Contents:

• Moved by the music

• Donala Water and Sanitation District, July 20: Donala to borrow $10 million for wastewater plant expansion

• Forest View Acres Water District, July 13: District President Guenther resigns; Board interviews management companies

• Monument Sanitation District, July 19: Director Jeremy Diggins resigns

• Palmer Lake Sanitation District, July 12: Board announces staff reorganization

• Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, July 12: Steininger will sit at state water initiative roundtable

• Protect Our Wells, July 17: Well owners call for survey of groundwater levels

• Palmer Lake Town Council, July 14: Oliver thanks emergency services personnel

• Monument Board of Trustees, July 5: Board approves zoning change for shopping center lot

• Monument Board of Trustees, July 18: Interim treasurer Pamela Smith named town treasurer

• Monument Board of Trustees, August 1: Landreth hired as Public Works Director

• Monument Planning Commission, July 13: Village Center at Monument zoning corrected

• Donald Wescott Fire Protection District Board, June 15: Fire station expansion nears completion

• Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District Board, July 27: District adds Equine Acres

• Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District Board, July 27: Diggins resigns from the board

• Tri-Lakes-Monument Fire Rescue Authority Board, July 27: Authority reviews mid-year results

• Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority, July 8: Special meeting deals with frontage road issues; BRRTA lacks funds for right-of-way

• Woodmoor Improvement Association Board, July 6: Pine Beetle battle continues

• Woodmoor Improvement Association Board, August 3: Still seeking feedback

• July Weather Wrap

• Letters to Our Community

  • July 4th The Parade Winners

• Between The Covers at the Covered Treasures Bookstore: A Summer Afternoon

• High Country Highlights: Help your plants beat the heat

• Bird Watch on the Palmer Divide: Rufous Sided Towhee

• The Society Page: Estemere tour a huge success

• Art Matters: Local artists and the Art Hop

• Special Events and Notices

  • Libraries’ Old-fashioned Ice Cream Social

  • Black Forest Festival

  • Expo features local businesses

  • Black Forest slash-mulch site open

  • AARP Mature Safe Driving Program

  • Dance at the Plaza: Hometown Street Dance

  • Sheriff’s office hosting community meeting

  • Pikes Peak Library District seeks volunteers

  • High Country Chili Cookoff Sept. 10

  • Abused children need advocates

  • Wine and Roses IV coming in October

  • Health fair in October

  • Local company produces DVD for golden anniversary of Disneyland

• Volunteers needed for CERT Training

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Moved by the music

Below: The Pikes Peak Highlanders entertained the crowds at the Monument Street Fair, July 4. L to R: Pipe Maj. (Ret.) Sam Swancutt, Piper Ryan Dean, and Drum Sqt. Michael Wheelon. Photo by Chris Pollard

Zoom in

Below: The Concerts in the Park sponsored by the Historic Monument Merchants Association were a big success again this year. Here we see the audience enjoying a performance by The String Dudes at the July 13 concert in Limbach Park. Photos by Jim Kendrick

Zoom in

Donala received word in late June that it was unlikely treatment facility partner Triview Metropolitan District would qualify for the low-interest federally subsidized loan for its share of the Upper Monument Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) expansion. Donala’s board held a special meeting on June 27 to discuss other options to help provide the $5 million needed to cover Triview’s portion, as the state will deny the necessary site application without proof of financing for both districts. Members decided to amend the application to request the entire $10 million.

Insufficient load capacity of the small bridge across Jackson Creek, which provides access to the WWTF, also threatens to delay work on the project. Time has become especially critical, as a new equalization basin—planned to be under construction by year’s end—is needed to store peak flows for processing later in the day.

Donala’s board unanimously approved the district’s 2004 audit, which will be submitted to the State of Colorado. In June, each member had been provided with a draft copy of the audit to review; final copies were also distributed to the board several days before the July meeting.

Interested individuals may review the audit at the district office, or purchase a copy for $25.

Duthie told the board that investments under the management of Kirkpatrick-Pettis had earned $4,000 since last month. Member Ed Houle remarked that some funds would be coming due in six months, and asked Duthie whether he would be rolling those over for another term. Duthie replied that they would be discussing that issue in executive session.

Larry Bishop, president of EPCWA, Gary Barber, executive agent, and Wayne Williams, El Paso County Commissioner for District 1 and authority member, will be speaking to the Interim Water Committee about El Paso County water issues on Sept. 7. The committee, composed of state senators and representatives selected by the state legislature, was formed to study all issues pertaining to water between legislative sessions.

Counties and municipalities are in the process of selecting members who will sit on the river basin discussion roundtables mandated by HB05-1177, which was passed during the Colorado Legislature’s last session. The bill implements recommendations of Phase II of the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI). (Phase I identified water supply availability and demand across Colorado.)

These roundtable discussion groups will provide a forum where conflicting water interests can work together to hammer out their differences and reach mutually agreeable solutions on contentious issues such as interbasin transfers and water storage projects. Each of the nine major river basins within Colorado will have its own roundtable. An additional group representing groundwater users in the Denver metro area, which includes northern El Paso County, will also be a part of the discussions.

Because parts of El Paso County drain into the Arkansas and Platte River basins, and most areas north of Colorado Springs rely on groundwater supplies, the county will have a seat on three roundtables. The bill specifies that the appointees must live in the basin they represent, but do not have to reside in the county that appointed them.

Phil Steininger, general manager for the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, will represent El Paso County on the Denver metro roundtable; Frank Jaeger, general manger of the Parker Water and Sanitation District, will sit on the Platte River Drainage Roundtable; and Barber, executive agent for the EPCWA and manager for the Palmer Divide Water Group (PDWG), will be on the Arkansas River drainage roundtable.

All municipalities, including Colorado Springs, Palmer Lake and Monument, have also been invited to participate in selecting roundtable representatives.

The PDWG listened to a presentation by lobbyist Dick Brown. In light of the PDWG’s recent success in attracting media attention to northern El Paso County water issues, Brown recommended expanding the group’s efforts. In order to increase the PDWG’s influence, he proposed the following:

• Change the name of the group and broaden its focus to include areas between the Denver metro area and Colorado Springs

• Develop and maintain a Web site to inform and educate residents and outside interests about the group and its mission

• Set aside a lobbying budget to promote water interests in the Colorado Legislature

• Hire a spokesperson and alternate, and formulate a message

The proposal to expand included a significant increase in spending. Although other groups, including Castle Rock and Castle Pines North, have expressed interest in joining, none have yet "signed a check" to ease the present membership’s expenses. The amount current members would have to invest in order to implement the proposals was cost prohibitive.

Though they were supportive of the idea of greater regional representation, most felt the investment needed for such a venture was beyond the fiscal capability of the group. Instead, the PDWG favored cutting back to include upper Monument and northern El Paso County only. Members agreed to discuss options at their June 21 meeting.

Prior to the end of June, Donala received word from Triview general manager Ron Simpson that Triview is likely to not be recommended for approval for the $5 million low-interest loan intended to cover its half of the WWTF expansion. Donala and Triview submitted separate applications for the federally subsidized loans, which are administered by the Colorado Water and Power Authority (CWPA) and will be approved or denied during the Authority’s Aug. 26 meeting.

While Donala is likely to qualify for its $5 million loan, the amount would only cover half of the expansion, and the State of Colorado will not approve the site application without funding confirmation for the full cost of the project. Construction cannot begin without site application approval.

Expansion of the WWTF is necessary, as design engineer Roger Sams of GMS anticipates the current plant will be at 95 percent capacity by at least mid-2006. Once capacity is exceeded, the WWTF would be incapable of consistently meeting state requirements—among them, effluent water quality standards. As operator of the plant, Donala would be responsible for any fines incurred as a result of violations.

Duthie called a special meeting of the board on June 27 to discuss the problem. After listening to financial advisor Joe Drew’s assessment of the options, the board decided to amend the amount requested on Donala’s loan application to $10 million. If approved by the CWPA, the loan would cover the full amount of the expansion.

Further discussion concerning recovery of Triview’s portion was reserved for the July 20 meeting’s executive session. When the public session was reopened, the board announced it had decided not to carry Triview’s portion, and instead will give that district until the end of 2005 to find alternative financing. According to the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the three districts (Triview, Donala, and Forest Lakes Metro District), whoever funds the expansion owns it; so Donala would become sole proprietor of the additional capacity.

Should Triview be unable to secure funding for $5 million, Donala could offer to buy Triview’s third of the existing plant. Triview, which is the provider of water and sewer utilities for all of Jackson Creek, would be forced to decide whether to become a customer of the WWTF or go elsewhere for sewer service. Another option would be for Triview to place a moratorium on growth in its district, which would eliminate the need for additional treatment facility capacity.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) approved the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse habitat plan, so work on the dirt access road from Woodcarver Road, the southern extension of the Old Denver Highway, can begin. Duthie said he expects to resolve remaining issues with Mountain View Electric Association (MVEA) soon, after which MVEA will move its buried electrical lines, enabling contractors to complete the new railroad crossing. The old crossing passed beneath a railroad trestle bridge; the underpass is too small to accommodate larger sludge trucks and the construction equipment that will be utilized during the expansion.

The weight capacity of the small bridge over Jackson Creek continues to cause concern. Fear of the bridge’s collapse under the significantly heavier equipment that will cross the creek during construction led Donala to investigate options for reinforcing the structure.

Duthie repeated that Mike Gaines, a local structural engineer hired by Sams, said the bridge could handle a maximum load of 30 tons between two axles. The sludge trucks servicing the WWTF weigh less than 30 tons, but the concrete trucks and earthmovers that will be used during expansion construction weigh more.

Sams estimated that engineering, design and permitting for bridge reinforcement would cost around $18,000, and construction would run just under $100,000. Duthie described the fix as a "large Band-Aid," which would increase capacity to around 40 or 50 tons.

The IGA for the WWTF specifies that the three co-owners are equally responsible for maintenance costs of access roads. Forest Lakes had argued that bridge replacement or reinforcement is a capital expense, not a maintenance issue. Donala countered that the financial responsibility for a new bridge would therefore fall entirely on Forest Lakes, which led Forest Lakes to rethink its stance.

The Shuck Corporation, owner/developer of Forest Lakes Estates, would like to eventually annex the development to Monument, so it wants to be sure that any bridge improvements are acceptable to the town. In addition, once Forest Lakes has been developed, the district may wish to install a new larger bridge to handle the residential traffic. Consequently, Forest Lakes wants to avoid spending money on a temporary solution.

Shuck has agreed to split the cost of engineering and design for the bridge reinforcement, but has not consented to sharing construction costs. Donala and Triview have taken the position that the bridge must be fixed, or Forest Lakes must provide a letter of indemnity absolving Donala and Triview of any liability associated with bridge failure.

Because any construction associated with the bridge will require permits from several agencies—possibly including the USFWS, the Army Corps of Engineers, Flood Plain Management, and El Paso County—time is of the essence. The current expansion timeline calls for the equalization basin to be started by the end of 2005, and Duthie has stated previously that the basin will be needed sooner rather than later. The plant is already having occasional difficulty handling peak flows; the equalization basin will store excess wastewater and spread processing throughout the day.

Donala had hoped to begin basin construction by November or December, but without immediate action on the bridge, meeting that goal is unlikely.

Duthie reported that testing on Well 9A had produced a flow of 600 gallons per minute. He also said that even though the well was on the western edge of Donala’s district, where production is typically lower, the Arapaho aquifer sands in that location were "very good" and conducive to a high yield. A hydrologist will present recommendations soon, which will include suggested pump size. The well won’t be operational until the end of 2005.

Donala staff doesn’t yet know what, if any, interference effects 9A will have on other district wells in the vicinity, specifically Wells 1 and 2.

Plans to continue filling Monument Lake with the help of water credits obtained through an IGA with Donala have hit a snag. Monument officials had hoped to use Donala’s excess effluent as exchange for water captured from Monument Creek. However, CSU and the state engineer’s office agreed that without the ability to account for Monument Creek and excess effluent flows daily, which Donala presently lacks the ability to do, Monument will not be allowed to retain additional water from the creek.

The town of Monument has hired Lytle Water Solutions to work on setting up a solution agreeable to all involved entities.

Monument does not currently have storage rights for the 132 acre-feet of water already in the reservoir. In order to replace the amount it had previously held back from Monument Creek, the town will be allowed to buy excess effluent from Donala and Triview. Both districts are able to determine the amount of effluent that is excess and therefore available for purchase the month after the actual flow.

Monument will buy all excess at $50 per acre-foot, until the amount released into the creek equals the 132 acre-feet held in the lake. This process will take several months; Donala was only able to sell 20.55 acre-feet to Monument during the month of June.

The fate of the IGA past that point has not yet been determined.

Duthie told the board that Richmond would be finished with its Falcon’s Nest development soon. Both Laing and Keller were continuing to build and sell.

Donala has heard nothing further from Classic Homes regarding its planned purchase of the Black Forest Baptist Camp. The homebuilder had not made further inquiries regarding annexation to Donala as of the July meeting.

There was also no news regarding the development of the former Brown Ranch. The area, now owned by Randy Scholl, has been platted for 66 patio homes and thirty 2½-acre lots. At one point, the Monument Charter Academy had indicated interest in building on the ranch, but the school has not contacted Donala to date.

Board members unanimously accepted an inclusion agreement, and president Charlie Coble signed an order of inclusion for a 2½-acre lot in Chaparral Hills owned by Harland and Latisha Baker. The Bakers subdivided their five-acre property on Lariat Lane. They intend to build on the other lot, and drill their own well and construct a septic system.

The agreement is nearly identical to other inclusion contracts recently approved for lots in Chaparral Hills, except that service will also include sewer hookup, making it a fully taxable member of the district. The Baker agreement had originally been presented to the board in June, but was delayed a month to meet legal notice requirements.

Until now, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) had refused to consider delivering surface water to northern El Paso County communities outside city limits through their planned Southern Delivery System (SDS) pipeline. The merits of the SDS over other alternatives, which will be included in the environmental impact statement, may be partially judged on how well the project fills the needs of the area, not just the needs of Colorado Springs.

In what seems to be a promising move toward a more regional approach, Colorado Springs Utilities staff members Brett Gracely and Courtney Brand met with Duthie on June 21, offering the district the possibility of transporting as much as 400 acre-feet of water per year to help offset Donala’s peak demand. In return, Colorado Springs proposed taking all the district’s excess effluent at their Pikeview station. Donala would also be expected to provide supplemental well water to the city during drought years.

The offer may have been precipitated by Duthie’s published response to a recent editorial in the Pueblo Chieftain. The editorial criticized ongoing efforts by the water group to secure water from Arkansas Valley farmers through a rotating fallowing program. In his letter to the editor, Duthie defended the idea as being advantageous to struggling farmers and northern El Paso County residents. He also pointed out the practicality of building one pipeline instead of two, to move water north from the lower Arkansas Valley to Colorado Springs and communities nearby.

Though Duthie conceded some aspects of CSU’s proposal would be advantageous to the Donala district, he told the board the offer was not sufficient to satisfy Donala’s future needs and did not address the anticipated water requirements of any other northern El Paso County communities. He said the water situation required a regional solution and that in the long run, members of the PDWG were more likely to be successful in procuring surface water and the means to transport it if they worked together, rather than if each entity worked alone.

Duthie drafted a response to CSU thanking them for their interest and stating that neither Donala nor PDWG currently has the rights to even the small amount of surface water discussed. And should surface water rights in the Arkansas Valley be secured by the PDWG, the amounts would be large enough to serve the entire area. However, Duthie wrote that the PDWG would discuss the utility’s possible interest in surface water transport during its next meeting and would inform CSU if it had a proposal to offer.

Board members unanimously passed a resolution increasing the amount future Donala directors will be paid. New members will receive compensation of $100 per meeting, not to exceed a yearly maximum of $1,600. Current Donala board members are ineligible for the raise unless reelected for another term.

The Colorado Legislature raised the compensation limits in April when the governor signed Senate Bill 05-12 into law, which increased the per-meeting limit to $100 from a previous maximum of $75, and changed the previous yearly cap from $1,200 to $1,600. The increase is not automatic; each district must pass a resolution to institute any change in compensation. The bill only applies to members newly elected or reelected after July 1, 2005, when the new law took effect. This stipulation prevents present special district board members from voting to increase their own pay.

Sitting Donala directors will continue to receive $75 per meeting for the remainder of their terms, not to exceed $1,200 in any calendar year.

Duthie distributed a tentative schedule to the board for meetings through March 2006, and asked members to check the dates against their own calendars to make sure the meetings will fit into their schedules. Several dates were changed to accommodate conflicts. The board meetings for August, September, and October will take place on the third Wednesday of the month as planned, but the November meeting has been moved to the 30th, which is the last (fifth) Wednesday of the month, and the regular December meeting has been canceled.

