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Benefit race draws many residents

Below: Kingswood resident Phil Weinert finishes strong at the 3 kilometer run/walk in Gleneagle on May 14. Weinert overcame his Parkinson’s Disease to earn a standing ovation from hundreds of participants and observers. Photo by Melissa Uhles, Aperture Wide Open Photography, www.aperturewideopen.com.

Below: Displays of Donald Wescott and Colorado Springs emergency fire and rescue equipment, a band, and several merchant pavilions providing food, massages, and information awaited runners, walkers and their supporters at the Creekside Middle School finish line of the 3 kilometer Gleneagle Fun Run on May 14. Photo by Jim Kendrick.

Below: Sawyer Robinson tries out the driver’s seat in the U.S. Air Force Academy ladder truck. Photo by Jim Kendrick.

May 14 was a beautiful day for a walk or a run, and the first Gleneagle Spirit 5k Run/Walk provided the perfect route for each. The route, starting at the Gleneagle Golf Club and culminating at Antelope Trails Elementary School, encompassed many hills and valleys. "The course was challenging and gave us a good test of our endurance," said 14-year-old Jeff Warren, winner in the 14-and-under age group. There were winners in seven other age categories.

The Gleneagle Spirit, in which over 185 people participated, was a fundraiser for Boy Scout Troop 194. Organized and conducted by local real estate agent Mark Rudolph, the Gleneagle Spirit will continue next year. "Troop 194 is very active in the Gleneagle community, and I wanted to recognize their efforts by developing an annual fundraising event for them," Rudolph said.

At the finish line, Whole Foods filled participants with pasta, salad, and bread, while the Monument Hill band provided two hours of rock and roll. The students of the International School of Massage Therapy were also busy after the race giving leg and ankle massages to participants.

The Wescott Fire Department staff were on-site to provide medical assistance and had various fire fighting and emergency apparatus on display. Other sponsors include Gleneagle Golf Club, Citiline Mortgage, It’s a Grind Coffee Shop, and Land Title Guarantee Company.

In all—including a raffle—the event raised over $1,000 for the Boy Scout troop. The troop plans to use the proceeds to pay for bus transportation during one of its upcoming trips.

The winners in the various age categories shown below were later presented with medals:

                                                    GOLD                         SILVER                     BRONZE

Palmer Lake Town Council Workshop, May 5: Awake The Lake chair resigns

The Palmer Lake Town Council (PLTC) reviewed five business license applications and a vacation and replat of interior lot lines for a parcel of undeveloped land on the west side of Highway 105 at the north end of town. Jeff Hulsmann announced that he would step down as the leader of the Awake The Lake committee due to his arrest and felony gambling charges brought against him and his wife by the state of Colorado. Two candidates for the vacant trustee position were to be scheduled for interviews.

Committee Reports

Community and Economic Development: Trustee Gary Coleman noted that the revised rules for lighting the star on Sundance Mountain were being reviewed again. Several residents objected to the star being lit on the night of the first town council meeting after Trustee George Reese’s death.

Water: Trustee Chuck Cornell reported that the town’s D2 well had been turned on to add 30 acre-feet of dechlorinated drinking water to Palmer Lake. The Awake the Lake Committee raised over $21,000 in donations, and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved a one-time donation of $20,000 for the water.

Parks and Recreation: Trustee Trish Flake reported that there had been an Arbor Day tree-planting celebration at the Palmer Lake Elementary School, qualifying the town once again for a "Tree City, USA" designation. The Columbine Art and Music Festival will be held on June 11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Deahna Brown is offering yoga and Pilates classes in Town Hall at a charge of $7 per class, half the price of her regular classes. The movie discussion series she initiated led to two interesting conversations in Town Hall. She also reminded everyone that it is now bear season and to be cautious on trails and in the parks.

Roads: Trustee Max Parker reported that the 100-day project to repave Highway 105 on both sides of I-25 would not interfere with the Fourth of July celebrations and fireworks. Some of the milled waste asphalt will be made available to the town’s Roads Department for repairs of town dirt roads, once the weather warms sufficiently for effective application of sealer to stabilize the millings. Roads Supervisor Bob Radosevich noted that the work produces a "lot of black dust that is very messy."

Fire: Trustee Brent Sumner reported that in April the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department’s calls included: 3 fire, 6 medical, 3 traffic accident, 1 wildland fire, 1 public assist, and 1 public contact. Jeff Edwards, a full-time Donald Wescott Fire Protection District Battalion Chief and Fire Marshall, is now serving as a Palmer Lake volunteer and fire marshal as well. Notifications of pending inspections will be sent out soon.

Also the town’s mobile chipping service will resume this summer with stops at individual addresses for up to two hours. The contribution needed to pay for the service is $30 per hour.

There were 113 police calls in April, 1 custody arrest, 17 cases, 35 citations, 30 dog warnings, and 3 dog citations. There were 21 calls that assisted the Monument Police Department and 16 calls that assisted various county agencies.

Fountain Creek Watershed Study: Town representative Bob Miner reported on the 21st Century Smarter Growth Conference in Greenwood Village and recommended that some of the speakers at the three-day event be invited to make presentations to the PLTC. He also said there may be a way to get aerial surveys of the town at no cost.

Awake The Lake

Background: On April 26, a search warrant was served on Guadala-Jarra’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina and law enforcement officials arrested 23 people. Hulsmann was arrested and charged with allowing illegal gambling at an establishment licensed to sell liquor, a felony that could result in up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. Hulsmann also faces two misdemeanor charges, professional gambling and operating a gambling premises. Peggy Jardon, Hulsmann’s wife and co-owner of the restaurant, was similarly arrested and charged after the raid. The other 22 people were issued misdemeanor citations. If this was a second offense for anyone receiving a citation, that person will be charged with a felony.

The arrests were based on a month-long investigation by members of the Colorado Springs Metro Vice, Narcotics, and Intelligence Liquor Enforcement Team, in cooperation with the Colorado State Department of Revenue Liquor Enforcement Division and Colorado Division of Gaming. Action is pending by the State Liquor Enforcement Division to suspend or revoke Hulsmann’s liquor licenses for Guadala-Jarra’s and O’Malley’s Steak Pub.

