grandfather was actually one of the Buffalo soldiers
who retired at Fort Leavenworth. Andy’s ancestors fought in all the American
wars of the 20th century. He told us about the history of the Buffalo Soldiers
from the end of the Civil War when six black regiments were created by an act of
Congress on July 28, 1866. There were four infantry regiments that were later
consolidated into the 24th and 25th U.S. Infantry; and two cavalry regiments,
the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry. Each regiment had its own difficulties, made
worse by the prejudices of the time. But once begun, their soldiers served
honorably for the next 100 years. One of the recurring problems with all units
has been recruiting quality men to serve. Much of the time, the commanders of
these regiments had to make do with a less than full complement of troopers.
Now back to George, who told us of the standard issue carbine
that was accurate out to 800 yards. Their pistols were Navy colts that
originally used black powder and percussion caps. The weapon of last resort was
the saber, which made so much noise it was often left behind at the fort when
patrolling. Much of their equipment was hand-me-downs from other regiments, but
they used it while guarding settlers, patrolling the Mexican border, and running
down bandits.
The Buffalo Soldiers were so named by the Plains Indians—not
because of the color of the soldiers’ skin, but because the Indians were so
impressed by their character and fighting abilities. The Cheyenne, the Dakota,
and the others honored the buffalo above all else. At first the black soldiers
thought they had been insulted, until they found out they were actually
respected by the Indians..
Those of you who missed this stirring presentation might
catch up with these men when they are in the various local parades this summer,
starting with the June 5 parade in Colorado Springs honoring our returning Iraqi
war veterans.
Our next program is on Saturday, June 19, at 1 p.m. Jim
Sawatzki will lead a walking tour of the Vaile Museum and some of the historic
buildings in Palmer Lake. Meet at the Vaile Museum. See you all then.
Site Open
The Black Forest Slash-Mulch Program is a wildfire mitigation
and recycling program of the El Paso County Solid Waste Management Department.
The site is located at the southeast corner of Herring and Shoup Roads in Black
Forest.
Residents may bring slash that is no longer than six feet and
no wider than eight inches in diameter to the slash-mulch site, where it will be
ground into mulch and recycled. Slash is accepted through Sept. 25, Thursday
evenings 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost
is a donation of nonperishable food that will be distributed to nonprofit Black
Forest organizations. No stumps, roots, lumber, railroad ties, dirt, weeds, or
household trash will be accepted. Loads must be covered and tied, and children
and pets must stay inside the vehicle while at the site. Mulch will be available
June 5 to Sept. 25. Those bringing their own tools may load mulch free of
charge.
Dave’s Demos will be held at the site on one Saturday a
month at 11 a.m. A question-and-answer session will follow each presentation.
-
June 12: Fire Hazard and Forest Management
-
July 10: Disease and Insects
-
Aug. 7: Mountain Pine Beetle
For more information, call El Paso County Solid Waste
Management at 520-7878 or Ruth Ann Steele at 495-3107, or visit www.bfslash.org.
Art
Show and Opening Gala
TriLakes Views 2004 is a juried art show on display June
4-July 4 in the TriLakes Center for the Arts, located in the historic
Kaiser-Frazer building at 304 Highway 105 in Palmer Lake. The show’s Gala
Opening Party is June 5, 7 to 10 p.m. and will feature a
"performance piece" by world-renowned puppeteer Patty Smithsonian.
Tickets for the party are $30 in advance or $35 at the door, with the
tax-deductible price benefiting the TriLakes Center for the Arts. Tickets are
available in Monument at the High Country Store, The Folk Art Gallery, Covered
Treasures Bookstore, Petal Pushin’, and Sabrinas; or in Palmer Lake from the
Speed Trap or TriLakes Center for the Arts. For more information, call Sandra
Kinchen at 4810475, or visit tri-lakesviews.org.
at the Library
Monument branch , 1706 Lake Woodmoor Dr., 488-2370:
June 8, 10:30 & 11:15 a.m. "Magic
Impossible"–Help solve the mystery with a silly magician.
June 10, 3 p.m. "On the Wings of a Bird"–Make a puppet, learn a
birdcall, hear stories.
June 14, 1:30 p.m. "Blaze a Trail Back in Time"–Kids age 7 and
up make taffy and play pioneer games.
June 15, 10:30 & 11:15 a.m."The Case of the Dangerous Dog Nappers"–Puppet
show.
June 17, 3 p.m. "Under the Sea"–Explore the ocean world with
stories and activities.
June 21, 1:30 p.m. "Magic Tree House Travels"–Kids age 7 and up
imagine riding in a tree house.
June 22, 10:30 & 11:15 a.m. "Daffy Detectives"–Zany
detectives solve crimes and tickle your funny bone.
June 24, 3 p.m. "Froggy, Froggy"–Hold a frog! Crafts and
stories.