The January, February, and March meetings for 2006 are also listed on the schedule. Friday, Jan. 6 will be the first meeting of the year. February’s meeting will be held on the usual third Wednesday, which is Feb. 15. March’s date was switched to the 29th, which is the fifth Wednesday of the month. Meeting dates for the rest of 2006 are yet to be announced.

Duthie also listed the timeline for this year’s budget cycle. He plans to present the district’s draft budget for review at the September meeting. Members will receive copies of the final budget on Oct. 15 so that they may read it and ask questions or offer comments during the Oct. 19 meeting. During the November meeting, the board will formally approve the budget and sign the mill levy.

Health insurance premiums for Pacificare, the current provider for Donala, increased nearly 35 percent for 2006. The Pacificare program used by the district in 2005 included a copay system. In order to help defray out-of-pocket costs, Donala required the use of a GAP program.

In an attempt to keep costs down for the district and its employees, Donala staff reviewed several other plans and decided to go with Kaiser Permanente, which was the most comparable to the current insurance program in cost and coverage. Though Kaiser does not have its own system of hospitals and specialists in the Springs, it does require participating patients to use doctors on its list. An additional drawback is that Kaiser does not cooperate with the GAP program. Since few employees used the GAP coverage in 2005 anyway, staff elected to choose Kaiser and drop GAP coverage.

The district also looked at other programs such as cafeteria plans, preferred providers, and self-insurance. Though Donala chose Kaiser for the 2006 cycle, staff will continue to investigate other providers and types of plans over the next few months.

The board went into executive session at 2:25 p.m. to discuss issues pertaining to water, negotiation strategies, and personnel matters.

In addition to the decisions concerning funding for the WWTF, the board made other announcements in public session before adjourning the meeting. Members authorized Duthie to investigate the purchase of renewable water rights and spend up to $500,000 to purchase those rights for the district. They also authorized a pay raise for maintenance technician Troy Vialpando.

The next meeting of the Donala Board of Directors will be on Aug. 17, (the usual third Wednesday) at 1:30 p.m. at the district office, 15850 Holbein Dr.

Forest View Acres Water District, July 13: District President Guenther resigns; Board interviews management companies

View a photo of the FVAWD meeting

By John Heiser

Nearly two dozen people attended the July 13 meeting of the Forest View Acres Water District (FVAWD) board of directors.

Of the five directors, three—Kevin Lonergan, John Anderson, and Barbara Reed-Polatty—were present. Tom Guenther, president of the district, who on July 1 submitted his resignation effective Aug. 1, was ill. Treasurer Brian Cross was traveling on business.

Vice president Lonergan presided.

Two Colorado special district management companies made presentations to the board: Special District Management Services, Inc. (SDMS) of Lakewood and R. S. Wells, L.L.C. of Greenwood Village. Neither company was present for the other’s presentation.

The late Hugh Nevins established the FVAWD in 1957 to provide water to 27 homes. Currently, FVAWD provides water service to 280 residences in the Red Rocks Ranch, Clovenhoof, Villas, Sundance Estates, and Shiloh Pines neighborhoods in unincorporated El Paso County. A five-member board of directors governs the FVAWD. The district has a contract water operations manager, Dan LaFontaine, who is responsible for maintaining the equipment and infrastructure and for managing all aspects of water delivery.

In February, a warrant was issued for the arrest of former contract office manager Patricia Unger on charges of embezzling more than $212,000 in district funds. That amount was subsequently increased to $315,000. Unger surrendered to authorities Feb. 16 and was released on bail awaiting a preliminary hearing, which was initially scheduled for April 18 and then postponed to May 19. The May 19 hearing was continued to allow time for mediation and completion of the audit by Sheri Betzer, a forensic auditor, hired by the district’s attorneys. A mediation session was held July 8. Another one is scheduled for Aug. 19. On July 12, the court hearing was continued to Aug. 22 to review the results of the second mediation session.

The district has filed a civil suit against Unger to recover the missing funds and associated costs. The nonbinding mediation is intended to address the civil and criminal aspects of the case.

Deborah McCoy, President of SDMS, gave that company’s presentation. Some highlights:

• McCoy said she worked at one time as a paralegal for Collins and Cockrell, a law firm that represents governmental entities and was instrumental in founding the Special District Association (SDA).

• SDMS was founded in 1987, has 21 employees, and provides management services to 130 special districts. About half of the districts they work with are small districts.

• SDMS’ offices in Lakewood would serve as the business address for the district and the repository for district records, which would be available to the public during business hours.

• SDMS would draft agendas, prepare packages for the board members, post notices, take meeting minutes, issue water bills, do the bookkeeping, prepare budgets and financial statements, verify invoices, prepare checks for signature, track expenditures against the budget, respond to phone calls and letters from district residents, conduct elections, and maintain records for the district.

• The blended hourly rate is $115 for administrative tasks and $60 for billing. McCoy estimated that the monthly cost would be $2,500 to $3,500 once the records have been recovered and the data for the Forest View Acres Water District have been entered into SDMS’ systems. La Fontaine noted that Unger was receiving about $2,000 per month for her services.

• SDMS would provide a toll-free phone number and 24-hour answering service to handle residents’ calls.

Later in the meeting, Bob Brooks, Managing Director of R. S. Wells L.L.C., made a presentation. Brooks was accompanied by Chérie Talbert and David Peak, Wells project managers, and Christine Harwell, a CPA from Wells’ parent company, Clifton Gunderson, L.L.P. Some highlights of Brooks’ presentation:

• Ray Wells, who was a city and county manager in Kansas and Colorado, founded the company in 1982. He sold it three years ago, and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Clifton Gunderson, L.L.P.

• R. S. Wells, with 25 employees including nine managers, provides management services to 119 special districts, including some of the districts originally managed by Ray Wells when he formed the company.

• Wells’ offices in the Denver Tech Center would serve as the business address for the district and the repository for district records, which would be available to the public during business hours.

• Wells would perform the same tasks proposed by SDMS, namely, draft agendas, prepare packages for the board members, post notices, take meeting minutes, issue water bills, do the bookkeeping, prepare budgets and financial statements, verify invoices, prepare checks for signature, track expenditures against the budget, respond to phone calls and letters from district residents, conduct elections, and maintain records for the district.

• Wells invoices at a variety of hourly rates, depending on who performs each of the tasks. The hourly rates range from $200 per hour for principals of the firm to $40 per hour for secretarial and clerical work. The average hourly rate is about $99. Brooks estimated the cost for general management services would be $12,500 per year ($1,042 per month) once the records have been recovered and the data for the district have been entered into Wells’ systems. Brooks estimated a cost of $6,000 for records recovery. Utility billing was bid at $5 per bill ($1,400 per month for 280 accounts) plus the cost of forms, postage, and meter reading, with an initial setup fee of $500 if the district’s customer information cannot be readily transferred to Wells’ computers.

• Wells would provide a toll-free phone number and 24-hour answering service to handle residents’ calls.

• Brooks estimated it would take 40 to 60 hours over the first few months to get the district’s information organized and filed.

Following Brooks’ presentation, Harwell made a presentation regarding the services available from accounting firm Clifton Gunderson. Some highlights of her presentation:

• The company employs 25 accountants in the Special District Service Department. Of those, 10 are CPAs. It does accounting for about 260 special districts in Colorado.

• Government accounting follows principles set by the Government Accounting Standards Board. Government accounting is very different from accounting for commercial companies.

• Harwell estimated the cost to the district to use the firm would be $18,000 to $22,000 annually after start-up costs.

The minutes of the June 15 special meeting and the June 29 emergency meeting were reviewed and approved.

Since none of the audience members could have attended the June 29 meeting, Reed-Polatty read the minutes for that meeting. Some highlights:

• Reed-Polatty was appointed public information officer for the district.

• The press release regarding Guenther’s resignation was approved.

• Technical committee and water quality reports were approved.

• The meeting lasted 14 minutes. Guenther was absent.

Some highlights of LaFontaine’s report:

• During June, the plant that processes surface water produced 52.28 gallons per minute for 29.4 days for a total of 2.21 million gallons. For the first six months of 2005, the surface plant produced 7.98 million gallons.

• The Arapahoe well produced 96.6 gallons per minute for 2.5 days for a total of 347,800 gallons. For the first six months of 2005, the Arapahoe well produced 4.47 million gallons.

• Total monthly system usage was 2.48 million gallons. Total monthly sales were 1.93 million gallons. The loss for the month was 541,190 gallons or 28 percent.

• Monthly sales in July are expected to be about 3 million gallons. That will exceed what the surface water plant can provide, and the Arapahoe well will be needed to make up for the shortfall.

• All bacteriological sampling and reporting requirements of the Colorado Department of Health were satisfied.

Some highlights of the billing report for June:

• The district billed 280 accounts for a total of 1.92 million gallons of water.

• A total of $19,752 was billed for an average of $70.54 per account. Of that amount, $7,306 was for debt service and the remaining $12,446 was for administrative and water usage fees. The debt service funds go to pay off an $880,000 bond issued in 1995 and a $45,000 loan obtained in 2004.

The financial report submitted by Cross showed an operating account balance of $16,189, a debt service account balance of $3,602, and a contingency account balance of $1,500.

Lonergan reported that the Division of Local Affairs extended the end date for its contract with the district to fund infrastructure improvements from July 2005 to July 2006.

The board unanimously approved checks totaling $15,623 for a variety of bills including $4,566 for LaFontaine’s services; $2,500 to Henkle Drilling, leaving an outstanding balance due of $18,604; $2,500 to forensic auditor Betzer; $2,001 for electricity, which includes about $1,300 for the electricity used during the recent maintenance work on the Arapahoe well; $1,280 for part-time contract bookkeeper Anne Bevis’ services; and $1,250 to law firm Petrock & Fendel, leaving an outstanding balance due of $32,843.

Reed-Polatty noted that Betzer was engaged through law firm Petrock & Fendel, which owns the results of her forensic audit work.

Reed-Polatty reported that Guenther, Cross, and Betzer met with the state auditor on July 1 and presented Betzer’s report. She added that the state auditor said the district must submit audit narratives for 2002 and 2003 because the prior documents had forged auditors’ signatures.

Reed-Polatty noted that the water district is not currently mapping expenditures against the budget and is late with its 2004 audit, which was due June 30.

She added, "We need to think about 2005. We need to retain a management firm as soon as we can afford to. I don’t want to run an election (in May 2006) and get a budget ready."

She noted that there would be a savings on the district’s legal expenses, in that a contract district manager could probably answer many of the questions the board members currently ask the district’s attorneys.

Reed-Polatty reported that she had agreed to make a presentation at the SDA conference, Sept. 21-23. She said the district is viewed as "a poster child for what not to do."

Reed-Polatty asked for a motion to cover her expenses associated with attendance at the conference. The matter was tabled when the board realized that if Reed-Polatty abstained from voting on such a motion, there would not be a quorum.

Reed-Polatty reported that the district’s attorney, James Petrock, said the district must schedule a properly noticed public hearing on the proposed inclusion of LeRoy Schmidt’s 40-acre parcel.

As reported in the July issue of OCN, at the June meeting of the board Schmidt said he has a house on 40 acres with a formerly low-producing well that has now gone dry. He said he has no intention to subdivide the property; he would pay a tap fee, legal fees, and the cost of running pipe to his property, and he would transfer to the district the water rights associated with his property. He asked for a waiver from the district’s inclusion fee, which Lonergan said would be about $120,000.

At the June meeting, the board unanimously voted to enter into the temporary service agreement with Schmidt and to accept the inclusion petition for review.

At the July meeting, the board reviewed a proposed inclusion resolution prepared by Petrock. It made temporary service contingent on approval of the inclusion. Lonergan said he would revise the document to separate the arrangement for temporary water service from Schmidt’s request for inclusion in the district.

LaFontaine said the proposed 1-inch, 1,400-foot temporary service pipe to be buried a foot deep had not yet been installed because a temporary service agreement had not been signed. He said he would prepare a temporary service agreement and contact Schmidt.

District resident Ketch Nowacki announced that four people have volunteered to run for election to the board. He said Lonergan was on the board for 24 months during the alleged embezzlement of at least $315,000. He said, "Barbara [Reed-Polatty] and [former treasurer] Jeff Dull figured it out within 60 days." He requested that Lonergan resign to save the district the cost of conducting an election.

Lonergan said, "I agree with much of what you said. I feel responsible and would have resigned in December if the district had personnel in place. I will not run in 2006, if still on the board. I have been asked by the other board members to stay on the board for continuity and technical knowledge of the district." Lonergan said he would not resign at this time but said he would revisit the decision if the county certifies that the recall committee has gathered sufficient signatures to require that a recall election be held.

District resident Micheale Duncan reported that the recall committee has in three weeks gathered 225 signatures on the petition to recall Guenther and 215 signatures on the petition to recall Lonergan. She said the signature gathering effort is continuing. The recall committee has about one more month to gather 240 validated signatures required on each of the petitions to force a recall election.

Noting that the district’s rules and regulations allow for an enterprise fund, Nowacki asked what it had been used for and if it had borrowed any money. Bevis said, "There is no evidence it was ever used."

No response was given to Nowacki’s further question as to why the voters were not asked to approve the $45,000 loan obtained in 2004.

Dull asked why the anticipated income from the Raspberry Ridge development was shown in the meeting minutes as $120,000. Lonergan replied that the actual figure is $150,000, but the district plans to set aside $30,000 to cover the cost of running a service line to the subdivision. Lonergan noted that the developer will dig the trench for the service line.

Reed-Polatty added that the tap fees are not due until the final plat is approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

Reed-Polatty asked the board and audience members for their impressions of the presentations by SDMS and Wells. Dull said, "Both supply everything the district needs and more." Reed-Polatty said, "We have to get someone onboard."

In response to a question regarding the estimated loss calculated by the forensic auditor, Reed-Polatty said that the audit report is an element in the mediation, and the judge has ordered all parties not to disclose anything about the mediation.

Lonergan said that prior to the mediation, Betzer said her approach, given the condition of the district’s records, would be to estimate likely income and expenses for the district and from that estimate how much money is missing. He added that the civil suit filed by the district against Unger asks for restitution and damages to include the attorneys’ fees and the cost to recover or reconstruct the district’s records destroyed by Unger.

District resident Genelle Deavenport asked if the board might appoint Guenther to a vacancy on the board as happened before.

Lonergan said, "Tom really is sick and he doesn’t want to be on the board."

In soliciting volunteers for appointment to fill Guenther’s seat on the board, Reed-Polatty said, "We need people committed to putting in significant time and effort for the district."

The board unanimously voted to go into executive session to discuss confidential matters regarding individual billing issues.

**********

The Forest View Acres Water District normally meets the second Wednesday each month at 7 p.m. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 10. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to obtain the date, time, and location by calling the district at 488-2110.

View a photo of the FVAWD meeting

Below: Six-sections of the Monument Sanitation district holding tanks being installed at the new Trails End lift station to pump residential sewage to the Tri-Lakes Wastewater Treatment Facility on Mitchell Avenue. Each tank weighs 155,000 pounds and can store about 8 hours worth of wastewater at subdivision build out. Black adhesive gaskets form seal between sections. Photos by Jacob Morgan (not Jim Kendrick as stated in the paper)

Zoom in

The Monument Sanitation District (MSD) Board of Directors unanimously accepted the letter of resignation, which had been submitted July 18, by Director Jeremy Diggins. Diggins lost his eligibility to be a director when he sold his rental property on Washington Street, which lies within the district. He is not a resident of MSD or the town of Monument, though he continues to lease commercial space within the town and district on Front Street for his Coffee Cup Restaurant. The board will seek a replacement volunteer to fill the vacancy until the next election.

His letter noted, "It has been a privilege serving our community along side other dedicated citizens. I regret not being able to finish my term but hope the Board will continue to call on me as a citizen and business owner for any help they may need." During his tenure, Diggins’ in-depth knowledge of building permit and health code regulations and restaurant operations was a substantial asset to the board in its consideration of new commercial tap applications.

Diggins also volunteers for numerous community activities such as the Fourth of July Street Fair and the summer concerts in the park, donating the profits of his food sales at these events to town projects such as the Limbach Park band shell. He was also a member of the Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District board until he lost his eligibility for the same reason.

The board continued the refinement of the format of the monthly treasurer’s report from the district’s new accountant firm, Mason Russell West, to meet the new nationwide requirement for a "profit and loss" format. District Auditor Kenny Kresl of Bauerle and Company suggested that the annual depreciated asset value of the district’s one-third ownership of Tri-Lakes Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) should be reported monthly, as well as in the annual audit in the profit and loss section. Kresl noted that including joint facility and district infrastructure depreciation would give the appearance of a loss, in contrast to operating surpluses in previous years in the old format.

Tap fees for the month were $72,160, for new Trails End taps, increasing the year-to-date total to $201,520. Wicklund noted that specific ownership tax revenue would no longer come to the district once the district’s remaining bond payments are completed in 2½ years. There will be some more tap fees from the Village of Monument before the end of the year.