Hulsmann resigns: After introducing himself as "Jeff Hulsmann, mafia don," he noted that having $41,000 of the required $42,800 on hand to pay for 30 acre-feet of water had resulted in the committee "feeling pretty flush," but the committee next needed to work on securing water storage rights to keep the lake filled in the future.

Hulsmann said the committee’s fishing derby would be held on June 4 as planned. The Colorado Department of Wildlife will stock the lake with trout based on how cold the water is on June 1; deeper water is colder and better for the fish. Decisions on boating on the lake and re-establishment of a public beach will be made later.

He added that there will be no additional county donations beyond the $20,000 and that the committee needs to establish partnerships with philanthropic organizations such as the Sierra Club. He added that the Colorado Water Control Board might support the lake due to it being a "natural formation." The county funds will be payable once the lake is completely filled and it is shown that there will be no further leakage; these are the same conditions the BOCC imposed on Colorado Springs for the $200,000 contribution for Prospect Lake.

Hulsmann then announced that he was stepping down from the committee so that the other committee members could focus on "lake issues rather than my issues," he said. "This is a very difficult thing for me to do and say." He announced he would be replaced as committee spokesman by Greg Cook and "the project needs to go on." Cornell praised Hulsmann for his committee work, saying he "had done a bang-up job." Other trustees thanked him also.

Hulsmann said he would make a statement at the regular town council meeting on May 12 about his issues with the town over his arrest. (However, on May 12, he did not enter Town Hall until moments after the meeting adjourned, and he made no statement to those in attendance.)

Water study progress report: Consultant Jason Mumm of Integrated Utilities Group said he was retained by the town to study its water system and rate structure. He distributed his report on these issues and discussed his major conclusions:

Mumm said development of his proposed "rate-making" plan would restore solvency to the water fund in about five years, if adopted. Board members and residents asked numerous questions about creating special rates for apartment buildings, large lawns, no lawns, and the like. Mumm advised against increasing the current limited number of rate categories since about 90 percent of the taps are residential and the system is so small.

Business licenses

Five business license applications were approved as consent items for the regular Town Council meeting on May 12:

Kemper Filing 2

Developer Pat Skinner and consultant engineer Richard Wray of Kiowa Engineering presented a request for a replat of the Kemper Filing No. 2 preliminary plat for the parcel owned by William Kemper and David and Linda Wilson. The 10.25-acre undeveloped parcel on the north edge of town is bounded by Highway 105, Gillia Street, Columbine Road, and Aurelia Street.

The request for vacation and re-plat of the interior lot lines would increase the number of lots from five to 23, all single-family residential. The existing dead-ends of El Paso and Academy Roads would be extended south into the parcel to form large culs-de-sac, 104 feet in diameter, which is sufficient for emergency vehicle turnaround. There will also be a large cul-de-sac on the extension of Gillia to the east.

The entire parcel lies in a flood zone. The center of the parcel is in a flood zone that the Federal Emergency Management Agency categorizes as type "AO," where peak flooding is expected to be up to 2 feet deep. The rest of the parcel is in flood zone type X, where flooding is only expected every 500 years.

Skinner agreed to a condition that would not allow any further subdivision to increase the number of lots in the future. He also agreed to create covenant restrictions that would limit the amount of water required for irrigation of the 23 lots to a greater extent than town regulations would. He agreed to retain as much as possible of the dense natural vegetation that already exists on the parcel. The large, deep detention pond projected for construction along Highway 105 would be managed by the development’s homeowner’s association. He also said there are no current plans for development, though he expected to submit a final plat soon after this request is approved.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Workshop meetings are normally held on the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. in Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent.

Palmer Lake Town Council Meeting May 12: Finan appointed trustee

Below: Newly appointed Palmer Lake Town Council Trustee Trudy Finan is sworn in by Town Attorney Larry Gaddis on May 12 in Town Hall. Trustee Finan is taking the position formerly held by the late George Reese. Photo by Jim Kendrick

Below: Bailey, Bren, and Pam Collins received certificates of appreciation from the Palmer Lake Town Council at Town Hall on May 12 for their support of the Town’s annual Easter Egg hunt. Photo by Jim Kendrick

The Palmer Lake Town Council (PLTC) began the meeting with an executive session to select a person to fill the vacant trustee position. The council unanimously appointed Trudy Finan to complete the term of George Reese. She was immediately sworn in by Town Attorney Larry Gaddis and took her place on the council. Mayor Nikki McDonald thanked all those who had applied for the position and asked them to place their names in nomination at the next election, when several seats would be available.

Trustee Trish Flake recognized five people for their participation in support of the town’s annual Easter egg hunt: Bailey Collins, Bren Collins, Pam Collins, Lindsey Koops, and Kevin Koops.

Consent items

The council unanimously approved the five new business licenses that were presented at the previous week’s workshop. The agenda and all the town’s bills were also unanimously approved.

Kemper Filing No. 2 approved

The council unanimously approved applicant William Kemper’s request for a vacation and re-plat of the interior lot lines that would increase the number of lots from five to 23, all single-family residential. Developer Pat Skinner said he was unfamiliar with the final list of concerns and conditions that the Planning Commission may have passed on to the town council.

After some discussion about the sufficiency of the town’s water supply, these conditions were made part of the approval:

During public comment, Patrick Duffy noted that this would be the first development in the area with paved streets, curbs, and gutters and expressed the hope that the town could provide more in the future as well as maintain them. McDonald thanked the applicant for agreeing to the improvements and doubling the minimum lot size. Skinner said he hoped to submit the final plat within six weeks.

Committee Reports

Community and Economic Development: Trustee Gary Coleman asked residents to submit names to be honored at the town’s ceremony on Memorial Day. There will be a meeting in Town Hall, July 26 at 7 p.m., for citizens to discuss possible changes in the town policy for lighting the star on days other than Memorial Day and the Christmas holiday season.

Water: Trustee Chuck Cornell reported that the filters for the reservoir and the town’s A2 well were causing some minor problems, but there had not been any problems with well D2 that has begun pumping 30 acre-feet of de-chlorinated drinking water into Palmer Lake. McDonald noted that the D2 well’s level was 950 feet when turned on and had dropped 350 feet in a week. Cornell has said at past meetings that they expect the well to recover but are unsure of how long it will take. This pump has never been run continuously for over a month in the past.