June 29, 10:30 & 11:15 a.m. "Lights of the Puppet World"–Favorite
stories, silly-style, by puppeteer Patti Smithsonian. Learn shadow puppetry and
enjoy live disco dancing!
Palmer Lake branch, 66 Lower Glenway, 481-2587:
June 7, 1:30 p.m. "On the Wings of a Bird"–Make
a puppet, learn a birdcall, and hear stories.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. "Daffy Detectives"–Zany detectives solve
crimes and tickle your funny bone.
June 16, 10:30 a.m. "Rolo the Magician"–Some magic and a balloon
animal for everyone!
June 18, 1:30 p.m. "Under the Sea"–Explore the ocean world with
stories and activities.
June 23, 10:30 a.m. "Animal Antics"–Hands-on Canine Companions
program.
June 25, 1:30 p.m. "Froggy, Froggy"–Hold a frog! Crafts and
stories.
June 30, 10:30 a.m. "The Hidden Trunk"–A hidden trunk leads to
amazing tales of adventure.
and Neighborhood Cleanup
This year’s sale will take place on June 11 and 12,
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gleneagle residents wanting to participate can pick up Garage
Sale Help Packets at Peoples Bank in Gleneagle and at First Bank in the King
Soopers Shopping Center. For more information, call Terry Galloway, 487-3326.
Community
Meeting
The Coalition of Tri-Lakes Communities will hold a community
meeting on June 13 at 2 p.m. in the Lewis-Palmer High School auditorium.
Learn about the Wal-Mart proposal for a supercenter at Baptist Road that will be
heard by the Board of County Commissioners on June 24 at 9 a.m. Find out
how you can get involved. For more information, call John Heiser at 488-9031.
Golf Tournament
The Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual golf
tournament June 14, 8 a.m., at the Pine Creek Golf Club in north Colorado
Springs. There will be games, prizes, food, and opportunities to mingle with
area business leaders. Individuals and teams welcome. It’s a four-person
scramble, with an entry fee of $135 per person. For information on how to
participate or be a sponsor, call Larry Lawrence, 488-9663, or Lee Kilbourn,
495-1995.
Learn how to help your garden and landscape survive Colorado’s
drought. Tours of six award-winning, colorful private gardens that use water
wisely are planned in June. Sponsored by the Colorado Federation of Garden
Clubs, Inc. and Colorado WaterWise Council, the tours will demonstrate water
conservation principles in the home landscape. Xeriscape resource guides, garden
information sheets, and expert gardeners will be available at each tour garden.
-
Denver: June 12 and 13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
-
Colorado Springs: June 19 & 20, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
-
Boulder area: June 26 and 27, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Tickets are $15 per city and are a tax-deductible
contribution to Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. Each ticket is a map
to all six gardens for that city’s tour. For information, call Kass Johns in
Colorado Springs at 635-1306 or visit the official Web site for the Xeriscape
Garden Tours (www.coloradogardenclubs.org).
The Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts (TLCA) and The Wine Seller
Concert Series will present Jerry Barlow, Celtic finger-style guitarist,
performing Irish, Scottish, and Appalachian music on June 19. Tickets,
$10 for members and $12 nonmembers, are available at The Wine Seller, The
SpeedTrap, and TLCA. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. The
Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts is located at 304 Highway 105 in Palmer Lake. For
more information, call 481-0475 or visit www.trilakesarts.com.
This year’s car show will be in the heart of Historic
Downtown Monument on June 20, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cars will be displayed on
Second Street and parts of Washington and Front Streets, and there will be a BBQ
in Limbach Park sponsored by Rosie’s Diner and the Farmer’s Market. General
Lee, the car from "The Dukes of Hazard," will be on display, and some
local folks will be in costume posing as various characters from the program.
There is no admission charge.
Pre-registration is $20 per vehicle. On-site registration is
$25 per vehicle. Proceeds from the show will benefit Tri-Lakes Cares. For more
information call Bill at 481-2465 or Mike at 488-2142. Visit www.tlcruisers.org
for registration forms and more information.
High Country Store and Tri-Lakes Cares are hosting a Great
American Bake Sale at High Country Store on June 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The
event is part of a nationwide program sponsored by Parade Magazine and Share Our
Strength, to help end child hunger in America. Businesses, clubs, teams, and
families in the area are invited to be table sponsors, setting up a table filled
with donated baked goods to be sold that day. The event coincides with the first
Saturday Farmers Market of the season. Volunteers are needed to coordinate
efforts and help with setup and teardown. Call Catherine at High Country Store
at 481-3477 or e-mail her at Catherine@homebrewwine.com.
The Farmer’s Market will be in downtown Monument every
Saturday from June 26 to October 2, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Lewis-Palmer
School District yard on the south side of Second Street between Jefferson and
Adams.
Sizzling Summer Events
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events.