Kresl reviewed the 2004 draft audit he had prepared, which included WWTF joint venture depreciation. There were 49 new users, of which 46 were residential, two were light commercial industrial, and one was heavy commercial. End-of-year net assets were $4,608,324, using the revised equity method. Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District also uses the revised equity method, though Palmer Lake Sanitation District uses a different reporting method. Monument’s one-third net asset value for the WWTF is about $1.2 million; depreciation under the revised reporting method was about $865,000, while $2,086,756 of residual value was added. Direct operating losses of about $85,000 were mostly due to depreciation and more than offset by other income, with a net cash increase of about $50,000 for the year.

District Manager Mike Wicklund concurred with Kresl’s reported results of depreciation, which are required for future bond applications, even if they may "appear to make the district not look as financially successful as it did in previous years under the old reporting procedures."

Kresl praised the diligence and thoroughness of Accounts Administrator Marna Kennedy during the accounting method and district CPA turnover period of the past six months. He summarized by saying there were no items of concern and the staff was running the district effectively and efficiently.

The 2004 audit report was unanimously accepted by the board with a few minor typographical corrections still to be made. Kresl will forward the corrected audit report to the state and send five official copies to the district.

Wicklund invited the board members to attend a groundbreaking ceremony at the WWTF on July 25 for the new laboratory and administrative building. Directors from Woodmoor and Palmer Lake will also attend (see picture on page 11).

The single monthly reading for June copper concentrations in the effluent water discharged by the Tri-Lakes WWTF was 9 parts per billion, well below the temporary permit’s monthly average limit through the end of 2007, but slightly above the proposed permanent limit of 8.3 parts per billion that may apply after that date. The WWTF may have to be modified at great expense should this more stringent dissolved copper standard actually be put into effect.

The board unanimously agreed that it would not contribute $5,000 per month to a separate WWTF capital improvement fund as proposed by Palmer Lake Sanitation District for the annual JUC meeting agenda on Aug. 22. However, the board unanimously agreed that it will always have a substantial cash reserve on hand internally to immediately pay for its one-third contribution for any emergency repair or replacement of WWTF infrastructure in the future.

The district currently has cash reserves of about $1.5 million and plans to have $3 million in reserve at complete district buildout. This reserve should provide for accumulating interest income that would fund capital improvements after there are no more new tap fees to pay for that purpose.

Wicklund reported that the final design of the lift station required for the Trails End subdivision was completed. (Installation of the 155,000-pound concrete holding tanks began on July 26.) Trails End is below the elevation of the Tri-Lakes WWTF, and the subdivision’s wastewater cannot be delivered for treatment by gravity.

Wicklund reported that engineering consultant firm GMS was moving forward with final design of the eastern gravity portion of the Wakonda Hills inclusion project. This phase of the project would deliver wastewater by gravity to the existing Beacon Lite Road collection line. Although Zonta Properties, the developer of the vacant land directly south of Wakonda Hills, has until Aug. 1 to respond to MSD’s proposal to use the property for a gravity collection system for the other two-thirds of the Wakonda Hills subdivision, GMS will now begin to plan to have the rest of the subdivision’s wastewater transported by lifting stations to the district’s existing Beacon Lite collection line. The district had hoped that another third of the Wakonda wastewater could be gravity fed to the WWTF through the Zonta parcel’s collection system, saving the expenses of at least one lift station.

Zonta has not responded to the district’s proposal in any manner for the past several months. The district would forfeit free installation of Zonta sewer infrastructure if it does not give approval for connection of western Wakonda Hills collection lines through the parcel by Aug. 1. The inability to use the Zonta routing increases the cost of the Wakonda Hills inclusion by over $200,000; however, this cost would be more than offset by future collection of Zonta tap fees that would no longer be waived.

Wicklund hopes to have bids in hand for board evaluation for the first phase of Wakonda Hills sewer line construction by mid-September.

Work remains to be completed on the specific easement documentation that each of the subdivision’s homeowners must sign in order to have the district take over their private sewer line.

The board unanimously increased the director stipend from $75 to $100 per meeting and maximum total annual payment from $1,200 to $1,600 per year as permitted by recently passed state legislation. None of the four directors who voted for this rate increase can receive the higher payments until they are re-elected to the board, however. Director Ed Delaney is term limited.

The Department of Homeland Security will be paying for threat assessment evaluation and a three-day training program by the Water Environment Federation for district personnel affiliated with a wastewater treatment facility that processes between 2.5 million and 5.0 million gallons per day. Although the Tri-Lakes WWTF has this capacity (4.2 million gallons per day), the actual average treatment rate is less than 2.5 million gallons per day.

The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Aug. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the district office at 132 Second St.

Below: Groundbreaking July 25 for the new Tri-Lakes Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) lab and administration building. (L to R): Kathleen Williams (Palmer Lake Sanitation District Board Chair), Bill Burks (WWTF operations manager), Skip Morgan (Monument Sanitation Board Chair), Todd Bell (PLSD board member), Chuck Robinove (MSD board member), Phil Steininger (Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District manager), Scott Eilert (WWTF plant operator). Photos by Jim Kendrick

At its regular board meeting on July 12, the board of the Palmer Lake Sanitation District announced changes it had made for future operation of the district. Duane Hanson, whose late wife Bonnie was part-time office manager for the district, will take over the newly created full-time district manager position. He has been part-time maintenance manager for the past six years. Monument CPA The district is seeking someone to fill the half-time position of office assistant to Hanson. Board Chair Kathleen Williams said part-time administrative assistant Janet Grau and her temporary part-time assistant Linda Dillon "moved on." after learning of Hanson’ s appointments during the July 12 meeting.

Hanson will review construction and development plans, do site inspections, solicit and evaluate contractor bids, and prepare budgets for the board. Other duties are still to be defined. Board member Todd Bell said his exact job description remains a "work in progress" due to the dramatic changes in the way Palmer Lake will be conducting day-to-day operations.

Bell said, "In light of the recent Forest View (Acres Water District) events, we have enabled a new process where criminal background checks are conducted through Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A background check was performed on Duane Hanson and all was clear. This will be a standard procedure on all employees, part-time and full-time." Bell also voluntarily underwent a similar CBI investigation, with no problem areas noted.

The board is spending a lot of time to get the district back on track. "Our primary goal is getting our accounting system in order for proper billing and accounting. We have a former contractor and part-time employee working on the accounting system to become acclimated to start bookkeeping right away. We are working with a variety of outside resources to rapidly get business back to normal, minimize impact on our customers, and meet
business objectives."

The next board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Aug. 9 in the Bonnie Hanson Room at the district’s office building, 120 Middle Glenway.

At the July 12 meeting, Phil Steininger, general manager for the Woodmoor District, announced he had been invited to serve on one of the river basin roundtables as recommended in Phase II of the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI).

The board considered a new request for additional water for a small commercial development behind the BP station on Woodmoor Drive, and chose a contractor to build the new district warehouse adjacent to the Woodmoor office.

Board directors Jim Wyss and James Whitelaw were absent.

Hope Winkler, Woodmoor’s office manager, gave the financial update for the month in treasurer Wyss’ absence. She reported that income for the district was at 35 percent, with half the fiscal year behind them. Revenues from new development tap fees have been coming in more slowly than anticipated, but she expects the district to reach income projections as the summer building season progresses. Winkler remarked that the district had been at about the same percentage of income in 2004 and reassured members that the seemingly low figure was not a cause for concern.

Winkler said that most expenditures were within or slightly under budget. However, office expenses were slightly higher than anticipated, mainly due to the unexpected replacement of a computer hard drive that had crashed.

Benny Nasser briefed the board on the most recent meeting of the JUC, which took place the previous evening. The JUC consists of the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, the Monument Sanitation District, and the Palmer Lake Sanitation District, which jointly own and operate the Tri-Lakes Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF).

Plans for the new laboratory and office building were submitted to the Regional Building Department on June 20, and the committee hopes to hold the official groundbreaking ceremony on July 18. Jessie Shaffer, district engineer, told the board that excavation of the foundation would probably begin close to that date and that he would give Steininger a firm date by the end of the week.

The location of the annual meeting of the three participating districts, scheduled for Aug. 22, has been shifted from the Palmer Lake Sanitation District office to the Woodmoor office. Woodmoor’s recording equipment is better able to pick up voices from all over the room; committee members decided it would be more expedient to move the meeting location rather than the recording system. Steininger reminded board members to submit any topics they wished to discuss during that meeting to him, as he would be putting together the agenda.

The JUC discussed setting aside a reserve fund for capital replacements. Todd Bell, member of the Palmer Lake Sanitation District board of directors, proposed that each district pay an additional $5,000 per month to be set aside in an accumulating fund to replace or repair equipment at the shared facility as necessary. At present, each district is assessed its portion of any emergency or planned expenditure on plant equipment on an as-needed basis. The idea is not new; similar proposals have been previously discussed. Bell agreed to prepare a formal proposal to present to the three districts at the annual meeting in August.

Committee members were asked to present the suggestion to their respective boards for consideration. Erin Smith, Woodmoor’s attorney, said that under the current contract, each district is required to pay its share of any costs associated with repair or replacement of equipment at the WWTF. However, any agreement made to set aside funds for future expenditures was unenforceable under the present contract. The board agreed to discuss the idea in executive session.

A contractor had approached the JUC requesting to purchase nonpotable water to spray on roadbeds to reduce dust. Steininger told Nasser and the Woodmoor board that since the JUC doesn’t own the water, but rather treats it for the districts, the contractor would need to purchase it from the districts. Mike Rothberg, consulting engineer with RTW, added that all nonpotable water users would also need to acquire the proper permits from the state to use reclaimed water before such a sale could be considered. Steininger said it would probably be more feasible to remove water from the stream instead and purchase effluent credits from one or more of the districts. He agreed to look into the request.

Nasser said that copper levels listed in the Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) were within limits for the month. When the board questioned the status of evaluations to determine the level of copper that is safe for aquatic life, Rothberg replied that testing was still ongoing. So far, the tests support the temporarily relaxed standards granted to the WWTF by the state.

The committee then discussed a draft press release composed by Bell that was to prohibit Tri-Lakes-area sanitation customers from dumping chemicals into the sewer systems, including copper sulfate compounds intended to kill intruding tree roots. Such copper compounds may be partially to blame for the high copper readings at the WWTF.

The JUC had originally intended to create one release to cover all three districts. After discussion, the committee decided instead that each district should create its own notice addressing the various concerns presented in the original release. Nasser suggested that the word "pesticides" replace "chemicals," as the latter seemed too general. Other suggestions included publishing a list of acceptable substitutes to copper sulfate compounds. Additionally, local plumbers would need to be informed that copper compounds could no longer be used in the area.

Bell suggested that each district should provide an additional $5,000 to the already existing $30,000 "cushion" to ensure sufficient funds were always available to pay the WWTF’s bills on time. (A number of years ago, each district had contributed $10,000 to the JUC bank account.) No agreement was made at the JUC meeting.

Kerry Hicks, who seeks to relocate the Monument Car Wash to Highway 105 and Knollwood Boulevard, again appeared before the board to clarify a request made in June for excess water. Minor discrepancies between written documents and Hicks’ presentation had created some confusion about the exact amounts of water being requested.

District policy allocates ½ acre-foot of water per acre of land. An additional 0.4 acre-foot per acre of administrative excess water may be purchased without having to make a formal request before the board, if approved by the general manager.

Hicks told members he would like to purchase approximately 4.7 acre-feet of excess water over and above the maximum 1.413 acre-feet already available to his site. He also wants to reserve another 5 acre-feet; his estimates indicate he will only use about 2½ acre-feet yearly of that figure, but he told the board that he won’t have a more reliable use figure until the car wash is up and running. He anticipates the 5 acre-foot reserve would cover any expansion for the next 10 years.

Steininger asked that the agreement stipulate the intended use for the water. He stated that Hicks is requesting excess water for use primarily during nonpeak months; the car wash will be operating much more during winter, fall, and spring when demand for residential water is low, and commercial users are not irrigating. Should the business be sold or the use change significantly, Steininger wants to ensure that the board can reconsider the terms of the agreement.

The board will also consider granting an extension to the time limitation outlined in district policy, which states that Woodmoor and the petitioner must sign a contract within 60 days of the board’s approval of the request. Purchase of the site is contingent on the excess water agreement with Woodmoor, so Hicks will not close on the property for at least 90 days after the paperwork is signed.

Steininger told the board he wished to utilize executive session to discuss agreement negotiations involving the potential purchase of water.

The Colorado State Legislature passed a bill this year, HB05-1177, which provides for the permanent establishment of basin roundtables for discussion of water issues as part of the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI). Members were to be chosen based on their water source and river basin drainage.

Though most of El Paso County drains into the Arkansas, a few northern areas drain into the South Platte basin. Consequently, El Paso County was assigned a seat in the South Platte River basin and Arkansas River basin roundtables, and a third seat in the Denver Basin groundwater roundtable. The county was asked to appoint three representatives, each of whom was required to reside within the basin they are to represent, but not necessarily within El Paso County.

Steininger told the board he had been invited to serve on one of the roundtables because he lives just over Monument Divide in the South Platte River basin. He asked the board’s permission to participate, as the appointment would take him away from the district on occasion. Steininger also made it clear that he would be representing all of El Paso County, not just the Woodmoor district.

Members felt that any time taken from his managerial duties would be well worth the advantages of participating, especially since, as a roundtable member, Steininger could keep the board current on the latest developments in water issues. The board agreed unanimously to allow his participation.

Steininger reported that fire hydrant maintenance for the year had been completed. All hydrants in the district have been oiled and operated to ensure that they are functional; four or five will need further adjustment and maintenance. Board president Jim Taylor suggested informing the Woodmoor Fire Department that all Woodmoor district hydrants had been tested and were operational; Steininger agreed.

Woodmoor staff recently recalibrated the gauge that measures the water level in Lake Woodmoor. Technicians noticed a discrepancy between the gauge readings and the visual appearance of lake depth, which prompted them to take survey measurements. According to GIS readings taken at the lake, the gauge, located in the wet well at the lake pump station, was found to read 4 feet lower than the actual level.

Rothberg reported that he was waiting for a final proposal from Timberline Electric and Controls Corporation on the CWTF expansion. Timberline will act as control and electrical subcontractor to the contractor selected to expand the structure. Approximately 60 percent of the design work has been completed. He intends to hold a meeting with Woodmoor staff and Timberline in the next seven to 10 days to go over the RTW’s design.

Smith reminded the board that a legal issue with U.S. Filter regarding the Trident treatment unit will be discussed in executive session.

Steininger told the board that three proposals for the new warehouse facility, ranging from $212,000 to $287,000, had been received. Further discussion regarding the proposals was reserved for executive session.

District engineer Jessie Shaffer reported that his update was essentially the same as last month’s.

Walters Commons: The water and sewer lines for Filing 1 are in place and waiting for acceptance by the district. Plans for Filing 2 are in review. Walters Commons will consist of multifamily homes and is located north of Higby and east of Lewis-Palmer High School.

Village Center at Woodmoor: The Village Center will consist of mixed residential and small commercial and is located off Highway 105. WED construction is presently raising manholes to pavement level on Filing 1. Water and sewer infrastructure plans for Filing 2 are being reviewed by the district.

Water Fill Station: Woodmoor is waiting for the Town of Monument to review plans for the station, in particular the entry to the site. The station will be located off Knollwood across from the Lutheran church. Shaffer is working on the design of the building and expects to submit plans for the board’s review within the next two months. Construction should begin in December or January, with a completion date before Jan. 31, 2006.

Misty Acres: The contractor has resumed work on the north half of Filing 1. Misty Acres is located near County Line Road east of the campground.

High Pines: The contractor is currently working on the infrastructure for Filing 2. High Pines is located on the southeast corner of County Line Road and High Pines Drive.

Water consulting firm Bishop and Brogden is evaluating potential sites for a new Arapahoe well for the district. The Walters family had discussed with Woodmoor the possibility of donating land and access across their property for a well site off Higby Road, but potential interference with other Arapahoe wells nearby has led Bishop and Brogden to investigate other locations. Interestingly, the well may be positioned outside Woodmoor district boundaries, as long as part of the well’s "circle of influence" (area around the well that is directly affected) lies within the district.

Though state, federal, and local laws already prohibit harassment falling under a wide range of categories, district personnel policy at present does not directly address the issue. Steininger had recently attended an insurance session sponsored by Special Districts Association Spring workshop during which anti-harrassment policies were briefly discussed. In following the suggestions presented, he would like to include wording that states harassment will not be tolerated and disciplinary action will be taken against any employee violating the policy. He distributed a general sample policy statement to members for comment. The board approved of the idea. Smith agreed to refine the wording and bring a policy statement back for the board’s acceptance.