Parks and Recreation: Trustee Trish Flake reported on the Columbine Art and Music Festival to be held on June 11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. She also announced yoga and Pilate’s classes in Town Hall would be offered at a discount price for town residents. She asked for more participation in the movie discussion series to achieve a more balanced discussion. She also reminded everyone that June 22 is "Ride Your Bike to Work Day."

Roads: Trustee Max Parker reported that discussions were moving forward satisfactorily on vacations and transfers of private property to improve school bus accessibility on Trinidad Lane.

Fire: Trustee Brent Sumner reminded the public that notifications of pending annual fire inspections would be sent out in a few days and to call the town office if no notice was received.

Mayor: McDonald announced the death of Palmer Lake Sanitation District Manager Bonnie Hanson and the memorial service on May 21.

Public comments about the raid at Guadala-Jarra’s

Richard Allen read a prepared statement noting the following points:

Ed Flake, husband of Trish Flake (both of whom were arrested in the raid), asked the trustees three times what their opinion of the incident was. Gaddis said that the board was there to hear comments only and could not comment on the issue while the investigation was ongoing.

Diane Kaiser, who was also arrested that night, said the card games in Jeff Hulsmann’s restaurant were "social gambling" because "she knew 19 of the 24 people" in attendance at the raid and that she "knew everyone at her table of eight players except the undercover agent." (Only 22 players were arrested, however.)

Eddie Kinney said the raid could have been avoided if Hulsmann "had gone to the police department and asked them if what he wanted to do was lawful." He said Hulsmann had "asked a Colorado Springs policeman if it was lawful and was told it was a gray area." The police department and the town "should not be blamed." He added that the method of entering the restaurant by law enforcement personnel was appropriate.

Trish Flake made extended comments, despite Gaddis’s direction to the trustees. She said that Texas Hold ‘Em is a game of strategy, not gambling. She said that no one who was not there "could judge the scare tactics of that night." She added, "The people there were not lawbreakers or involved in the mafia." She also said that the police chief of Monument warned the Broiler Room to stop their games.

Becky Albright praised the civility of discussion in the meeting despite the difficulty of the situation, and compared it to heated discussions in the past over water rate changes and other issues. She expressed concern about Hulsmann’s remarks that had "appeared in the paper" that said there would be a serious loss of revenue if he lost his liquor licenses for Guadala-Jarra’s and O’Malley’s. She read a list of "Ten things I love about Dale Smith."

Hulsmann did not attend the session as he had said he would at the council’s workshop a week earlier. He did arrive after adjournment, however, and approached several trustees and staff members with new comments. None of the trustees could respond to OCN about these statements due to the ongoing investigation of felony gambling charges against Hulsmann and his wife and restaurant co-owner, Peggy Jardon.

The meeting adjourned at 8 p.m. The next meeting will be held June 9 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent. Regular council meetings are normally held on the second Thursday of the month.

Monument Board of Trustees, May 16: Town organization discussed, watering rules revised

On May 16, The Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) modified the town organization chart and approved a resolution to change the allowed watering days and a new intergovernmental agreement to help fill Monument Lake. Trustees Tommie Plank and Dave Mertz were absent.

Trout restocking proposal presented

Ernie Biggs, owner of Lake of the Rockies Campground, asked for approval to stock the slightly refilled Monument Lake with 1,000 pounds of trout if Colorado Springs Utilities and the City Council would allow the lake to be refilled. He said that people don’t know the lake has some water in it again.

Trustee George Brown asked "What kind?" Biggs said 8 to 12 inches. Trustee Scott Meszaros asked how Biggs would ensure that the fish do not have "whirling disease." Biggs said that only small fish are vulnerable and the fish he would purchase would be too large to have the disease.

Mayor Glenn proposed Biggs be allowed to restock the small area covered with water, on the condition that Colorado Springs grants approval for the town to purchase and retain water in the lake. The board concurred.

Public Works Supervisor Tom Wall said that the partially open valve in the bottom of the lake, which controls how much of the upstream flow is discharged under the dam, makes a lot of noise and has generated complaints from neighboring residents. The noise sounds like gunfire or an unmuffled motorcycle, depending on the flow rate. It can be controlled by changing the size of the opening or closing it, if approval from Colorado Springs is obtained. Wall reported that the lake has risen to, and is being held at, a depth of 16.5 feet.

(Later in May, the Colorado Springs City Council agreed to let the town store water in the lake in return for credits the town would transfer to the city for excess effluent purchased from the special sanitation districts that own the Upper Monument Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. The districts’ effluent is discharged into Monument Creek below the dam, which is now blocking upstream flows to refill the lake.)

Town Organizational Chart Revised

Cathy Green requested that the board revise five town staff positions and described the changes.

Town Manager: Green would become town manager. However, she would still be responsible for long-term town planning, zoning, and subdivision regulation overhaul.

Town Clerk: This vacant position would be separate from town treasurer duties. Green said there is enough money to pay for a town clerk. The full-time position would have the added responsibility of providing information services. The town clerk position was combined with the town treasurer position three years ago when Judy Skrzypek accepted the additional responsibility without a pay raise. The deputy town clerk/administrative assistant position occupied by Irene Walters would be unchanged.

Town Engineer: Tom Kassawara’s newly created position of town engineer under the town manager would be changed to the title of director of development services. He would take over current proposal review and approval for planning as well as for engineering. Kassawara has extensive planning experience.

Town Treasurer: This position would have its former town clerk duties replaced with new benefits specialist responsibilities. Interim treasurer Pam Smith has extensive human relations management experience in addition to her accounting and auditing credentials.

Town Civil Engineer: Tony Hurst’s new title would be civil engineer/inspector, and he would report to the director of development services rather than the town manager under this proposal. Hurst’s office would be moved from the Public Works building to Town Hall. In addition to reviewing development and drainage plans, he would be taking on the new responsibility of some of the on-site inspections that are currently performed by consultant engineering firms.

Administrative Assistant: This would become a full-time position within Public Works. Claudia Whitney, who currently holds the position, had been splitting her days, with mornings spent in the Public Works facility and early afternoons spent in Town Hall. There was no proposal for a new part-time employee to take over Whitney’s work in Town Hall during the lunch hour and early afternoon.