-
June 19, 1 p.m., local historian Jim Sawatzki will
lead an informative walking tour of the Vaile Museum and historic buildings
of Palmer Lake. Meet at the Vaile Museum, 66 Lower Glenway.
-
July 17, 1 to 5 p.m., the McGuireville Tour and
BBQ Feast, featuring an antique exhibit. Chuck Pyle will entertain.
-
Aug. 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the annual Estemere
Tour. Don’t miss this opportunity to tour the elegant Victorian mansion in
Palmer Lake. Watch for details.
Some of the West’s best storytellers will perform at the
2004 Rocky Mountain Storytelling Festival. Colorado storytellers Opalanga Pugh,
Pat Mendoza, and Susan Kaplan are the featured presenters. Children’s
storytelling workshops and a free evening concert with the featured storytellers
take place on July 30 at Philip S. Miller Public Library, 100 S. Wilcox,
Castle Rock. Adult workshops and more stories and music for all ages occur on
July 31 at Palmer Lake Elementary in Palmer Lake. Come tell your own story at
one of the Story Swaps. For more information, contact John Stansfield at P.O.
Box 588, Monument 80132, (303) 660-5849 or toll-free (866) 462-1727.
in Tri-Lakes
July 3: Monument’s 125th birthday celebration
7 a.m., Palmer Lake Elementary’s four-mile run to
Limbach Park in Monument. Starting point: Palmer Lake Santa Fe Trailhead
7 a.m. -1 p.m., Farmers Market, Second Street by the Lewis-Palmer
Administration Building, Monument
7:30-9:30 a.m.,Pancake breakfast hosted by the Monument Hill Sertoma Club,
Front Street, between Second and Third Streets, Monument
11 a.m.-4 p.m.
-
Historic exhibits at the Lewis-Palmer Administration
Building (Big Red)
-
Historic walks led by Jim Sawatzki, from Big Red
-
Historic pictures in Monument Town Hall, 166 Second
Street
-
Historic displays and demonstrations along Second Street,
including teepees to climb inside, pioneer crafts, antique vehicles
-
Food, music, and more!
5-9 p.m., Old-fashioned potato bake and a live concert in
Limbach Park.
9 p.m.-midnight, Barn dance at the Sibels’ barn, 231
Front Street in the back, Monument
July 4: Palmer Lake
"Lunchtime to Launchtime" - Activities will extend
the length of the town, from Kid’s Play at the ballpark to the Tri-Lakes Views
Show at Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts. Enjoy live music noon till 8 p.m., a
street fair, an inflatable playground by Daisy Twist, Kiwanis family fun,
celebrity dunk tank by the Palmer Lake Elementary School PTO, a fine arts show,
and, finally, the fireworks extravaganza at the lake at sundown. Hiking and
biking trails abound in Palmer Lake, including the Santa Fe and Greenland
Trails, linking picnic grounds and mountain scenery. There are also many unique
restaurants to choose from.
July 5: Downtown Monument
Monument’s Independence Day Parade Sponsored and
marshalled by the Monument Hill Sertoma Club. Parking is available at the
Lewis-Palmer High School and Lewis-Palmer Middle School on Woodmoor Drive,
with a free bus shuttle running until 10:30 a.m.
9:30 a.m. , Children’s Parade–participants line up
by 8:30 a.m. at the south parking lot of St. Peter Catholic Church, at First
Street and Jefferson. No entry form or fee needed; just show up with decorated
trikes, bikes, wagons, critters, etc. No skateboards or motorized scooters.
10 a.m., Monument’s annual Fourth of July parade and
street fair. Entry forms available at Town Hall, 166 Second St.; the Chamber of
Commerce, 300 Hwy. 105; by calling Gov Vaughn, 487-0064; or at the Web site
www.monumenthillsertoma.org.
All day, Monument Street Fair: Nifty things to buy,
delicious food, and more! Vendor booths on Second Street between Front and
Jefferson and on Washington Street between Second and Third.
Timothy Fowler, a fifth-grade teacher at Antelope Trails
Elementary School, has been selected as a local 2004 Teacher of the Year by the
Chapel Hills Wal-Mart. Fowler stood out as an extraordinary teacher because he
challenges each student to do the best he or she can do. The award includes a
cash prize for the school and a certificate for the teacher.
at
the Old Log School
The historic Old Log School in Black Forest, located at Shoup
and Black Forest Roads, will be hosting an open house each Thursday from noon to
3 p.m., June 17-Aug. 19. There is no charge for the tour. Volunteer hosts
are needed for tours. Call Carol at 495-2178 for information.
Story Time for primary children will be held at the Old Log
School each Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon, June 17-July 29. An adult must
accompany children. There is no charge. Volunteers are needed to read stories
and help with activities. Call Mindy at 495-9769 for information.
| 
PrintFriendly