Steininger told the board at a previous meeting that he felt the district’s cash reserves were large enough to consider putting some of it into longer-term investments. He collected rate comparisons from several institutions, and wanted further direction from the board. Members agreed to review his findings and discuss investment possibilities in executive session.

Board members discussed a written letter of request for excess water from CoReVet Investment group, LLC. The group wants additional water for its planned strip mall and two additional pad sites, which will be located on the former Sweet property, east of the BP station on Woodmoor Drive and north of Highway 105. The site is approximately 3.7 acres; district allocations allow for 1.85 acre-feet, with an additional 1.48 acre-feet of administrative excess water also available. They are requesting a total of 8.33 acre-feet, with approximately 5 acre-feet of that amount as excess water, which must be approved by the board.

Steininger told board members that if the request is approved, and the investment group or future purchasers of the other two sites construct larger buildings or sell to users with higher water consumption than anticipated, the owners of the buildings will have to submit new requests or stay within their allotments.

Taylor asked if the petitioners included irrigation estimates in their excess water requests. He questioned whether the board could influence the irrigation usage by requiring the owners to Xeriscape.

Steininger replied that the investors had used American Water Works Association tables to estimate water consumption, which calculates water use based on the type of business and square footage. He added that the board could incorporate their concerns over landscaping in the agreement.

Kirk Weiss and John Egan later appeared before the board as members and representatives of the investment group. Weiss told the board that the investors will be developing 16,000 square feet of retail/office space on the first pad and will offer the other two pads for sale. The group anticipates that a sit-down restaurant will eventually be constructed on one of the sites; the other will probably be developed as office space. The investors want to be able to offer the pad sites with water already attached.

Steininger asked if the company had talked to the Town of Monument about putting in a restaurant; Weiss replied that the land is outside Monument boundaries. He also informed board members that access would be off Woodmoor Drive, as issues with Preble’s meadow jumping mouse precluded any consideration of access from Highway 105. He also told the board that the company had already conducted a traffic impact study.

The board made no immediate decision on the request and agreed to consider it in executive session.

Smith asked if there were questions or comments related to the section she had distributed at the last meeting, which dealt with inclusions and fees. Member Ron Turner asked for clarification on inclusions, and whether the petitioner would have to reimburse the district should they decide to withdraw after being substantially into the process. Steininger answered that once the district had invested the equivalent of $5,000, it suspended work until the petitioner came forth with more cash, but costs to that point were probably unrecoverable. The board had no further questions or comments.

Smith said that she did not have the next section ready to hand out this month, but that it would be ready to distribute at the August meeting. She also told members they only had the last two technical sections left to complete.

The public portion of the meeting ended at 2:20 p.m., and the board went into executive session. They had several issues to discuss, including the bids for the new warehouse and the excess water requests. Steininger wished to get further direction on investments. The board also intended to talk about Palmer Divide Water Group issues, and JUC funding reserves.

After reopening the public session of the meeting, the board announced it had selected S.J. Diller Construction to build the new warehouse. Requests for excess water, one from Kerry Hicks for a new car wash, and another from Kirk Weiss and John Egan representing CoReVet Investment group, LLC for a small commercial development, were granted.

The next meeting of the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation board of directors will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 9 at 1 p.m. at the Woodmoor office, 1845 Woodmoor Dr. Meetings are normally held the second Tuesday of the month.

Below: At the Protect Our Wells meeting July 17, POW President Larry Stanley responds to a question from Judy Von Ahlefeldt, Publisher of the Black Forest News. Photo by John Heiser

An estimated 40 people attended the Protect Our Wells (POW) meeting at the Black Forest Community Center July 17. POW President Larry Stanley presided. The primary purpose of the meeting was to refine a presentation to be made at a El Paso County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) workshop August 4 at 1:30 p.m.

Prior to the review of the POW presentation, county commissioner Doug Bruce announced that he is keeping his pledge to vote against development projects where the infrastructure costs are not borne by the developer or those who purchase lots in the new development. He said the county’s present policies shift the cost for schools and other infrastructure needed for new developments to existing taxpayers. He said, "It is time to end subsidies for growth." He also vowed to uphold the county’s rule requiring demonstration of 300 years of water availability for all new developments. He added that the issue of water is one of many growth issues that need to be addressed.

The Denver Basin is a system of bedrock aquifers that extend from north of Denver to south of Colorado Springs. Unlike the common misperception of an underground lake, the water is held in the microscopic pore spaces within the porous rocks. The Denver Basin has supplied water since 1883.

Portions of the Denver Basin lie beneath the northern part of El Paso County east of the Front Range. The four Denver Basin bedrock aquifers—the Dawson, the Denver, the Arapahoe, and the Laramie-Fox Hills—supply most of the water for the Tri-Lakes area, all of the water for Black Forest, and much of the water for the Falcon and northeastern El Paso County areas. The city of Colorado Springs is considering increasing its use of Denver Basin water, especially during droughts. Water providers and private well owners in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Jefferson, Morgan, and Weld counties also draw water from the Denver Basin aquifers.

Many of the points included in the POW presentation came from presentations April 24, 2005 by hydrogeologist Dr. John Moore and March 14, 2004 by geologist Dr. Bob Raynolds. (See "Hydrogeologist confirms declining aquifer water levels," OCN, May 7, 2005 and "Geologist predicts deep aquifer water shortages within a decade," OCN, April 3, 2004 on the web at http://www.ourcommunitynews.org/v5n5.htm#pow and http://www.ourcommunitynews.org/v4n4.htm#pow).

During his 2004 presentation, Raynolds said an obstacle to confronting the problem of the declining water levels in the deep aquifers is that Front Range water providers are scattered and small. To help address that issue, local water providers have formed several organizations. One of those, the El Paso County Water Authority, was founded in 1998. It is composed of about 20 water system operators in El Paso County including the towns of Monument and Palmer Lake, the Donala Water and Sanitation District that serves Gleneagle, the Forest Lakes Metropolitan District intended to serve the Forest Lakes area west of I-25 near Baptist Road, the Triview Metropolitan District that serves Jackson Creek, and the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District.

The County Water Authority commissioned a water report intended to help members meet water demands through 2020. The report was issued in fall 2002 and is available on the county’s Web site at http://adm.elpasoco.com/planning/water_report.asp.

Protect Our Wells (POW), also known as the Denver Basin Aquifers Private Well Owners Association, is a nonprofit, citizen-based group formed to advocate the interests of private well owners. The group was formed about three years ago in response to concerns that the County Water Authority’s 2002 report failed to adequately address the prospects for private wells. POW’s goals are to advocate and promote the unified interests of private well owners at the local and state levels, gather information about the status of Denver Basin groundwater supplies and advocate their conservative use, and educate private well owners about Denver Basin groundwater.

Kathy Hare, a member of the board of directors of the Upper Black Squirrel Creek (UBS) Groundwater Management District, made a presentation on the UBS aquifer. Some of the highlights of her presentation:

• The UBS aquifer is a tributary alluvial aquifer meaning it is recharged by surface water from the 350 square mile UBS basin.

• The UBS aquifer has historically been extensively used for irrigation.

• In 1999, the Colorado State Engineer’s Office said, "Based on the current decline in alluvial saturated thickness, the useful life of the [UBS] aquifer is estimated to be 41.71 years. However, if the proposed municipal use of 7,300 acre-feet annually is realized, this useful life will decrease dramatically."

• Municipal use has dramatically increased. The Cherokee Metropolitan District is currently exporting 3,553 acre-feet (1,161 million gallons) per year from the UBS basin.

• Decreasing water levels in the UBS aquifer have put many wells in jeopardy.

• The Dawson and Denver aquifers underlie portions of the UBS basin. Pumping from the Dawson and Denver aquifers affects the UBS aquifer because of connections between the aquifers.

• The Arapahoe aquifer underlies much of the UBS basin. In Douglas County, the Arapahoe aquifer is losing 30 feet of hydrologic head per year.

• The Laramie Fox Hills aquifer underlies almost the entire UBS basin. Expensive deep (e.g., 1,900 foot) wells are required to reach it. The water requires expensive treatment due to high sulfate levels.

• To extend the life of the UBS aquifer, Hare recommended that exportation of water from the UBS basin be reduced by transporting reuse water from wastewater treatment plants operated by Cherokee and other districts to the northern portion of the UBS basin. She also recommended that ways be found to reduce pumping from the Dawson and Denver aquifers.

Below are some highlights of the POW presentation made by Larry Stanley and Julia Murphy, a registered geologist and hydrogeologist, with Groundwater Investigations, LPC.

• In heavily developed Northern Douglas and Arapahoe Counties, the Dawson aquifer is declining at over 10 feet per year. The Arapahoe aquifer is declining at least one inch per day (30-50 feet per year).

• Along I-25 near Monument, the Arapahoe aquifer has declined between 100 and 250 feet.

• There may be less than 30 years of useful groundwater left in some areas.

• Some unknowns include the rates of decline of aquifer levels throughout El Paso County, the accuracy of the county’s 300-year calculations, whether property owners are complying with usage limitations imposed when they were granted well permits, and the accuracy of developers’ estimates.

• Noting that monitoring of groundwater levels in El Paso County is very limited and localized, Murphy proposed a monitoring program that would add 126 monitoring points focused on aquifers used by private wells. She said the resulting data would help provide a reasonable basis for future water resource decisions. She added that matching funds to help defray the cost of the monitoring program may be available from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Bruce recommended that POW focus their presentation on specific recommendations that are within the jurisdiction of the BOCC such as retaining a county hydrogeologist to evaluate development proposals.

Sun Hills resident Bill Eckert said that measurements of his Dawson aquifer well suggest he may have as little as 25 years of water remaining. He said, "How can anyone confirm 300 years of water availability when I only have 25 years?"

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For more information on Protect Our Wells, contact POW President Larry Stanley at 495-7825 or visit www.protectourwells.org. POW membership costs $25 per year. Mail checks to Protect Our Wells, P.O. Box 88241, Colorado Springs, CO 80908-8241.

Hydrogeologist Julia Murphy of Groundwater Investigations, LPC can be reached at 495-0661.

Raynolds’ presentation is available online at www.protectourwells.org. Under "Resources," click on "presentations" and then "Bedrock aquifers in the Denver Basin: A finite resource."

The report prepared by the El Paso County Water Authority is available online at http://adm.elpasoco.com/planning/water_report.asp.

An audio recording of the August 4 BOCC workshop will probably be posted at http://bcc.elpasoco.com/bocc/agenda.asp.

Below: At the Palmer Lake Town Council meeting July 14 James Burnett, of fireworks contractor Western Enterprises, Inc. addresses the Council. L to R at the table: Town Attorney Larry Gaddis, Trustees Trudy Finan, Max Parker, Chuck Cornell, Mayor Nikki McDonald, Town Clerk Della Gray, and Trustees Brent Sumner, Gary Coleman, and Trish Flake. Photo by Jim Kendrick

Zoom in

There were few dry eyes in Town Hall at the conclusion of the heavily attended Palmer Lake Town Council meeting on July 14 after a moving speech by injured fireworks technician and Palmer Lakes resident Troy Oliver. He thanked all the emergency services and police personnel who helped him and his wife after a launching shell injured him as he conducted the town’s Fourth of July display. Oliver was evacuated from the scene by Centura’s Flight for Life helicopter with fragment wounds to his left forearm. James Burnett, president and CEO of fireworks contractor Western Enterprises, Inc., also thanked the town for its assistance.

All members of the board were present.

Trustee Brent Sumner resigned, as he had previously announced he would, due to the sale of his home. Sumner had taken a public relations position with Utility Notification Center of Colorado in Denver and will be moving to Highlands Ranch.

(The council is seeking candidates to interview to fill Sumner’s position within 60 days. The appointment will last until the next election in April. Interested volunteers with at least one full year of town residency should contact Town Clerk Della Gray at 481-2953 for further information.)

As there was no Town Council Workshop meeting in July, there were no consent items. Payment of bills was unanimously approved.

Buildings Trustee Gary Coleman announced the annual party for town employees would be held on July 16 at noon. He also noted that volunteers from the Little Log Church Youth Group would be repainting Town Hall. Materials will cost $160.

Water Trustee Chuck Cornell said there had been several water line breaks in the town system during the past month. This led to an earlier than expected shutoff of town drinking water for the refilling of Palmer Lake on June 27. He added, "The lake looks good." The state permit for refilling the lake expired in early July.

Police Trustee Trudy Finan reported 156 police calls for June, up from 142 last year. There were 26 cases, 1 custody arrest, 28 traffic citations, 20 traffic and dog warnings, and 4 dog citations, as well as 17 calls to assist the Monument Police Department and other county police agencies.

Finan thanked Officer Mike Brannon for serving for 18 hours on July 4. The display was attended by "15,000 to 20,000 people." She also reported that the town had received a complaint about the fireworks display from local resident Jim Rhatigan, a fireworks technician from a different company than the town’s regular contractor, Western Enterprises. Mayor Nikki MacDonald said she was surprised anyone could complain about the "wonderful show."

Parks and Recreation Trustee Trish Flake observed that the half-hour fireworks show was a "great display." She thanked all the fire and police personnel on duty on July 4, as well as the volunteers who swiftly cleaned up the area around Palmer Lake on the morning of July 5. She and film series coordinator Dan Fralee also thanked all those who attended the Saturday film presentations and discussions on the nature of war in Town Hall.

Roads Trustee Max Parker praised town Roads Supervisor Bob Radosevich for his success in completing all seasonal road repairs prior to the July 4 holiday. He also thanked the Colorado Department of Transportation for fulfilling their promise to complete repaving of Highway 105 before the holiday. The council unanimously accepted a bid of $102,303.24 for paving High Street, Forest View Circle, and Forest View Way. Radosevich said these roadways have been on the improvement list for six years. Estimated completion date is the end of September.

Fire Trustee Brent Sumner reported 33 calls for the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department in June, including 6 fire, 16 medical, 3 wildland, 1 traffic accident, 1 public assist, 3 public contact, 3 other. There were also 4 mutual aid calls. He urged extreme caution when cooking outdoors during the summer dry season. He reminded everyone that a burn permit is required from the fire chief, at a cost of $50, plus a fee of $25 per hour (1 hour minimum) to have the engine on standby at the burn location. At the request of Fire Chief Phillip Beckman Town Attorney Larry Gaddis will upgrade the ordinance to prohibit using wood or wood products in a gas or charcoal grill.

The department received a donation of $900 for supporting the Elephant Rock bike ride and raised $200 at their first annual pancake breakfast last month. Chris Stine completed upgrade certification to Firefighter II, and Nora Birt completed her certification as an emergency medical technician-basic. Sumner also thanked six neighboring regional departments for their assistance on July 4.

"For the last time," Sumner asked residents of the Glen to please post their house numbers where they could be seen from the street by emergency vehicles. The apparent futility of these requests by the fire department has become a running joke at each of the board’s meetings.

Mayor McDonald observed, "I love being Mayor on the Fourth of July" and that it "makes up for all the other problems during the year." She noted that the town is using a lot of drinking water this summer. She also said the town would consider creating a banner ordinance for businesses on Highway 105 at the August workshop.

Greg Cook reported that the Awake the Lake committee collected $580 at the holiday festivities, bringing total collections to $25,581.73.

The board unanimously approved three new business licenses. Extek Cryogenics, 685-E County Line Road, will assemble "precision nickel plated copper stamped metal parts made elsewhere" to be installed by other companies in their "vacuum pumps."

Grunow Enterprises, Inc., 685-C County Line Road, will build and restore pipe organs.

Bonnette, 755 Highway 105, will be a hair-styling business; a condition on this license was obtaining a sales tax permit from the state.

An emergency town ordinance prohibiting gas- and electric-powered "toy vehicles" on public streets was unanimously approved. Gaddis said the wording of the new ordinance is identical to the new state ordinance, and allows citations to be tried in Town Hall instead of in county court in downtown Colorado Springs. During a lengthy discussion, Parker asked if sleds, skis, and bicycles would still be permitted. Gaddis said the ordinance applied to motorized equipment only.

The board unanimously approved two minor vacations on First Street and Laughing Water Drive in an ordinance requested by town staff. The town’s easements were previously vacated, but the records were discovered to have been lost during a title search for a pending sale of the two properties.

Fireworks official responds to "false charges": Burnett said he traveled from Oklahoma to Palmer Lake to support Oliver and to respond to the charges Rhatigan made in a July 7 phone call to a Western Enterprises vice president, as well as to counter the "malicious comments" Rhatigan had made to town staff and residents. He characterized the July 7 phone call as a "verbal assault" filled with "false, absurd accusations and slanderous statements" about the safety of his company’s operations in Palmer Lake.