Discussion: Trustee George Brown said, "As far as the town clerk, I would need to see what the responsibilities are, because we had been presented information in the past that that position [sic] worked about an hour a day and spent eight hours here (in Town Hall.)" Brown then said that elections were coming up. The weeks before and after an election are a peak work period for the town clerk. State law requires all election action to be performed by a town clerk specifically appointed by the board of trustees.

Trustee Gail Drumm asked if the town clerk duties could be combined with the Public Works administrative assistant position. Green said that the proposed town clerk position was not going to be filled immediately in any case.

No action was taken by the board on Green’s recommendation. It was not continued.

Watering restrictions adjusted

Green recommended that the current restriction allowing odd-numbered addresses to water on odd-numbered dates, and vice versa, be changed to correspond to electronic watering timers that can only be set to operate on specific days of the week. She recommended that the town change its rules to align with the water restriction rules that apply in Triview Metropolitan District. She said Triview’s policy is to ask residents to meet the intent of the restrictions using their own judgment, but they do not enforce their regulations.

Green recommended that odd-numbered houses be permitted to water only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and even-numbered houses water only on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. There would be no lawn watering on Sundays, though there could be car washing.

Resolution 10-2005 passed 4-1, with Drumm opposed. (On May 25, the Triview board adopted the same restrictions.)

Excess effluent water to be purchased

Wall proposed that the town enter into a one-year intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Donala Water and Sanitation District and Triview Metropolitan District to purchase, on a month-to-month basis, the rights to their excess effluent that drains from Upper Monument Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility into Monument Creek. The cost for the town’s purchase of the excess effluent is set at $50 per acre-foot in the separate agreements for each of the special districts. The IGA could be renewed year by year or terminated with 30-day notice. The $50 price could be renegotiated when the IGA is renewed each year.

The town’s budget for water purchase in 2005 is $7,000. Wall estimated that the full-year annual cost for this proposal would be between $14,000 and $15,750. The cost in 2005 would be less because the peak flows have already been released downstream before the dam’s bypass valve was partially closed to start refilling the lake.

The town’s excess effluent enters Monument Creek downstream of Monument Lake from the Tri-Lakes Wastewater Treatment Facility. Much of the excess effluent from these two facilities flows downstream to Colorado Springs with the town, Triview, and to a lesser extent, Donala, forfeiting the benefit they might gain from the sale of the rights to it.

The purchase of the effluent rights from Triview and Donala will allow the town to store an equal amount of upstream water in Monument Lake, to eventually refill it. This is more cost-effective than running pipes from the facilities back to the lakes and paying the further cost of pumping the treated water so far uphill.

The lake has been nearly empty since it was drained to repair the dam. Monument Creek flows have been so low in recent years that none of the water actually in the creek is owned by the town. Monument’s water rights are less senior than those of Colorado Springs, which is entitled to at least 22 cubic feet of flow per second (CFS). There has rarely been a consistent flow above that amount for Monument to claim.

During those times in the future when flows exceed this minimum, the town would now limit the flow under the Monument Lake dam to the city’s 22 CFS entitlement and store the rest. The amount of water held back would be offset administratively by the already flowing excess effluent entering the creek from one or both of the downstream wastewater treatment facilities. In reality, the flows below the dam would be reduced, but the amount of water that downstream users are entitled to would still flow to them. .

State water authorities would measure the various flows above and below the dam to ensure that the city gets the amount of water it has the rights to and that the town pays the appropriate amount of money to the special districts for their excess effluent. The town will pay for the administrative costs of the state recording and providing all parties with stream flow information as well as the special districts’ extra administrative costs for billing.

One complicating factor is that Monument Creek flows are usually too low in the summer for the town to be able to store any of it under this plan. Moreover, most of Donala’s summer excess effluent for that period has already been purchased by the Gleneagle golf course to offset the re-use water it uses. Year-round, Triview has about 15 to 20 acre feet of excess effluent it can sell per month. Similarly, Donala has about 25 acre-feet per month for sale, when not already sold to the golf course for about five months per year.

Wall said it would take about 200 acre-feet to refill the lake to the top of the dam’s spillway. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons. These factors and losses, including evaporation, will extend the time it takes to initially refill the lake to nearly the end of 2006.

The issue is further complicated by the town not owning storage rights in the lake; a similar situation exists in the town of Palmer Lake. This was not a problem before the dam was repaired because flows were so high and the reservoirs in the region were still essentially full. However, the effluent exchange solves this storage dilemma for the short term.

Wall said the IGA is a long-term agreement in order to deal with future evaporation and occasional low summer and fall flows—assuming the average spring flows will return to being high enough that the town would actually own some of the water flowing in the creek above the lake. This "town water" in the creek could then be stored without cost, once the town could purchase storage rights for the lake.

The board unanimously approved the wording of the IGA that would be presented to the two special districts later in May.

Financials

The board unanimously approved the 48-page financial report and single payment of over $5,000 without any discussion.

Timbers map displayed

Glenn briefly discussed the street layout proposed for the Timbers commercial development on the parcel just south of Home Depot on the west side of Jackson Creek Parkway. The current Struthers Road segment north of Baptist Road and the access to the west entry of the Foxworth-Galbraith parking lot will be left open for some time. However, they will be closed eventually and replaced by a new road between the hardware store and the west side of Jackson Creek.

The new Timbers access road runs north from Baptist, east of the Foxworth-Galbraith property owned by Mike Watt, and then weaves toward the northeast corner of his parcel and into the Timbers shopping center. Another new access road for Foxworth-Galbraith extends west from this road, along the northern fence line of the hardware store’s storage area to their parking lot.

Glenn also described his funding proposal of a voluntary public improvement fee to help finance all the improvements to Baptist Road that are needed to support the new commercial growth along Jackson Creek Parkway. Improvements to the I-25 Baptist Road interchange remain unfunded by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). The Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA) would pay for preliminary improvements to Exit 158 by issuing bonds. The public improvement fee charged by all Jackson Creek businesses would pay only for the interest on the interchange improvement bonds, until CDOT funds become available to pay off the principal. The size of the BRRTA fee (no more than 1 percent on retail sales) and the total amount of capital improvement bonds that would have to be issued on the commercial market have not been determined.

Staff Reports

Police Chief’s report: Chief Jake Shirk’s written report to board members, which they elected not to discuss, noted the following:

Public Works: Wall recommended that the board accept the proposed settlement with Fountain Mutual Irrigation Company regarding the company’s opposition to the town obtaining storage rights to Monument Lake. The settlement will simplify the town’s ability to account for evaporation in the lake in dealing with downstream users’ water rights in Monument Creek during periods of low flow.

Wall summarized the legal recommendations with this advice: "Just say yes." Town Attorney Gary Shupp concurred. After some discussion and questioning by trustees, the board approved the settlement unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. The next meeting will held on June 6 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held the first and third Monday of the month.

Monument Planning Commission, May 11: Church lots recommended for rezoning to commercial

Two of three major planning proposals were continued at the request of the applicants at the Monument Planning Commission meeting on May 11. The request for rezoning from R-2 to C-1 for three lots of the Monument Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was unanimously approved.

The concurrent review of proposed Timbers at Monument Preliminary/Final Plat, Final PD Site Plan, and Development Master Plan as well as the Rezone, Replat, and Easement Vacation for the Briley-Smith Subdivision and Monument View Subdivision will be heard at a future meeting.

Commissioner Tim Davis was absent. Davis has never attended a meeting since being appointed by the Board of Trustees (BOT) in January. He was chosen for a two-year term over the six other candidates who attended the BOT meeting to present their credentials and answer questions from the members of the board. Davis’s qualifications were not discussed by the trustees prior to their first vote, which he won by an unspecified margin. Town Attorney Gary Shupp never announced the actual vote counts for any of the candidates in the three rounds of voting by the trustees, nor were they listed in the approved minutes for public review. Former Commission Chairman Lowell Morgan, who lost his seat was appointed as an alternate commission member and has been serving on the commission in Davis’s absence.

Monument Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Scott Ahlers presented the church’s request for rezoning of its two adjacent parcels to the south of their building and parking lot at 300 Second St. to match the commercial zoning of the surrounding lots. Each of the three lots is about 10,000 square feet. The requested rezoning to commercial is consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan. Ahlers said that the congregation has no plans to move to another area and will be refurbishing their building with new paint, landscaping, and interior improvements.

The other commissioners concurred with Morgan’s favorable comments about adding commercial businesses and revenue from the three lots.

Police building update

Chief Jake Shirk gave a presentation regarding the current status of planning for a new police and court room building similar to the presentation he gave to the BOT on April 18. The requested police building would be two stories of about 5,000 square feet each and have expanded document storage, evidence rooms, weapons armories, secure interview rooms and holding cells, which the current doublewide trailer building lacks, as well as more office space. The new police building would be connected by a secure passageway to a separate single-story court room building of at least 3,000 square feet with movable furniture that could also be used for community meetings, such as the bimonthly senior citizen lunches.

Shirk reviewed the efforts of the Police Advisory Committee and the recently formed Police Building Subcommittee to find an appropriate lot for construction. Their attention has shifted to a 3.5 acre downtown city block on Beacon Lite Road, south of Gallery Center and west of Grace Best Elementary School, which is owned by Tecton Corporation.

Tecton has offered to build the police and court room buildings to town specifications and then manage them during a 20-year lease-purchase agreement. The cost for the lease-purchase, about $200,000 per month, would be considerably cheaper than the alternative site on the east side of I-25.

This larger Tecton parcel is considered by the committee and department to be preferable to the alternate proposed building that was dedicated to the town by the developers when the Wahlborg parcel was annexed. The Wahlborg site is at the far northeast corner of town, on Highway 105 across from the Mormon chapel.

Shirk noted the Tecton parcel also has room for two other office buildings. Tecton proposes to build a multi-story professional office building on the parcel that, after several years, the town could convert to a new town hall once commercial revenue could support a second lease-purchase agreement. There is also room for another smaller office building, which could become the headquarters for Public Works if the town decides to build it in the future. Shirk emphasized that the preliminary sketch plan drawing he presented from Tecton was just one possible plan and not a firm proposal for consideration at this time.

Commissioner Kathy Spence asked if there are still plans for a police substation in the Monument Marketplace. Shirk said that he would call the facility a mini-station because it would not be occupied most of the time and would consist entirely of a foyer, phone, and interview room. He said a substation implies some continuous presence by an employee if only during weekday business hours. He is opposed to a substation because it would raise false expectations about what services they are able to provide. All walk-in police services for a town the size of Monument should be in a central location, by Town Hall if possible, he added.

Commissioner John Kortgardner and Morgan said they were in favor of the Tecton plan. Morgan asked Shirk to keep copies of all the proposals and financing data so that there would be a record for when the commissioners and trustees change over the next few years.

Staff reorganization reported

Interim Town Manager Cathy Green introduced Town Engineer Tom Kassawara and said his new title would be Director of Development Services. He will take over responsibility from Green for planning as well as reviewing development proposals and construction. Green will retain responsibility for long-term planning and subdivision and zoning regulation revisions under the latest staff reorganization proposal.

Green also reported that she had established a technical review committee to provide input from the town and other affected entities to those submitting pre-application proposals for review and comment. The committee review takes the place of pre-application presentations to the Planning Commission and Board of Trustees.

The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. The next meeting is on June 14, at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held the second Tuesday of the month.

Monument Board of Adjustment, May 12: Rear deck variance approved

The Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a request by S&S Homes for a rear setback variance at 649 Burke Hollow Drive in Saddletree. The standard 9-foot-deep rear deck would be slightly closer than the required 20-foot rear setback due to the shape of the lot and the model of home selected. The rear of the home and deck are not parallel to the back property line. The rear setback as proposed ranged from about 16 feet at one corner to 18 feet at the other corner.

The staff recommended a finding that said in part: "Based upon the size and shape of the lot, there is a practical difficulty in providing an adequately sized deck similar in size to those in other homes in the subdivision." Discussion centered on ensuring that the proposed deck did not interfere with access to rear utility easements and that the variance did not set a bad precedent for future variance requests.