Burnett said he has 43 years of operational experience in his father’s 60-year-old company. His father still serves on the National Fire Protection Association committee that "writes" the nationwide standards for fireworks displays. Both are leaders in various professional societies in their field. Burnett disputed Rhatigan’s repeated "false claims that he had more expertise and intelligence" than the Burnetts or Oliver.

In a lengthy technical presentation, Burnett explained that none of Rhatigan’s charges—of insufficient safety zones and oversized fireworks—were based in fact. He presented a long letter with numerous attachments showing pictures of every type of round listed in the script for the entire Palmer Lake show. There were no 8- or 10-inch shells fired as Rhatigan had repeatedly charged; the maximum shell fired was 3 inches. No shells exploded 1,500 feet above the ground, as charged; rather, the shells used in Palmer Lake are designed to explode at about 300 feet.

Burnett also displayed a map showing that all separation distances between spectator and VIP sections far exceeded minimum separation standards from the type of equipment used in this show. During his presentation and the discussion that followed, Burnett received four rounds of applause from all in attendance.

Oliver then spoke to the council, thanking them, Burnett, and all the emergency and medical personnel for their "kind thoughts, gestures, and prayers" and "quick thinking in stabilizing my arm and transporting me" by helicopter to the University of Colorado Hospital. He also thanked the police for their "excellent job on crowd management and control." "It is unfortunate that certain individuals would use an unfortunate event such as this as a vehicle for their personal vendettas." He added that the annual fireworks display "is one of those things that make our town special." After Oliver received a standing ovation, McDonald tearfully told him, "You can’t keep the good ones down."

The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m. There will be a combined workshop and regular meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 in Town Hall. Regular meetings are normally held the second Thursday of the month.

The Monument Board of Trustees approved a commercial zoning and utility easement change at Monument Plaza during their meeting on July 5. The board also approved an easement for electrical service to Well 9, but rejected a proposal to endorse Referenda C and D in the November state election. All members of the board were present.

Trustee Gail Drumm was appointed by the Board of Trustees to represent the town on a committee called the Municipal Appointing Authority. This authority will appoint a delegate to represent all 57 El Paso County municipalities at the Arkansas River Basin Roundtable, one of nine new state river basin water roundtables.

Town Manager Cathy Green said that Colorado House Bill 05-1177, titled "Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act," or more commonly known as the "Interbasin Compact," provides a statewide process for resolving problems associated with ongoing drought conditions and competing water needs in Colorado’s nine river basins.

In addition to Drumm, the Municipal Appointing Authority will include representatives appointed by the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, conservation districts, and conservancy districts. The authority will appoint 10 other roundtable members representing environmental, agricultural, recreational, local domestic water provider, and industrial interests. There will also be five members who own water rights and three members who represent interests outside of the basin boundaries. The authority will begin meeting July 15.

The other river basin roundtables are the Dolores, Gunnison, Colorado, North Platte, Rio Grande, San Miguel and San Juan, South Platte, and Yampa-White. There is also a roundtable for the Denver Metro area.

Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara recommended that the town make a single comment to the Board of County Commissioners regarding Classic Consulting Engineering’s proposal for building a new wastewater lift station in Filing 2 of the Greenland Preserve subdivision. The board unanimously approved his recommendation.

The subdivision is located one mile east of I-25 at Silver Horn Lane on the south side of County Line Road. The lift station will service 36 residential single-family home lots, but will have no impact on the town. Kassawara also recommended the perimeter of the lift station lot be completely screened by landscaping.

Kassawara recommended approval of the joint request of Vision Holding LLC and First National Bank of Las Animas that the vacant commercial Lot 4 in the Monument View Subdivision Filing 3 be rezoned from PCD (Planned Commercial Development) to C-1. The zoning change is consistent with the existing C-1 zoning of surrounding commercial lots and with Monument’s Comprehensive Plan. The board unanimously approved. This lot is bounded on the north by the First National Bank building, the east by the Starbucks-People’s Bank building, the south by Monument Plaza shopping center, and the west by the town skateboard park.

Kassawara noted that he had already administratively approved the requested relocation of the lot line separating the two subdivisions. The lot line was shifted north to better align with an existing underground storm drain within a 20-foot drainage easement. This administrative action was not part of the requested ordinance. Developer agent Jerry Hannigan of Hannigan and Associates confirmed Kassawara’s summary. The trustees had no questions for Hannigan.

There was no citizen comment during the public hearing. This vacant commercial lot was part of Lot 4 in the Mountain View Subdivision Filing No. 3. It is now the northern end of Lot 1, Block 1 of the adjacent commercial Briley-Smith Subdivision, which includes Monument Plaza.

A separate ordinance was unanimously approved that vacated an existing 20-foot water line easement and a separate 20-foot utility easement in this vacant lot. Although not part of this ordinance, the vacated easements will be replaced by a realigned 20-foot utility and drainage easement just south of the new property line; this has been administratively approved,

The applicants agreed to pay for moving Mountain View Electric Association’s (MVEA) existing power lines from the vacated utility easement to the new one. Prior to negotiation of these payment and alternative easement agreements, MVEA had objected to the proposed utility easement vacation and ordinance. There were no other written objections.

Mayor Byron Glenn asked several technical questions to confirm that all the required forms and plans associated with the plat amendment had been completed. No citizens commented during the public hearing, nor did the trustees have any comments about the plat amendment.

The board unanimously approved a resolution creating a new 20-foot utility easement so that MVEA could provide electrical power to Lot 3 of the Village at Monument subdivision. Water from Well 9 will be pumped to the Well 8 treatment facility at Second Street and Beacon Lite Road. The installation cost for the electrical service by MVEA is $11,421.

Green and Glenn recommended that the BOT urge citizens to vote in favor of the November ballot initiatives, which she said would allow Colorado to "retain excess revenues for five years to fund state highway projects and education facilities." Green said her recommended wording for the resolution was modeled after the wording recommended by the Colorado Municipal League:

"The Board of Trustees hereby endorses State Referenda C and D and urges its citizens to vote for both measures."

Green added, "Although Monument has no projects on the transportation list, by supporting and funding other transportation projects, Monument projects such as the Baptist interchange will move up on the list for receiving other funding as it becomes available. Her memo to the board also said, "This is not a tax increase; it is retaining excess state funds that fall outside the TABOR limits."

Currently, the allowable annual percentage change in the TABOR revenue limit is based in part on cost of living increases plus state population percentage increases. Another factor in determining TABOR limits changes each year is the amount of tax revenue the state is allowed to keep in the preceding year, after excess revenue is refunded to taxpayers. The cost of living and population percentage increase factor is multiplied by the retained revenue to determine the amount that the TABOR revenue baseline may change the following year.

In a growing economy, both factors contribute to increasing the TABOR revenue limit. In a lagging economy, reduced revenue collections may cause the TABOR limit to not increase as fast as the population and cost-of-living increases would otherwise mandate. However, in a recession, the size of the revenue decline can be so significant that it negates increases in population growth and inflation, leading to a lower TABOR limit in the following year, often referred to as "ratcheting down" the limit. This occurred after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The proposed resolution states that because of the "severely" reduced TABOR revenue limit, as well as offsetting annual increases in the amount of funds that must be reallocated to education due to Amendment 23, "state spending cannot be restored to pre-recession levels without voter approval."

The ballot initiative would allow the state to avoid refunding any excess taxes collected that taxpayers would otherwise receive in refunds, in each of the five years that Referenda C and D are in effect. This would increase the second factor, retained revenue, and "inflate" the TABOR limit baseline increases in excess of those allowed, due to the economy’s inflation in each of the five years the referenda are in effect.

Also, there would be no downward correction back to what the TABOR limit would have otherwise been after completion of the five-year period. The TABOR limit baseline would be permanently increased by a larger dollar amount each of the five years. The proposed resolution states that excess revenues would be used directly for unfunded schools, health care, and higher education (30 percent of the increase, each). The other 10 percent would also pay for bond interest/principal payments for roads, bridges, and school repairs, as well as funding police and fire pension plans.

Green and Glenn also said that passage would move up the start date of construction of all unfunded highway projects even lower on the priority list, such as the interchange improvements.

During the discussion of the proposed resolution, the board was divided along several lines. Glenn said the referenda would accelerate the eventual state financing of the Baptist Road interchange. Drumm said he felt the spending proposals were not well defined, that it was not the board’s job to tell people how they should vote, and that the refunds help the economy to grow and produce more revenue for the state.

Orten said he agreed with Referendum D but not C; but since they are coupled, he remained undecided about his support. He added that he did not think they were the "proper vehicles" to solve the problems they are meant to help solve and the proposed BOT resolution "won’t affect the way voters vote."

Plank said that the initiative would restore the TABOR baseline that had been unexpectedly ratcheted downward during periods of reduced revenue in recent years. Also, the effects of Amendment 23 on mandated annual increases in school funding has caused shifting of funds away from the needs the referenda would address.

A motion to reject the proposed resolution passed 5-2, with Glenn and Plank opposed. After the vote, Glenn said, "I guess we’ll raise sales tax to get the interchange built."

The board unanimously approved the 52-page financial report for May. There were no disbursements over $5,000 to consider. Brown asked Interim Treasurer Pamela Smith to add an additional column in the "Results" section of the report that lists the balance remaining in each account. Plank praised Smith’s revised format that "has a lot of good information."

Smith recommended that the board tell the state, by the July 22 deadline, that it plans to have a ballot question regarding water fund sales tax revenue in the November election. The ballot question will ask town voters for permission to reallocate any of the town’s 1 percent water sales tax revenue not needed for water system debt service and capital fund improvements or water rights purchase within the water enterprise fund for other capital improvement purposes such as financing a new police station.

Green and Town Attorney Gary Shupp added that the wording should request that the unused dollars be available for a variety of other nonwater capital improvement uses.

Attorney Thomas Peltz of Kutak Rock LLP in Denver is the town’s TABOR attorney. Several issues concerning the ballot question still need to be resolved with Peltz before the precise wording is drafted by Shupp and submitted to the state by the Sept. 1 deadline. Some of the policy issues are whether the reallocation would have a "sunset" date or how the water sales tax revenue would be split for water system capital improvements, water debt reduction, and other new purposes.

Smith summarized Peltz’s legal advice in a three-page handout with a question and answer format:

• The 1 percent water sales tax is not pledged in any way to water enterprise fund loan repayment and is not subject to TABOR restrictions.

• The restriction on using the 1 percent water sales tax revenue only for water uses is solely in the wording of the ballot issue that created this sales tax (Ordinance 29-2000), and has nothing to do with TABOR.

• Future water rights purchased by the town must reside in the water enterprise fund.

• If the water enterprise fund was negated for some reason, it could be reestablished at a later date.

• The purpose of the enterprise fund status is to avoid TABOR restrictions on water fund revenues and to be able to borrow money for water needs without voter approval. However, enterprise funds are still subject to some TABOR restrictions.

• General obligation bonds in the debt service fund are pledged to be paid for with property taxes, are not TABOR restricted, and can be paid off early using sales tax revenue without restriction.

• Water fund annual loan payments (principal and interest) are pledged to be paid for from net water fund operating revenues. While a part of the 1 percent water sales tax revenue can also be used to make these payments, it is still grant revenue and subject to TABOR.

The board unanimously approved a resolution in favor of Smith’s recommendation regarding scheduling the November ballot initiative.

Green said the staff would hold a planning session for Limbach Park expansion, within the scope of the town’s Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan, on July 11. Green said that all five interviews of candidates for the vacant Public Works Superintendent position would be completed by July 8. Consultants from the Colorado Commercial Revitalization Association will visit Monument on July 26 and 27 to tour and make recommendations for downtown improvements. Although behind schedule, the new Public Works garage is under way and the foundation will be completed soon.

Green also noted that she would be making a three-part presentation on needed "housekeeping" amendments to the 2005 budget that would account for the many staff reorganization, salary, and personnel changes that have taken place this year. She said that revenue appears to be higher than conservatively budgeted for, and she would also propose some new spending.

In trustee comments, Plank noted the success of the summer concerts in Limbach Park, the monthly Art Hop series, and the Tri-Lakes Cruisers’ car show in drawing additional people from out of town to downtown Monument this summer. Trustee Scott Meszaros and Brown praised the efforts of all the town employees during the Fourth of July parade and street fair festivities. Deputy Town Clerk Irene Walters noted that Tri-Lakes Printing had printed the July newsletter in color at no extra charge.

The meeting adjourned at 7:13 p.m.

After a 48-minute executive session at the start of the July 18 Monument Board of Trustees meeting, Mayor Byron Glenn announced that interim treasurer Pamela Smith had been selected for and had accepted appointment to the permanent treasurer position. She had been working under a 90-day interim contract. The board then approved the appointment unanimously in the open session.

Trustee Gail Drumm was absent. Gabe Paterson of Boy Scout Troop 17 led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Tommie Plank noted the success of the just concluded weekly summer concerts in Limbach Park and the monthly Art Hops that continue through October. She said both "are a nice way to spend a summer evening" in downtown Monument.

The board unanimously approved a proposal to notify state election officials before the July 22 deadline that the town intends to have a ballot issue for the November election. The voter initiative will ask for permission to use some of the town’s one-cent drinking water sales tax for other purposes than water system capital improvements, repairs, and debt service. The specific language of the certified ballot question regarding the water enterprise fund must be submitted to the state by Sept. 1.

The board would like to use some of the sales tax revenue to pay for the police station and courtroom wings of a new town justice center and, perhaps in the future, a new town office building. The wording of the ballot issue is complicated by several actual and potential TABOR restrictions on how much of the water sales tax revenue can be spent in one year as well as by tight spending restrictions in the wording of Ordinance 20-2000, which created the water sales tax and water enterprise fund.

Smith, who is also acting town clerk, has spent two months researching options with a consultant attorney who specializes in TABOR law to define the various issues raised by TABOR and enterprise fund status.

Triview Metropolitan District is responsible for the town’s infrastructure development and maintenance within the Regency Park District. Regency Park includes the Jackson Creek development and most of the commercial properties adjacent to I-25 between Baptist Road and County Line Road.

Triview had proposed that developers who build new construction be charged a fee that would allow for recovery of its construction costs for roads, sewers, and water service. The infrastructure fee would be proportional to the development’s acreage. The unit recovery charge per acre would equal total infrastructure costs incurred by the district to date divided by total acreage in the Triview service area. The developer would also pay an interest fee based on the New York prime interest rate on the day the recovery agreement was signed.

The life span of the draft ordinance that would create this process would be 15 years, without any provision for extension of the time limit. The proposed ordinance calls for the town to calculate and collect the recovery and interest fee payments from the developer within 15 days of signing a cost recovery agreement–at the time the board would approve the final plat and final site development plans–and remit it to Triview within 30 days.

Triview District Manager Ron Simpson had been invited by the board to answer trustee questions that arose when it first considered the district’s request in June. Instead, he asked to have the proposal withdrawn because he had some more details to work out. The proposal was not rejected, and Triview may bring the issue back to the board in the future.

County residents Lee and Dennis Ackerman addressed the board on concerns raised by recent development on the industrial XKE Construction, Inc. parcel at the north end of Washington Street. The parcel was zoned industrial in 1995, but construction at the north end of the large parcel, by the adjacent Ackerman property, has only recently begun. Ackerman’s L-shaped residential horse property wraps around the northwest corner of the XKE property line, which is also the northwest corner of the town boundary.

Lee Ackerman said her property had dropped $150,000 in value since XKE owner Todd Smith turned his property into "an industrial wasteland" and that there were still horses being kept where the long-vacant land had recently been graded. She also said that the easement road that spans the north boundary of the XKE parcel, connecting the end of Washington Street to her front gate driveway, had been realigned several years ago by the previous owner, Clint Larson, and was now being used by Smith for commercial truck traffic.

Ackerman said 60- to 150-year-old pine trees forming a visual screen within the 10-foot buffer zone next to her property line had been allowed to die. She added that excavation just inside the buffer zone had cut into the roots of the buffering trees, that several other pine trees and four patches of scrub oak elsewhere on the property had been taken down, and that Smith had destroyed some "greenway" in the center of the parcel.

Town Manager Cathy Green said that Smith had a right to clear out the trees that were not in the landscape boundary and brush south of the easement road. Ackerman said she didn’t agree with the town’s policy, which requires "only" a 10-foot-wide buffer for an industrial lot, and that the dead trees that were planted specifically for buffering should be replaced on a two-for-one basis in accordance with town regulations.

Mayor Byron Glenn asked Green, Town Attorney Gary Shupp, and Development Services Director Tom Kassawara to check the XKE plat, storm water permit, grading plan, and drainage plan, as well as to determine whether XKE might have to re-survey the road easement to the Ackerman driveway. Kassawara said that the "general grading" being conducted did not require a storm water permit. Green said that if Smith had horses on the industrial property, they would have to be removed. Glenn said the review would be done in two weeks.