Due to these two considerations, the board rejected a proposal option to make the deck a non-standard 12 feet deep. The board also found that the views of an adjacent property would not be affected in response to a letter of concern from Goetzmann Homes, the developer of the adjacent property,.

The Board of Adjustments meets only when variances are requested. The last meeting was held on Oct. 29, 2004. No future meetings are scheduled at this time.

Home Place Ranch Community Meeting, May 12: Concerns voiced about density, water, traffic

View photos and view or download the land use and open space plans

View earlier photos and plans

Below: (Top, L to R) Joshua Rowland, Kenneth Puncerelli and Linda Sweetman-King discuss the Home Place Ranch project with residents. Photo by John Heiser

Below: View from Higby Road of the eastern edge of Home Place Ranch parcel. Higby Estates is to the left. Photo by Jim Kendrick

The concept plan for the Home Place Ranch development was presented at a community meeting at Lewis-Palmer High School May 12. About 40 local residents attended.

Joshua Rowland and Kenneth Puncerelli of Land Architects and Linda Sweetman-King of TerraVisions made the presentation. Rowland said they had previously made a similar presentation to the residents of the Homestead subdivision in Jackson Creek.

General

The project plan calls for a clustered development with 976 single-family detached houses on 430-440 acres south of Higby Road and east of the Jackson Creek development.

The residential portion would cover about 290 acres at an average density of 3.4 houses per acre.

The plan calls for 149 acres (33 percent of the total area) as open space, including a regional park, drainage areas and ponds, and Preble’s meadow jumping mouse (PMJM) habitat. Including the open space, the average density is 2.2 houses per acre.

The small-scale retail component shown in prior versions of the plan has been removed. Puncerelli said that due to the location, it was concluded that the retail component is not viable.

Puncerelli said the property is under contract but has not been closed on yet. He added that completion of the project would likely take five to seven years.

Roads

The project would be bisected by the extension of Gleneagle Drive as a two-lane divided local collector road with a landscaped median and bike lane. Rowland noted that steep terrain and the location of drainage areas have resulted in an "S" shaped route for the road.

The plan shows a second road that intersects Gleneagle Drive and skirts the eastern boundary of the property to connect to Higby Road.

Puncerelli said the second road is needed due to the number of lots being proposed.

Several Higby Estates residents expressed dissatisfaction with the proximity of the second road to their properties and asked that it be eliminated or moved west.

A third possible road is shown starting opposite Fairplay and looping to the west to connect back to Higby Road.

The plan shows no road connections into the Jackson Creek or Higby Estates developments. Puncerelli said it was possible there might be a connection added into Jackson Creek on the west side of the development.

Traffic

In response to residents’ questions, Puncerelli said any improvements to be made to Higby Road as part of this project would be determined by the town. He noted that a traffic study had not yet been done.

One resident said, "Traffic will be a big problem." Another added, "We have regular pile-ups on Higby Road."

Densities

The project is divided into three areas with differing densities. The eastern-most portion, which consists of 81 acres adjacent to the Higby Estates development, would average one to two houses per acre. The areas totaling 172 acres next to the Jackson Creek and south Woodmoor developments would average three to four houses per acre. The central portion, 38 acres which Rowland suggested might be patio homes, would average six to eight houses per acre.

Residents noted that the average density in the Higby Estates subdivision is more than 2 acres per house. They said the proposed density in the portions of the Home Place Ranch plan adjacent to Higby Estates is too high.

Puncerelli suggested that the lots adjacent to Higby would likely be close to 1 acre each.

In response to a question as to whether a low-density option had been considered, Puncerelli replied, "No. We haven’t crossed that bridge. We are pretty committed to these numbers."

Phasing

Rowland said the project would be developed from west to east, with the areas adjacent to Jackson Creek developed first, followed by the higher density portion in the center, and ending with the larger lot portion adjacent to Higby Estates.

Annexation

Puncerelli said the project would apply for annexation to the Town of Monument but had not yet submitted a formal application for annexation. He later added, "So far the town has been very receptive to annexation."

Puncerelli noted that the town would hold public hearings on the annexation and the project plans. He estimated it would be a minimum of a year to reach final plat approval.

Water and sewer

Puncerelli said the project could obtain service from the Triview Metropolitan District, the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, or the Town of Monument. The Triview and Woodmoor districts have infrastructure nearby. The town’s water and sewer lines are west of I-25. Puncerelli said initial discussions have been with Triview.

Residents expressed concern that since Triview and Woodmoor depend on wells, the demand added by this project could result in wells in Higby Estates failing, which would destroy house values.

Puncerelli replied that the town would not approve the project unless there is sufficient water. One resident disagreed saying, "The town has no incentive. It is a different jurisdiction. They won’t take our concerns into account."

Puncerelli said, "State law dictates what local jurisdictions do on water, traffic, drainage, and referral agency comments."

Covenants

Puncerelli said it would be a covenant-controlled community with a homeowners association.

Residents asked whether homes would be required to have grass. Puncerelli replied that the covenants and design guidelines would address landscaping.

Schools

Puncerelli noted that the plan does not include a school site. He added that Lewis-Palmer School District 38 seems more interested in receiving fees instead of having a school site in the development.

Fire

The parcel is in the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District. Puncerelli said the development would be equipped with fire hydrants.

Streetlights

Puncerelli said streetlights would likely be required throughout the subdivision.

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Joshua Rowland and Kenneth Runcerelli can be reached at Land Architects, (303) 734-1777, 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 130, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129.

Linda Sweetman-King can be reached at TerraVisions, (303) 468-6700, 1745 Shea Center Drive, Suite 310, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129.

The developer on the project is Dale Turner, Vice President, Colorado Commercial Builders, 264-6955, 5410 Powers Center Point, Suite 100, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

View photos and view or download the land use and open space plans

View earlier photos and plans

Donala Water and Sanitation District, May 25: District to aid Monument Lake refilling

Monument will be getting help from at least one of its Tri-Lakes area neighbors in trying to refill its half-empty lake. At their May 25 meeting, Donala board members voted to accept an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that will allow the town of Monument to buy excess effluent from Donala to use in exchange for water taken from Monument Creek. Dana Duthie, general manager of Donala, expects that Monument will take all available excess effluent through 2006.