Dennis Ackerman, Lee’s husband, also inquired about annexation of their property by the town and rezoning it to industrial. Lee Ackerman said the town’s comprehensive plan calls for the area to remain residential and asked if the board would "look kindly" on their possible request. Glenn said the comprehensive plan is just a guide, and if they submitted an application it would be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

Then Lee Ackerman said she didn’t want to pay town taxes during "a two-year process" just to prepare her property for sale if it were to be rezoned industrial. "What is it that Monument’s going to do for me?" Glenn said, "This was before our time." He added, "We’ll do what we can to make sure he’s not violating anything." Ackerman replied, "Make sure he doesn’t shoot your dog."

Shupp reviewed an amendment to the code on the town’s sales tax and the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the town and Forest Lakes Metropolitan District. The IGA was created when Forest Lakes was annexed in 1989, pre-TABOR. The district will be creating a new one-cent public improvement fee in its business district. The public improvement fee would not be subject to TABOR restrictions because it will be dedicated to a water enterprise fund.

Once implemented, the funds collected by retailers in the business district would be given directly to the Forest Lakes Public Improvement Corporation to pay for water treatment and distribution infrastructure. Under this amendment to the town tax ordinance, the Forest Lakes public improvement fee revenue would count as a tax credit toward the town’s three-cent sales tax.

Under the existing IGA with Forest Lakes, the district receives one-third (one cent of three cents) of the town’s sales tax to compensate for the town water department not providing water to the development. A separate amendment to the IGA is required for creation of the public improvement corporation and fee.

Glenn asked why the district needed more revenue than that provided by its mill levy on the properties. Forest Lakes attorney Darlene Cisneros said the public improvement fee would substitute as a tax credit for one cent of the town’s three cent sales tax that would not be collected. Purchasers would be charged a two-cent tax and a one-cent public improvement fee in lieu of a three-cent tax to avoid TABOR restrictions on how much of the district’s sales tax revenue can be spent within its water enterprise fund . Monument would still receive all its sales tax revenue, and customers would pay no more.

All of the revenue from the fee would be dedicated to the water enterprise fund, avoiding the problems Monument is having with spending more than 10 percent of its one-cent water sales tax under TABOR restrictions.

The board unanimously approved the amendment to the town’s tax code.

The board unanimously approved an ordinance and a resolution that amends the town’s fee schedule to pay for newly initiated construction site observation and inspection by Town Engineer Tony Hurst. In the past, these inspections have been performed by consultant engineering firms and paid for by a single large deposit from the developer. Now there will be specific fees associated with each of several steps of the site development process. The developer will still pay for the development’s costs.

These site inspections will not affect the inspections or fees already being performed by the numerous special districts (such as water, sanitary sewer, and fire) that are operating within the town boundaries under current IGAs. However, no special district would be exempt from paying for added inspections required by the town unless the relevant IGA prohibits the town from adding new requirements.

There was also an amendment that distinguishes between Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District and Triview, because Triview will eventually be taken over by the town in the distant future after its $35 million in debt, which is growing annually, is paid off.

Kassawara said the purpose for the change is to improve quality control to ensure that developers do what they have promised to do during the initial development approval cycle.

The board unanimously approved closing the south end of Adams Street for a health fair at Grace Best Elementary School on Sept. 10 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Also approved was Woody and Catherine Woodworth’s request for closure of Washington Street north of the Chapala Building Parking lot to Third Street on Sept. 10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the second annual High Country Home & Garden Chili Cook-Off. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Tri-Lakes Cares.

The board unanimously approved three liquor license renewals: for the Safeway on Highway 105, the Jackson Creek Chinese Restaurant in the King Soopers center on Baptist Road, and Tri-Lakes Liquor at 586 Highway 105.

A special event liquor license was unanimously approved for the nonprofit Monument Plaza Merchants Association. It will be holding a "Dance at the Plaza" in its parking lot from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Aug. 27, featuring a band, disc jockey, several food stands, and a beer and wine stand with a two-drink maximum. Fay Vogel, manager of Rosie’s, answered questions about possible noise, traffic, and emergency access issues. The board’s approval depends on additional approvals of their final plans by Police Chief Jake Shirk and Fire Marshall Tom Eastburn.

The board unanimously approved payments of $48,298.32 of monthly sales tax revenue to Triview, and two vehicle lease payments of $5,083.64 and $19,457.60 to Wells Fargo Lease for five town vehicles.

Kassawara reported that a new Limbaugh Park Master Plan is being developed to include plans for a new bandshell.

Shirk reported the resignation of police office Administrator and Court Clerk Becky King, effective July 31, for family reasons. About 100 resumes have been received for her position. She will be succeeded by Mary Ellen Chaddick, a former Monument court clerk, on Aug. 9. A routine maintenance contract for police vehicles was awarded to Big O Tires.

Smith reported on her analysis of the 2005 budget and amendments that need to be made, primarily due to turnover in personnel and reorganization. The estimated year-end fund balance of $661,720 exceeds the state requirement of $450,240 by $211,480, not counting unfunded expenses for these changes. Unfunded salary payoffs will be between $75,000 and $100,000, and monthly sales tax revenue continues to be less than the projected figures in the 2005 budget. The board unanimously approved the preliminary budget amendment proposal.

Shupp reported that legal negotiations with District 38 on land donations from Jackson Creek Land Company litigation are continuing. The developer and the school district have not resolved the land dedication required for Jackson Creek development, and the district sued the company and the town.

Green reported that the town is developing a substitute water supply plan for the refilling of Monument Lake. A meeting was held on July 13 between town staff, Donala Water and Sanitation District, Colorado Springs Utilities, and the District 10 Water Engineer’s office. The town plans to substitute retained Monument Creek surface water held back by the Monument Dam with excess effluent water discharged to the creek by Donala. To date, 132.84 acre-feet have been stored in the lake, though a storage permit is still to be obtained.

New measuring equipment will be installed in the creek to accurately measure daily flows that will verify the amount of water stored in the lake and excess effluent delivered to Colorado Springs Utilities by Donala.

Interviews for the vacant Public Works superintendent position have been completed. The town received 30 resumes.

Business owner John Dominowski protested that none of the required public hearings for each of the ordinances considered were opened for citizen comment. Glenn apologized. Dominowski expressed concerns about new inspection burdens on small business development.

Kassawara noted that the fee schedule is scaled to be proportional to the size of the proposed development, and small business fees are unchanged. Glenn said the changes were required for town site inspections because roads that are five years old in Jackson Creek are already cracking and need to be resurfaced, which will cost the town extra money that was not planned for.

Trustee Scott Meszaros resigned from the board, saying he wanted to pursue the town clerk position. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m.

Rich Landreth has accepted the position of Public Works Director and will start work on August 22. His current job is Public Works Director for the town of Bayfield, Colorado.

The Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously approved the rezoning of the entire Village Center at Woodmoor development to Planned Development (PD) at the Aug. 1 meeting. Town Manager Cathy Green and Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara reported their findings from a site inspection of development at XKE Construction’s industrial parcel at the north end of Washington Street.

Trustee Tommie Plank noted that the summer concert in Limbach Park on Aug. 3 would be the last one in the series. All six trustees were present. The vacant seat resulting from the resignation of Scott Meszaros had not yet been filled.

County resident Lee Ackerman asked for the results of the site inspection she had requested on July 18 for the new construction that is underway at the north end of the industrial site of XKE Construction, Inc. Ackerman’s county rural property, an L-shaped residential horse farm, is adjacent to the corner formed by XKE’s western and northern boundary. The Ackerman property driveway accesses the north end of Washington Street via a 50-foot dirt road easement just inside the full width of the northern boundary of the XKE parcel. Ackerman had expressed concern to the Planning Commission on July 13 and the BOT on July 18 about the loss of large screening trees in the landscape buffer along the western boundary of the XKE property, relocation of the road easement by a former owner of the property, and compliance with various town ordinances and the submitted site development plan by XKE owner Todd Smith during recent new industrial construction near her adjacent property.

Ackerman said that the previous XKE parcel owner, Clint Larson, had moved the easement road after 22 years and before he sold the land to Smith in 2000. Shupp said the Colorado legal principle that allows for adverse possession of land abandoned for more than 18 years would not apply in this private easement situation.

Green and Kassawara said that their site inspection showed that the easement road is where it is supposed to be according to the approved plat submitted to the town for rezoning the land from agricultural to industrial in 1995 and that the landscaping buffer was also "legally correct." Green added that Smith had voluntarily agreed to improve the buffer’s vegetation and add rip-rap rocks to the drainages when she asked him to and that all observed development was in conformance with town ordinances and the approved site plan. The trees that were taken down were not in the buffer. Smith’s horses were not in the former pasture during the visit, though they were a legal non-conforming use from before the industrial rezoning . Shupp said that this use would be lost if the horses were absent from the property for over a year.

Glenn suggested that Green get a surveyor to stake the easement to be sure it was in the correct position. Trustee George Brown disagreed and said, "Why are we incurring the cost?" Green said, "I don’t know." Brown said that Ackerman should get her attorney to "go after the other person’s attorney" to settle what appeared to be a civil dispute. "I don’t want to incur any costs." Glenn’s suggestion was dropped.

Ackerman asked if Smith was allowed to have construction trucks also using her residential easement. Shupp and Glenn said Smith could since it was his property. Brown asked Ackerman to meet again with Green so she could receive a town letter that documented all the issues and findings regarding the dispute. Glenn said that Ackerman’s remaining issues with Smith were not part of the board’s jurisdiction. She said, "That’s it?" and then left the building.

Police Chief Jake Shirk administered the oaths of office to Cathy Green for Town Manager and Pamela Smith for Town Treasurer. They had previously been in "acting" and "interim" positions, respectively. Smith remains acting Town Clerk until someone is hired to fill that position, which has been vacant for about two years.

Kassawara said that land owner and developer Dale Beggs, of WED LLC, was seeking a rezoning of the 140 acre Village Center @ Woodmoor development at Knollwood and Highway 105, which is also called the Wahlborg addition. When annexed in September, three filings were rezoned to new categories (R-A, R-B, R-C) that were unique to the parcel. However, these three new zoning categories were never formally approved or codified with an ordinance. Kassawara said he had recommended rezoning the whole parcel to PD because the category would have the flexibility to deal with the entire parcel–including large lot, small lot, and patio home residential, as well as commercial retail–because of the development’s approved master plan and design guidelines. He noted that the master plan was being "modified to incorporate the level of detail required by the Town Code, the Service Plan for the Village Center Metropolitan District, the Annexation and Development Agreement, and the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the property. The Metropolitan District was approved by the Town on September 7, 2004. The design guidelines have previously been approved by the Town, and will be slightly modified by the developer to accommodate details shown on the previously approved Master Site Plan."

Referring to the several Woodmoor residents in the audience, who live in the county, Kassawara added, "You may hear about other issues from others during the hearing process" but the hearing was solely about correcting an incorrect zoning. The issue is a "purely paperwork rezoning" that would ensure that the town’s original intent was carried out, unchanged, and that there had been no change to any documentation regarding annexation or development plans. Only one of four sections in the parcel has been platted.

Trustee Dave Mertz confirmed with Kassawara that the ordinance hearing had been posted and advertised and that all adjacent residents had been notified by mail. Mertz asked if the Woodmoor Improvement Association (WIA) had been notified. WIA vice president and real estate broker Susan Shields had attended the Planning Commission hearing on this rezoning proposal on July 13. She had also participated in the town meetings held during the town’s lengthy approval and annexation cycle for this development last summer as well as town meetings where the Home Place Ranch development was discussed over the past few months. However, WIA architectural control committee member Elizabeth Miller said that the WIA had not been notified of this hearing. Kassawara said he would recheck on the WIA notification for this hearing.

Miller asked if there would be a perimeter split rail and stucco post fence between this development and Woodmoor along the county boundary. Kassawara said he had checked all the approved plans and written documentation for the development and found no reference to a fence that would separate the development from Woodmoor.

Developer Dale Turner said that the only fence that was agreed to would be a screening installed at WED’s expense along the west edge of Knollwood Drive between the Monument Villas patio home development and the commercial portion of the Wahlborg development, which the Monument Villas homeowner’s association had negotiated in August. Turner said there had been no consensus with WIA after WED had agreed to eliminate the trail along the southern and eastern boundary with Woodmoor at WIA’s request. WED had subsequently redesigned all the perimeter residential lots adjacent to include the abandoned trail. He added that there is no town requirement for a trail or a split-rail perimeter fence. Kassawara said the plans met all requirements and standards for development and none depicted the split-rail fence.

During the public hearing, Woodmoor resident Ed Montgomery asked if the heights of the perimeter Wahlborg houses would honor WIA covenants and be controlled to prevent obstruction of adjacent Woodmoor home views of the Front Range. (During BOT hearings for annexation last summer, Beggs stated that he would agree to that WIA request.) Kassawara said "I don’t see anything in the development plans that doesn’t conform" and that he understood Montgomery’s view corridor concerns.

There were no trustee comments after the public hearing and the rezoning ordinance was approved unanimously.

The board unanimously approved a resolution for a special event permit that would allow up to 400 Air Force Academy cadets to run on Second Street from the Santa Fe Trail to Mitchell Avenue, then down to Mount Herman Road on August 4 at about 7:30 a.m. The two streets would not be closed, but there might be some temporary congestion. The "Warrior Run" event marks the end of this summer’s Basic Cadet Training for the entering class.

The board unanimously denied approval of a contract proposal from retired Public Works Supervisor Tom Wall to act as a water consultant, for a retainer fee of $750, to assist in the development of a Future Water Supply Plan for the town at a rate of $25 per hour for up to 30 hours ($750). Orten said it was nice of him to make this offer, but all agreed that the three water consultants currently on retainer could complete the plan.

The board unanimously approved the 50-page June financial report without discussion.

The board unanimously approved Green’s recommendation that construction of the new Public Works garage by town employees be delayed until after the summer and Landreth starts work. She said that the garage "may not create additional working space for the department" and that the construction "is interfering with staff’s ability to do adequate park maintenance." While the original plan was "to avoid the high cost of construction" and complete the work by spring, delays due to "staff turnover and difficulties in obtaining a building permit led to a delay in construction." In addition, "the building will not have heat, water, or electricity. It is unlikely that we will gain office space from this endeavor, either in the new building or in the existing garage. The last concern is over the ability of parks technicians to erect such a large building without prior experience. There are concerns over safety and not having a general contractor on site. The cost of having the manufacturer install the building was estimated at $45,000."

The department was initially authorized to hire an additional full-time person dedicated to working in the parks this summer. The hiring date was moved from June to February so the new hire could also help with construction of the garage. Little parks work has been done due to the difficulties the staff had installing the foundation for this new garage after the building permit delay was resolved. After a lengthy discussion, there was consensus on Green’s recommendation.

The board unanimously agreed to Kassawara’s request that he should not have to add more detail to the new planning fee ordinance. He said he would prefer to be allowed to exercise administrative control over changes to the fee schedule and planning checklists as they are refined. Board members concurred that he should have that leeway as a matter of policy and that there would be too much difficulty if several ordinance amendments and hearings were required to change a few words or adjust some fees to meet actual costs from time to time.

The Triview Metropolitan District objected to the site inspection fees that would pay for Town Engineer Tony Hurst’s oversight of construction projects within the district. Triview District Manager Ron Simpson already pays a consultant with Jackson Creek Land Company, the project manager for new Jackson Creek developments, to prepare inspection reports.

Glenn agreed that this new ordinance appeared to be a form of "double taxation" for Jackson Creek residents. He said that through property tax mill levies for construction bonds the residents pay for more complete inspections than Hurst would conduct. He also said that Triview’s previous inspections of its infrastructure had not prevented poor drainage installations from occurring and early cracking of roads has required premature repaving. There was general agreement by the trustees that more thorough inspections were required to protect the town’s long-term interests. The town will take over the development’s infrastructure if Triview pays off its large debt and is dissolved.

Green reported that the two-day workshop held with the Colorado Community Revitalization Association on July 26 and 27 had been a success. The consultants will submit their report in August detailing their recommendations that would enhance the downtown area’s commercial potential as a retail hub that would attract shoppers from throughout the region.

She said the new street sweeper had arrived and test drives show that it can clean streets in half the time required before. Water bills will contain reminders of watering restrictions. "Triview is concerned about the number of people they’ve seen watering illegally and hope to correct the situation."

Shupp passed out four different rough draft ballot questions that were to help the trustees form their opinions on how to address the complex issues involved in changing the ordinance on how the water sales tax revenue may be used in the future. The board must send a certified ballot question to the state election office by Sept. 1

Glenn said he would like to plan for having a swimming beach and possibly a lifeguard at Monument Lake.

At the end of the meeting, in Public Comments, Dennis Ackerman said that Brown had been "nasty" to his wife Lee earlier in the meeting and told her to "Go to Hell." Dennis Ackerman had not attended the meeting during her remarks. In fact, Brown did not say "Go to Hell" to Lee Ackerman.

Drumm said that the Ackermans "don’t live in the city" and "we won’t pay for your dirty work to take on" Smith. Glenn said the "town has no jurisdiction on your issue" with Smith. Brown said "I never said ‘Go to hell.’ That is ridiculous. You can listen to the tape." Brown then apologized for any misunderstanding she might have had and reiterated that he had not been offensive in any way. Other trustees concurred with Brown and said that Lee Ackerman’s charge was false and without basis.

Deputy Clerk Irene Walters said she would prepare a duplicate tape and Glenn said it should be available for pickup the following afternoon. Ackerman said he didn’t want Walters to edit or alter the recording. (The next day Ackerman went to Town Hall early in the morning but the duplicate was not ready as Glenn had noted. He then returned that afternoon to pick up the copy of the meeting tape Walters had prepared for him. He apologized to Walters for his statement to her the previous evening as she handed him the cassette.)

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. The next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on August 15 in Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held the first and third Monday of the month.

The Monument Planning Commission approved plats and site plans for the first filing of Remington Hills at the north end of Leather Chaps Drive. They also approved a zoning correction for all three filings of the Village Center at Woodmoor parcel at Highway 105 and Knollwood. Commissioner Chairman Ed Delaney and Vice Chairman Kathy Spence were absent. Commissioner Lowell Morgan presided.

The commissioners unanimously approved a motion for continuation of the hearing for the Preliminary Plat and Final PD Site Plan for the Jackson Creek Commerce Center on the northeast corner of Leather Chaps and Jackson Creek Parkway.

Development Service Director Tom Kassawara reported that there were no problem areas with the project and that he had administratively approved preliminary earth moving, although it would be entirely at the developer’s risk if some problems emerged before the Board of Trustees gave final approval for Filing 1.

This filing, on northern Leather Chaps Drive, has 91 semi-custom residential lots and two landscaping tracts for parks and trails. Average lot size is about 10,000 square feet, and there will be about three dwelling units per acre in this filing. Vision Development project manager Rick Blevins said there have been no significant changes since the first discussion with the Planning Commission a year ago. A subdivision improvement agreement is in place with Triview Metropolitan District. When completed, Remington Hills will completely fill the vacant land south of Higby Road between Lewis-Palmer High School and Home Place Ranch, and south to Leather Chaps Drive.

Commissioner Eric Johnson asked if there were any plans for interior road connections with the Home Place Ranch development to the east. Kassawara said there were preliminary plans for that, but it will be some time before houses and roads are built on either parcel near their common boundary. The plat and site plan were unanimously approved with no conditions.

In the initial approval and annexation of the 140-acre Wahlborg parcel, three new zoning categories (R-A, R-B, R-C) for the three different housing areas were to be defined by ordinance, but were never adopted. Due to the large turnover in town staff shortly after the parcel was annexed as the Village Center at Monument, the proper documentation was never created or approved to create these new zoning categories.

Kassawara recommended that the entire parcel be zoned Planned Development (PD), an existing category. He said there would be no changes in any of the previously approved plats, site plans, architectural standards, or subdivision improvement agreements. This is an administrative "housecleaning" correction to use an equivalent existing zoning designation.

The only specific construction plans approved to date are for the first of the three residential filings. Plans for the commercial portion and the other two residential filings will be approved administratively as long as they conform to the general standards previously approved by the Board of Trustees, similar to future construction at Monument Marketplace.

Woodmoor Improvement Association Vice President Susan Shields made a request that the association be provided copies of each of the filings, and amendments, as they are administratively approved. Homes represented by WIA are all in the county. Kassawara said the county should approve the amended filing 1 plan by the end of July and he would then provide her with a copy and all those in the future.

Woodmoor resident Brian Ostell said there had been some runoff onto his Bowstring Road lot adjacent to the graded area under construction, but the problem had been solved. He asked if the drainage for the rest of the development had also been reviewed. Kassawara said he had reviewed all the drainage plans for the filing.

Ostell asked if there would be a perimeter fence. Kassawara said the only perimeter fence would be a screening fence between the patio homes on the west side of Knollwood and the commercial area. Developer Dale Turner said that the proposed split rail fence on the south and east boundaries with Woodmoor that separated the walking trail from neighboring lots "went away when the trail went away" at the request of WIA since "there was no consensus" about the fence with the adjacent homeowners. Turner said he would be open to a discussion with Kassawara about adding the rail fence back to the proposal. Shields said she thought the perimeter fence was a condition of approval. However, it was not.

WIA architectural committee member Elizabeth Miller asked for a contour map with elevations so that they could monitor the drainage plans. Woodmoor resident Ed Montgomery asked if the electrified barbed wire fence separating his backyard from the cattle pasture at the east end of the pasture would be replaced by a split rail fence. Turner said that Montgomery should work out an agreement with his new neighbor if they wanted to share the cost of a fence. The original owners’ houses and cattle should be taken off the Wahlborg ranch property within a month.

Shields and Miller said that there had been extensive property damage to houses neighboring the excavated area due to blowing sand and dirt. Kassawara said these were construction issues that had nothing to do with the zoning question under consideration and that Turner would have to submit any major plan changes for town review and approval. Turner said that all adjacent residents had been sent a letter by his company with a name and phone number to contact for any construction problems and offered his business card to those in attendance.

Shields then said that there should be a barrier between the development and Woodmoor. Morgan said that the Woodmoor residents should talk to Turner after the meeting and called for a vote on the rezoning question. It passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m. The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 10 in Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held the second Wednesday of the month.

Chairman Brian Ritz and Chief Bill Sheldon reported that construction of a third engine bay and new administrative office space is proceeding on a schedule leading to a final acceptance inspection the first week in August. In addition, all the furniture and equipment for the new offices and conference room have been ordered and should be delivered just as the construction is completed. The district’s auditor has asked for a routine 60-day extension from the state to complete the annual report for 2004. All members of the board were present.

Administrative Assistant Ginnette Ritz noted that the accounting firm that is preparing the district’s audit is behind on its own schedule, and the delay in submitting Wescott’s "clean report" was not caused by the district or its accountant. Copies of the final audit report for 2004 may be available at the August board meeting. She also confirmed that the payroll mechanisms needed to initiate the July 1 start of the newly authorized payment of $250 per month for full-time employee paramedic certification have been put in place.

Special District Association Workshop report: Director Joe Potter reported on what he had learned at the workshop he attended. He noted that the cost of residential fire sprinkler systems was coming down now that they have become a requirement in some southwestern desert cities with widely dispersed fire departments. The ceiling sprinkler systems can be installed in a new home for as little as 50 cents per square foot.

Potter also said that:

• Districts are not allowed to use proxies for trustees who know they will be absent at a meeting. Abstentions by board members are to be strictly avoided unless the director has a very clear conflict of interest.

• A substantially condensed version of Robert’s Rules has just been published that should allow board members to understand the rules and apply them at their meetings.

• Board members can bid for contracts offered by their districts, but only if they abstain from the contract award vote and there is full disclosure of director’s membership on the board within the submitted bid and during the discussion of the contract award by the other directors.

• Minutes of regular meetings must be retained indefinitely, while executive session recordings or notes can be discarded after 90 days.

• A clear "lose-lose" situation for any board is to allow the appearance of a hostile workplace environment.

One employee is on short-term disability at this time, with coverage provided by the district from the Fire and Police Protective Association. The employee must pay for continued dental and accident insurance coverage provided by the district while he is on disability. The maximum period allowable for long-term disability coverage is one year, after which a final fitness-for-duty determination would have to be made.

A representative of the Police and Fire Fighter’s Association will be invited back to present their programs to all members of the district during a regular employee meeting. While the district would not pay for any coverage, it would provide for voluntary payroll deductions to pay for any coverage purchased.

The district’s liability insurance policy will be extended four months to establish a calendar year renewal date to make it easier to budget for any rate increases due to inflation from one policy year to the next.

The district’s administrative hiring and safety rules are being revised to comply with new national standards to ensure compliance with workmen’s compensation regulations and eligibility for potential rebates, which can approach $2,000, on insurance premiums during injury-free years.

Personnel and physical fitness evaluation forms are also being revised to standardize initial and continuing certification testing for paid and volunteer members.

Hose testing for the year has been completed. Pump testing for all the fire trucks will be scheduled soon.

Assistant Chief Vinny Burns reported that the district made 101 runs in June, bringing the total to 702 for the year, a 1 percent increase over 2004. The calls consisted of 30 medical, 1 traffic accident, 2 automatic alarm, 1 structure fire, 1 brush fire, 1 electrical hazard, 1 odor, 1 good intention but false, 1 rescue, 1 lightning strike, and 56 AMR ambulance calls, plus 5 mutual aid calls.

During a discussion of response time issues and procedures in other departments, Brian Ritz and Sheldon reiterated that safety will not be compromised in trying to achieve minimum response times and that lights and sirens are only a request for other vehicles to pull over. Emergency equipment should not run stop signs; rather, the driver should slow and confirm a clear intersection before proceeding through a red light.

There was a lengthy discussion about an initiative to ask voters if they wished to approve a waiver on term limits for the district’s board members. Placing the question on the ballot was approved by a vote of 3-2, with Dennis Feltz and Kevin Gould opposed. Each of the board members agreed that none of them would express a position for or against elimination of term limits. State law limits board members to two elected terms. Anyone appointed to the board must run for office at the next election. An appointed term does not count toward the two-term limit.

The board went into executive session at 8:20 p.m. to discuss a personnel matter. After the executive was concluded, the board announced that Sheldon would be retiring at the end of this year and would be replaced by Battalion Chief Jeff Edwards. Also considered for the position were Assistant Chief Burns and Captain Scott Ridings.

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The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Aug. 17 at Station 2, 15000 Sunhills Dr. The meetings are normally held on the third Wednesday of the month.

The Donald Wescott Fire Department is sponsoring its first annual golf tournament, open to all, on August 13 at the Gleneagle Golf Club, with a shotgun start beginning at 8 a.m. The tournament is sponsored by the department’s Rescue 1 Volunteers. Proceeds will go to the Rescue 1 fund to support the volunteers’ development training as firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Fees are $75 per person (green fees, cart, range balls, and cookout.) Corporate sponsorships are available for each of the 18 holes ($200) and teams of four players ($450). Info: Call Pete Azzopardi or Jamie Gutschick at 488-8680 or download an entry form at www.wescottfire.org. The entry deadline is August 11 at 5 p.m.

By John Heiser

The Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District Board of Directors held its regular meeting July 27. All five directors were present.

Following a formal hearing, the board unanimously voted to include 11 of the 12 properties in Equine Acres. The petition for inclusion had been accepted for review at the June 22 meeting.

Captain Joe Yordt reported that a new Qwest phone system has been ordered for Fire Station 1. The new system will provide unified call routing and voice mail among all three stations. The new system will incorporate a new T1 communications line that will also improve data communications between the stations.

Battalion Chief Bryan Jack reported that the contractor has not yet painted the HVAC equipment on the roof and that the grass has not yet been planted.

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The Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District board normally meets the fourth Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for August 24, immediately following the Tri-Lakes-Monument Fire Authority board, which meets at 7 p.m. at Tri-Lakes district firehouse 1, 18650 Highway 105 (near the bowling alley).

For more information, call Chief Denboske at 481-2312 or visit www.tri-lakesfire.com.

Director Jeremy Diggins has resigned from the Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District board (W/MFPD), it was announced at the July 27 meeting. His letter of resignation was read, which indicated he had sold his rental property on Washington Street, making him ineligible to serve on the board. He passed along his thanks to constituents, the board, and to the district’s firefighters.

The remaining four board members were in attendance. The meeting began at 6:33 p.m.

Diggins’ letter was dated July 18, and there was some discussion as to when a replacement had to be selected: 60 days from the date of the letter or the date of the board meeting. It was determined the latter was correct, so Chief Rob Denboske was charged with sending out notices to media outlets requesting applications from anyone interested in serving on the board.

Board president Si Sibell suggested the board write Diggins a letter thanking him for his service.

Treasurer Bob Hansen said that as of June 30, there is $565,729.70 in the Colo Trust account, $110,191.75 in one of the People’s National Bank accounts, and $124,564.70 in the other People’s account.

"We’re at 52.6 percent for the year," Hansen said. However, he said he was concerned that "we’re at 88.9 percent of budget for part-time firefighters." That expense, Denboske said, came from staffing the stations with four employees.

Hansen noted that total budgeted expenses are $1,101,090, while budgeted income is $1,133,070, which will leave around $32,000 remaining at the end of the year for the savings account. "We should be okay if we have to increase the part-time budget," Hansen said.

He then apologized to the public for missing three meetings. (The April and June meetings were canceled for lack of a quorum.) "My priorities are first and foremost with my family," he said, but added that even when he is not at meetings, he is still doing work for the district.

Two or three merchants have had high failure rates on their alarms, which has led to unnecessary trips by the fire department and sheriff’s office. There was a question as to whether the district’s regulations include a provision to charge people for false alarms and whether they even should be charged. Denboske said they have never defined what a nuisance is or what would be the set amount of calls to make a charge. He is going to look into the matter.

Hansen said the financial records prior to early 2004 are needed to clarify the way firefighters’ money was deducted from their paychecks and put into the Fire and Police Protective Association (FPPA) pension fund. A total of $2,650.54 was underpaid for all district employees. That amount, taken from paychecks, would have then been matched by the district.

He said they are still trying to run down records from the previous board. Meanwhile, since it was an "administrative oversight," rather than deduct anything from employees’ paychecks, Hansen suggested the district pay the total employee and district amounts. "It would cost us roughly $5,300 to solve the problem," he said. The board agreed and approved Hansen’s motion to pay the $5,300.

Ingram noted there is a state fire prevention Web site that includes every district in the state—except for the Woodmoor-Monument and Tri-Lakes districts. Denboske said he would research the matter and see what was needed to get the two districts added to the list.

The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.

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The Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District board normally meets the fourth Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 24, but the time has changed. The meeting will follow the Tri-Lakes-Monument Fire Authority board meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. at the Tri-Lakes district firehouse 1, 18650 Highway 105 (near the bowling alley). For more information, call Chief Denboske at 481-2312 or visit www.tri-lakesfire.com.

Below: Tri-Lakes-Monument Fire Authority Board July 27: (L to R): John Hartling, Keith Duncan, Rick Barnes, Charlie Pocock, Si Sibell, Rod Wilson, Bob Hansen, Bill Ingram, and John Hildebrandt. Photo by John Heiser

Zoom in

On July 27, following the separate meetings of the boards of the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District and the Woodmoor/Monument Fire Protection District, the boards met jointly as the Tri-Lakes-Monument Fire Rescue Authority board.

All directors were present except Woodmoor/Monument director Jeremy Diggins, who submitted a letter of resignation.

Below: Cadet Brandon Rigaud, receipient of the Home Town Hero award from his employer, Safeway. Photo by John Heiser

Fire authority president Charlie Pocock introduced Cadet Brandon Rigaud. Pocock said Rigaud, who graduated from high school this year and has been part of the Tri-Lakes district’s cadet program for three years, has been recognized by his employer, Safeway, with a Home Town Hero award for his participation in emergency services. The award includes a $1,000 donation to an organization selected by Rigaud, who designated the donation be given to the Tri-Lakes district’s cadet program.

Firefighter Rudy Gillette reported that The Bowling Alley @ Palmer Lake, next to Station 1, held a fundraiser. He said the fire authority received $2,113 and the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department received $500. Board member Bill Ingram suggested that a letter of thanks be sent to The Bowling Alley.

Pocock reported that High Country Emergency Medical Services, Inc. in Lake George has ceased operations and has donated equipment and supplies to the fire authority. The donations include a 1986 Chevrolet ambulance, a Snowcat off-road vehicle with trailer, and various pieces of durable medical equipment. Pocock expressed appreciation to B Shift Battalion Chief Max Mabrey, who served on the board of High Country, for obtaining the donations for the authority.

John Hildebrandt, treasurer for the Tri-Lakes district and fire authority, distributed copies of his June 30 treasurer’s report. The report covers the Tri-Lakes district and the Woodmoor/Monument district and the resulting financial status of the fire authority through the end of June. Some highlights:

• The districts and, in turn, the fire authority received $1.25 million or 65 percent of the anticipated $1.91 million in property tax revenue for the year, and $137,212 or 48 percent of the anticipated $284,000 in specific ownership taxes for the year.

• The district also received ambulance revenues of $128,628 or 43 percent of the anticipated $300,000 for the year (7 percent below expected levels at this point in the year compared to 5 percent below the expected level last month).

• Administrative expense stands at $137,038 or 59 percent of the budgeted $233,635 for the year, 9 percent over the expected level for this point in the year.

• Salary expense is at $767,249 or 54 percent of the budgeted $1.43 million. It includes $49,506 for part-time employees, which is 114 percent of the $43,433 budgeted to pay for part-time employees for the year.