Donala seeks loan to finance wastewater plant expansion

Colorado Water and Power Authority (CWPA) will consider Donala’s loan application on Aug. 5. Donala is applying for a loan to fund its share of the Upper Monument Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) expansion. Duthie will attend the meeting. He invited other board members to join him and said that since he will be in Denver, he also hopes to tour the offices of Kirkpatrick-Pettis, the financial management firm hired by the district to handle its investments.

2006 budget paperwork begun

Duthie distributed copies of the 10-year capital projects list to board members. Normally, the list is distributed in July, but Joe Drew, financial advisor for Donala, wants to include it as part of Donala’s loan application, which must be submitted early to make the Aug. 5 CWPA meeting agenda. The list anticipates future projects necessitated by growth and their associated costs, such as new wells, storage tanks, and pipeline upgrades. (Growth items will be self-supporting.) It also includes some maintenance-related expenditures, such as well redrilling, vehicle replacement, and the wastewater treatment plant expansion.

Along with the 2004 Cost of Service Analysis distributed earlier, the capital projects list will be used to make adjustments in the mill levy and rate structure for the district. Other documents to be generated later, including a six-year projection of operations and maintenance expenses, and a recommendation for fee structure, will be used to assemble the proposed budget for next year.

El Paso County Water Authority (EPCWA) update

Pat Ratliff reported that most of the bills relating to water districts had been killed. State Sen. Tom Wiens, who represents northern El Paso County as well as parts of Douglas County and Arapaho County, had been working on two bills establishing new water conservancy districts, neither of which made it to a vote. The bills did not include El Paso County.

The Colorado Water Congress will meet in Steamboat Springs Aug. 25 and 26 for its summer convention. The Congress’s mission is to promote the wise management and stewardship of Colorado’s water resources by educating water providers and the public and by providing a forum where consensus between opposing water users can be achieved. Duthie will attend under the district’s training budget. Duthie informed the board that the convention is open to the public, and members are welcome to attend.

Gary Barber, executive agent for the authority, updated the EPCWA on funding for the ongoing Transit Loss Study. Phase II has been authorized, and the shares have been collected from members to pay for this year’s portion. Barber is working on dividing next year’s costs equitably among members.

At the request of El Paso County Commissioners Wayne Williams and Sallie Clark, the EPCWA sent another letter to the City of Colorado Springs inviting them to join the group. No response had been received to date. Because Colorado Springs has always worked independently of surrounding unincorporated areas in securing its own water supplies, the city has little incentive to join the group. Members are not optimistic that the city will choose at this time to join outlying communities in creating a comprehensive long-term plan to provide water throughout El Paso County.

Dave Miller will present his proposal for high mountain water storage at the next authority meeting in June. The EPCWA and the Palmer Divide Water Group (PDWG) are actively seeking storage and water rights. However, the storage rights Miller has to offer involve the use of hydroelectric power. Though the EPCWA has agreed to listen to Miller’s presentation, the requirements and limitations of such a project probably make it unsuitable for the group’s purposes.

The EPCWA will meet again on June 1 at 9 a.m. in the 3rd floor meeting room of the El Paso County Building, 27 E. Vermijo.

Palmer Divide Water Group

The PDWG held its quarterly regional meeting in Parker on May 11. Members discussed existing possibilities and options for obtaining water now and in the future.

The group further explored the idea of setting up an arrangement with farmers, possibly within a cooperative, to buy water made available through fallowing. With the help of a co-op administrator, participating farmers would agree to not plant and irrigate a percentage of their acreage yearly on a rotating basis and to sell the corresponding percentage of their water to the PDWG. The concept would enable farmers to stay on their land by providing them with cash flow while at the same time supplying water to neighboring communities.

Frank Jaeger, District Manager for Parker Water and Sanitation, has already purchased several small local farms. The Parker district allows the farming families to lease the land and continue raising crops, with the understanding that when the water is needed, the district’s demand will take priority.

Numerous farmers in the Arkansas basin who were part of an irrigation cooperative known as the Ft. Lyons Ditch Company have sold their farms to two investors . The extreme salinity of the soil created a hostile environment for crops, and marginal farms could not compete. Some remaining farms are currently fallowing. Others are irrigating unplanted fields because agricultural water law operates on a "use it or lose it" basis; unexercised water rights expire.

The two men expect to have controlling interest in the ditch co-op soon and would like to transport the water upstream for sale to counties to the north, probably to areas east of Denver. Because of the high salinity of the water and the eastern location of the pipeline, PDWG members are not optimistic that the possibility holds promise for El Paso County as a source of supplemental water.

Castle Pines North, which is headed by former Colorado Springs Utilities staff member Jim McGrady, has indicated it would like to become part of the PDWG. Other entities, including Castle Rock, have shown interest as well.

At a meeting on May 23 in Monument, PDWG members met and discussed options with a potential financier, who may be interested in providing the finances needed to initiate water management and storage projects.

The PDWG will meet again at 9 a.m. on June 23 at the Parker Water and Sanitation office, 19801 E. Main St. in Parker.

Wastewater Plant Expansion

The site application for the WWTF expansion is currently being reviewed by the state of Colorado. The facility is jointly owned and operated by three districts: Donala Water and Sanitation, Triview Metropolitan, and Forest Lakes Estates.

The engineering firm GMS, which is designing the expansion, has released a request for proposals (RFP) from local contractors. Donala, as operator of the WWTF, wants to have the winning contractor on board by the end of the summer so that construction-related input could be included in the last quarter of the design phase.

Yet to be decided is the specific ultraviolet process that will be used to disinfect effluent before release into Monument Creek. Though UV disinfection was chosen over chlorination, Donala has not decided whether to use a closed or open circuit process, or whether medium or high intensity UV would be most cost effective. The RFP outlines specific requirements; individual contractors will be asked to demonstrate which process will best meet the needs of the plant before a final determination is made.

Donala is still waiting on final word from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approving the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse habitat plan so that construction on the new road spur and railroad crossing leading to the facility from the Old Denver Highway can proceed. Though the expansion footprint does not impinge on mouse habitat, roadway improvements to accommodate heavy construction equipment will.

Partners in the WWTF anticipate they will have to replace or reinforce the bridge across Jackson Creek in the near future. In trying to ascertain whether the bridge would support their cement trucks, Transit Mix, which is considering building on a site south of the WWTF, hired an engineer to estimate the load capacity. Transit Mix shared the results with Donala.

The engineer, using bridge span measurements and considering construction materials, estimated that the bridge could support a constant load of roughly 15 tons, more on an intermittent basis. The waste haulers used by the WWTF at present weigh about 26 tons. The engineer said infrequent higher loads could safely use the bridge.

However, during expansion, Duthie estimates that 40-ton cement trucks will cross the bridge approximately 200 times over a period of 15 months. Earthmovers will also be using the bridge. Duthie was not sure of their exact weight, but he is certain they are heavier than the waste haulers. He informed the board that the bridge’s capacity will have to be increased before construction can begin.

While the three joint owners will share the financial responsibility for reinforcement or replacement of the bridge, Transit Mix has not indicated if it will participate at this point. The WWTF partners will negotiate for some reimbursement of their costs should Transit Mix decide to build a batch plant in Forest Lakes.

Roger Sams, engineer for GMS, has proposed that the bridge be reinforced by sinking two additional cement pylons between spans and running two more I-beams across for added support. The reinforcement would not only be cheaper than construction of a new bridge, but might also avoid triggering mouse habitat restrictions. Projects confined to a total area of under 800 square feet would need only permission from the Fish and Wildlife Service and not an additional permit to proceed.

Donala will gather more information and research options to determine whether bridge reinforcement will be adequate or if full replacement is necessary.

Duthie finally received a reply from the Air Force Academy to his March inquiry regarding the possible routing of some Upper Monument Creek wastewater to the Academy wastewater treatment plant. During a Council of Governments hearing on the proposed WWTF expansion, an Academy official had said that the Academy might be interested in importing outside wastewater. He stated that additional piped-in wastewater could help the Academy utilize excess wastewater facility capacity and that the resulting effluent could be used to irrigate playing fields and landscaping on the grounds.

However, the official in charge informed Duthie that the Academy could not engage in any negotiations at this time. The Academy has released an RFP to privatize their wastewater treatment facility. Until bids have been received and evaluated, and a course of action chosen, they cannot consider other related proposals.

The anticipated tightening of ammonia standards on Monument Creek by the Environmental Protection Agency could affect the design of the WWTF expansion. Facilities at the new plant will be unable to achieve compliance if the ammonia limits are lowered for Monument Creek. Engineers will have to look at changing some of the design features if it appears that the creek will be reclassified within 5 to 6 years.

Struthers pipeline

Water and sewer infrastructure to serve future development north of Chaparral Hills and south of Baptist Road is currently being designed. The pipelines will run from Struthers Ranch north along the southern extension of Jackson Creek Parkway, and will be installed before asphalt is laid for the new road. Though there are no immediate plans for development on adjoining properties, the infrastructure can be installed much more cheaply before the road is completed.

The new lines will later tie into Triview Metropolitan District’s lines north of Baptist. The plan is to eventually loop all Tri-Lakes area systems together. In an emergency, other districts in the area would be able to supply water to a district needing more than it has available. For example, should a major forest fire severely deplete one district’s resources, surrounding districts would have the ability to help. And as additional surface water sources are secured, the districts will have the distribution infrastructure already in place.

Well 13D bore

The Well 13D bore that will connect the well on Latrobe to the upper lake of the golf course is almost finished. The boring was done in sections, with only one stretch left to complete. Once the new pipeline is operational, Donala will be able to capture water used to flush the well after a period of inactivity and transport it to the lake.

Chlorinator at Well 8

The chlorinator at Well 8 has been installed. A nearby water storage tank, located on an easement inside Fox Run Park, can now be filled directly from Well 8 (located on the Brown Ranch property) and Well 12 (located in The Ridge at Fox Run). Normally, water from these two wells is transported downhill to the Holbein plant, treated, and pumped back uphill to the storage tank, which gravity-feeds homes in High Meadows (uphill from Holbein) and The Ridge at Fox Run.

The new chlorinator enables the district to pump chlorinated water directly from Wells 8 and 12 to the storage tank, thus bypassing the Holbein plant. The process will be used in the summer during periods of highest demand to ease strain on the existing pipelines. And if a major power outage occurs, the same homes can be supplied with water without having to rely on an auxiliary pump.

Classic Homes negotiates for water at Baptist Camp site

Donala is in the process of negotiating a contract with Classic Homes to supply its new development at the Baptist Camp site with water and sewer service. Classic is talking with Donala and Triview, and has not committed to either. Duthie told the board that the location and timing of the next well to be drilled at Fox Run Park would be determined by the outcome of the negotiations.

Duthie distributed a letter to the board written by Russ and June Gordon on Wuthering Heights Drive in response to Donala’s recent newsletter regarding growth, as well as his response.

Intergovernmental agreement will help refill Monument Lake

Donala has drawn up an agreement, not yet signed, with Monument to provide the town with excess effluent at a cost of $50 per acre-foot. The effluent will be used as exchange to help fill Monument Lake. The town of Monument will retain water from Monument Creek in the lake when Donala has excess effluent credits available, and will pay the district for the amount it stores. Effluent water released from the WWTF into Monument Creek will compensate for the volume Monument keeps in the lake, resulting in no net loss for downstream users, including Colorado Springs. Donala reserved the right to determine "what is excess and available for sale."

The agreement will not affect Donala’s contract with the Gleneagle golf course, which will have first priority. Duthie anticipates that during the summer months, most, if not all, available effluent will be purchased by the golf course.

Woodmoor Water and Sanitation has also expressed interest in purchasing excess effluent from Donala. Duthie anticipates that Monument will buy all Donala’s excess effluent for 2005 and 2006, if the state approves the exchange arrangement. Duthie offered a preliminary bargaining price of $100 per acre-foot to Woodmoor, but said the figure is negotiable at such time excess effluent becomes available.

Until now, the Colorado Water Protective and Development Association, an Arkansas farmer’s co-op, purchased most of Donala’s surplus effluent for $10 per acre-foot. As of the May meeting, the co-op had still not paid its current bill, which runs from April 2004 through March of this year.

Duthie had distributed preliminary copies of the agreement in early May to board members for their comments and approval via e-mail. After reviewing the final version, the board passed a motion