• Overall expenses year-to-date are $1.31 million, which is 50 percent of the annual budget of $2.62 million.

• The only lease payment remaining this year is $36,950 due Nov. 1 for the new Smeal engine 2212 purchased in 2004.

• Proposed budget increases: part-time salaries $50,000; payroll tax $3,500; accounting $3,000; telephone $2,000; and firefighting supplies $4,000.

• Proposed budget reductions: general administrative expense $5,000; legal $5,000; morale and welfare $4,000; medical exams/services $2,000; capital administrative expense $10,000; and capital building expense $5,000. Hildebrandt said, "We have to scrimp on some nonessentials."

• The proposed budget adjustments leave a shortfall of $32,500. Hildebrandt proposed that the shortfall could be made up from the two districts’ reserve funds. He added that the Tri-Lakes district’s Wachovia reserve account stands at $42,482.

A motion to accept the financial report was unanimously approved.

Pocock introduced a resolution to adjust the budget as proposed by Hildebrandt.

Audience member and former Woodmoor/Monument district board member Tom Conroy asked about the impact of the adjustments on the districts.

Hildebrandt replied that the biggest component was the $50,000 for part-time employee payroll. He noted that the $49,506 spent through June 30 was split, with $27,274 (55 percent) coming from Tri-Lakes and $22,332 (45 percent) coming from Woodmoor/Monument. He added that the $50,000 budget increase, which is based on actual use of part-time employees at each station, would likely be split in about the same proportions.

Woodmoor/Monument treasurer Bob Hansen assured the audience, "We’ll move the money from other categories. We’re not touching our savings. It belongs to Woodmoor/Monument. We’re not turning it over to Tri-Lakes."

Conroy said, "This is a $32,500 spending increase, not a net zero."

Hansen replied, "It might not be that much."

Hildebrandt said, "I think Tom is probably correct. If we spend 100 percent of all line items, we would need an additional $32,500."

Although Hansen left the room during the vote, the other board members unanimously approved the budget adjustment resolution .

Battalion Chief Bryan Jack presented a written six-month review of the authority’s operations. Some highlights:

• The Tri-Lakes district disposed of four vehicles: A 1969 American LaFrance engine was donated to the local union, a 1975 American LaFrance was sold; a 1977 Dodge rescue vehicle was sold; and a 1983 Ford ambulance was donated to the Monument Police Department. That left the authority with three engines (one at each station), two quints (ladder trucks, at stations 1 and 3), two brush trucks (at stations 2 and 3), two chiefs’ vehicles (stations 1 and 3), a 1985 GMC tender (tank truck, at station 2), and three ambulances (two at station 1 and one at station 2).

• The fire authority responded to 115 calls during June, bringing the total for the year to 709. A total of 1,476 vehicle trips were made responding to the 709 calls, with an average of 2.07 vehicles responding to each call. The 115 calls handled in June consisted of 64 medical, 27 fire, 17 traffic accidents, 3 public assists, and 4 calls involving hazardous materials.

• 52 people were transported to local hospitals during June, bringing the total for the year to 292.

• Station 1 on Highway 105 responded to 64 calls, Station 2 on Roller Coaster Road responded to 20 calls, and Station 3 on Woodmoor Drive responded to 31 calls. For the year, Station 1 responded to 321 calls, Station 2 responded to 143 calls, and Station 3 responded to 246 calls.

• On average since 1998, the call volume in the Tri-Lakes area has increased about 13 percent per year. Pocock noted that the 13 percent figure is generally consistent with growth figures determined by the assessor’s office and Lewis-Palmer School District 38.

• The authority’s area has been divided into three districts: District 1 is the area west of I-25, District 3 covers the area from I-25 east to Furrow Road, and District 2 is the area east of Furrow Road.

• The goal is to respond to 90 percent of all calls within 8 minutes. According to the six-month review report, "As of June 30th, the authority average improved to 83 percent. It is foreseeable that Districts 1 & 3 will achieve 8 minute or less response times 90 percent of the time. District 2 will continue to improve but due to the larger area covered and restrictive road access, District 2 may only achieve this goal 80-85 percent of the time." Jack added that Colorado Springs looked at reducing their present 8 minute/90 percent goal to a 6 minute/90 percent goal; they found they would have to build 35 more fire stations over the next 20 years, bringing their total to 56 fire stations.

Tri-Lakes director John Hartling asked why there is no ambulance at Station 3. He said, "It is perceived as a reduction in service."

Jack replied that with the present four-person crews, where one crew member is a paramedic, there is not enough staff to cover an ambulance at Station 3. Jack said, "The goal is six-person crews at each station."

Assistant Chief and EMS Manager Ron Thompson, added, "When volunteers are available, we will move an ambulance to Station 3." He noted that the new 4x4 ambulance is the main one, with the second ambulance at Station 1 ready for the next call. He noted that the ambulance at Station 2 provides additional backup.

Conroy said, "There used to be enough money for a staffed ambulance [at the Woodmoor/Monument station] and now there isn’t."

Hansen said, "With AMR [ambulance company American Medical Response], we had to take one person off the [fire] truck to staff the ambulance. What we have now is better."

Jack added, "Having a 3-person crew [on the fire truck], cuts effectiveness by 50 percent."

Hildebrandt said, "The important thing is when the paramedic gets there, not when the ambulance gets there."

Jack added, "The [response time] clock stops when the first vehicle gets there."

Pocock said, "I’m very, very pleased with the performance in the first six months."

Conroy asked, "What is the strategy and certification requirements by station, crew, etc.?"

Pocock replied, "It is spelled out in the personnel policy manual. The requirement for new hires is firefighter 1, EMT basic, and wildland firefighting red card. They must reach firefighter 2 within two years. Of our 29 paid staff, 20 are firefighter 2."

Thompson presented the emergency medical services report. Some highlights:

• At a recent meeting, EMS managers discussed the increasing problem of collecting for ambulance services since 2003, when Colorado law was changed from no-fault auto insurance to tort. Under the tort system, auto insurance policies no longer automatically cover medical expenses. Thompson distributed a paper from the Trauma Care Preservation Coalition, a statewide group of ambulance companies, hospitals, fire chiefs, physicians, and nurses. The paper read in part: "In 2002, Colorado’s ambulances collected on 77 percent of their transports. In 2003, after the switch to tort, ambulances were only able to collect on 54 percent of transports." The paper said the decline in reimbursements to the state’s trauma services are unprecedented and attributed it to an increase in the number of drivers who lack health insurance and a drop in reimbursement rates from health insurance providers. The paper said the coalition is "aggressively pursuing bi-partisan solutions to the crisis."

• Thompson added that the authority is encountering longer delays in receiving reimbursement. He noted that the district’s administrative coordinator spends an average of two hours on each case to research the associated insurance coverage. Although ambulance revenues were $15,085.51 short of budget as of June 30, reimbursements totaling $6,266.71 have been received during July, reducing the shortfall to $8,818.80.

• Unpaid ambulance reimbursements for 1995 through 1997 totaling $31,185.31 were written off as bad debts.

• Checks Unlimited donated bottled drinking water for the Pueblo fire. Several pallets of the water bottles were not needed and were donated to the North Group. Tri-Lakes received more than 7,000 one-liter bottles and shared them with the Donald Wescott Fire Protection District, the Larkspur Fire Protection District, and the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department. Thompson said a letter of thanks would be sent to Checks Unlimited.

Pocock proposed that the fire authority board hold its meeting at 7 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month and that the individual boards hold their meetings afterward, as needed. The proposal was unanimously approved.

**********

The Tri-Lakes-Monument Fire Authority board holds regular monthly meetings on the fourth Wednesday at 7 p.m., at the Tri-Lakes district firehouse 1, 18650 Highway 105 (near the bowling alley). The next meeting will be held Aug. 24.

For more information, call Chief Denboske at 481-2312 or visit www.tri-lakesfire.com.

After receiving the mailed notification for the July 8 regular meeting, OCN learned that BRRTA held a special meeting on June 10. Management consultant R.S. Wells LLC had not mailed agendas for this special meeting to anyone on the standard BRRTA notification mailing list. There was also no press notification by phone or e-mail, which is a standard practice for regional municipalities and most of the other special districts within the OCN reporting area when holding special meetings.

The report below for the June 10 meeting is based on the draft minutes that accompanied the mailing; all quotations are also taken from these minutes. The July 8 meeting report follows the report of the June 10 meeting.

The board unanimously agreed that it would limit its discussions to the IGA between PPRTA and BRRTA, an engineering report, property acquisitions for right-of-way, and staff reports from the BRRTA attorney and manager.

Absences by Commissioner Jim Bensberg and Trustee David Mertz were excused by the three BRRTA board members in attendance.

Approval of the April 8 regular meeting minutes was unanimously "tabled until (the) next regular board meeting."

BRRTA’s attorney, Jim Hunsaker, said copies of the draft IGA between BRRTA, PPRTA, and BOCC had been submitted "for approval subject to non-substantive changes by the attorneys of the three entities." BRRTA chair Mayor Byron Glenn asked who is responsible for land acquisition. Hunsaker said BRRTA is; the details of giving the purchased rights-of-way to the county will be determined later.

Baptist Road is a county road, though the county Department of Transportation believes the town of Monument should annex it as soon as possible. Glenn has said several times that the town will likely annex it after all the BRRTA improvements have been completed by the county.

Commissioner Wayne Williams observed that PPRTA now has confirmed its ability "to generate the funds necessary for the road improvement project on Baptist Road. BRRTA and the county have management oversight of the project." The board unanimously approved the IGA with the condition regarding nonsubstantive changes by the attorneys.

Frontage road again protested: County Department of Transportation Project Manager Andre Brackin reiterated the county’s long-held position that building a frontage road on the south side of Baptist Road through the vacant 5-acre parcel on the southwest corner of Baptist and Leather Chaps Drive is the best alternative for providing access for the Family of Christ Lutheran Church property and the two adjacent homes to the east after Baptist is widened. The new frontage road would intersect Leather Chaps several hundred feet south of Baptist Road.

The county intends to eliminate driveways onto Baptist Road in order to comply with its safety standards for limited access to a major arterial thoroughfare. The frontage road would eliminate much of the front yards of the two houses but would have little effect on the church’s vacant lot east of its building.

Chaparral Hills property owner Linda Silviera, who lives on an adjacent 5-acre lot on the west side of Leather Chaps, spoke against the frontage road proposal, as she has done at previous BRRTA meetings. She requested that the church be allowed to have a right-in, right-out access on Baptist, just east of the planned Jackson Creek Crossing intersection. She said that people from the church prefer this access to the frontage road proposal. She also asked that the county require a second access for the church to Jackson Creek Crossing at the south end of its parking lot.

The proposed Jackson Creek Crossing Road is currently the right-in, right-out entrance into the King Soopers shopping center, off Baptist Road. It will be improved as a ¾-motion intersection and extended south across Baptist Road into the vacant Barber-Miller-Schmidt parcel. (This parcel, west of the church, is best known as the first proposed site for the Monument Wal-Mart. Currently, there is an unnamed potential buyer interested in the parcel.) This extension will be well below the grade level of the church and its parking lot.

County Department of Transportation Director John McCarty disagreed with Silviera and told the board, "You need to plan now for 2030, and the frontage road addresses those future impacts, where the right-in, right-out does not." County Commissioner Dennis Hisey observed that this alternative requires two church accesses rather than one. Brackin said this proposal would "require a complete redesign from where we are right now."

Ron Doolittle, a representative of the church, said he opposes the right-in, right-out option and asked for a separate full-motion intersection for the church. Williams said another intersection, with or without a traffic light, would be contrary to the county’s limited access guideline for major arterials. The county has already opposed Glenn’s request for a full-motion intersection and traffic light at Jackson Creek Crossing, even though there will be additional traffic generated by the new Jackson Creek Market Village shopping center to be built adjacent to the King Soopers center. The county said the requested traffic light would be too close to the existing light at Jackson Creek Parkway; the minimum major arterial light spacing standard is a half-mile.

Williams said that the church had been told at the time it was built that it would eventually lose its driveway when Baptist Road was widened. He added that he favored the frontage road option because it would avoid the left-turn stacking problem that a right-in, right-out church access would create at Leather Chaps. Since plans call for a median on Baptist, westbound cars exiting the church would have to go east on Baptist to the new Leather Chaps light, then make U-turns or turn left onto northbound Leather Chaps and turn around or use Lyons Tail to Jackson Creek Parkway to get to the Baptist interchange. However, the neighborhood roads were not designed to handle this traffic increase.

Williams also said that traffic engineers could control the timing of the new Leather Chaps light to minimize left turn stacking on northbound Leather Chaps, between the new frontage road and Baptist.

Glenn said that Leather Chaps south of Baptist Road would need paving and additional landscape screening. Brackin asked that the residents on Leather Chaps near the frontage road intersection of Baptist agree on the type of screening that would be most acceptable.

Construction planning progress reported: Project manager Steve Sandvik of consultant engineering firm PBS&J said road construction should begin in February 2006. Although BRRTA must provide an offset of two to four times the acreage of Preble’s mouse habitat that will be destroyed by the road widening, it is expected that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will approve BRRTA’s mouse mitigation plan.

After a preliminary report on several specific pieces of property that must be purchased for right-of-way for the widened road, the board went into executive session at 3:46 p.m. The board returned to open session at 4:36 p.m. to announce agreements regarding the acquisition of four parcels. The board unanimously approved their purchase and authorized Authority Manager Conner Shepherd to execute the necessary paperwork to complete the transactions.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m.

On July 8, the board of the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA) approved payment of bills, as well as the quarterly financial, engineering design, and property acquisition reports. Commissioners Hisey and Bensberg were absent. The board unanimously excused their absence.

The board learned that it didn’t currently have enough funds to purchase all the land necessary to begin construction of the planned short-term improvements on the east side of I-25. However, once the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between BRRTA, Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA), and El Paso County’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is signed, PPRTA should have enough revenue to give to BRRTA by the end of 2005 for right-of-way purchases and engineering design programmed for this year. An IGA is required to specify the various responsibilities that BRRTA, PRRTA, and the county each have for construction of long-planned Baptist Road improvements. Construction will not start until 2006.

BRRTA is responsible for all the improvements that need to be made to Baptist Road within its jurisdiction, even though it is a county road. PRRTA exercises oversight of the spending of its funds, but has not yet made them available to BRRTA. The county, which will take ownership of the improvements upon completion, exercises all other oversight of BRRTA actions.

BRRTA’s limited fee structure for new construction in Jackson Creek will only provide enough revenue to pay for engineering design costs.

County voters approved the PPRTA initiative in the November election. However, the town of Monument chose not to be a part of the RTA ballot issue and so does not pay the new 10-year, one-cent RTA sales tax that will fund the bulk of the BRRTA improvements. While PPRTA’s advertised list of projects includes most of the Baptist Road improvements, it does not include expanding the Baptist Road interchange (Exit 158) on I-25, which is a state responsibility.

Baptist Road will be widened up to seven lanes at Jackson Creek Parkway next year, but the bridge will still only have two lanes for many years to come, worsening the interchange congestion as construction of more stores and houses adds to the traffic on Baptist. The state has no planned date, or funding, for initiating interchange improvements.

Engineering design for all of the Baptist Road improvements, including the interchange, is being performed by one engineering consultant, PBS&J. This should minimize future coordination problems between the county and state regarding interchange design and construction.

Monument’s Board of Trustees has proposed that all commercial property owners within BRRTA’s jurisdiction voluntarily impose a public improvement fee, similar to a temporary sales tax, of up to 1 percent, to finance interest-only payments for bonds that would pay for early construction of the interchange improvements. The principal would be paid off by the state when its road construction funds for the interchange become available in the future. The required life span for these bonds and projected availability of state funds to pay them off are unknown. Glenn said the town would not move forward on this fee proposal until after the November election.

Current BRRTA assets of $399,101 are exceeded by current liabilities of $449,403, for a temporary deficit of $50,302. However, some right-of-way acquisition costs and payments to PBS&J for completed work have been postponed until the planned stream of additional road revenue from PPRTA can be made available (once the IGA between PPRTA, BRRTA, and the BOCC is signed). Hunsaker said that he did not expect any problems that would delay the signing.

Total BRRTA assets as of June 30 were $1,156,879. Actual expenditures for the first half of 2005 of $648,770 exceed the budgeted amount of $529,594 by $119,176. Shepherd said that BRRTA could expect payments from about 90 new residential permits by the end of the year and should meet the projected revenue called for in the 2005 budget. The board unanimously accepted the accountant’s report.

PBS&J Project Manager Steve Sandvik said that plans to screen Silviera’s home from headlights of cars on the proposed frontage road with large planted trees were complicated by the need to space them at least 20 feet apart, defeating their intended purpose. There is not enough room between the edge of the frontage road and Silviera’s property line to plant several rows of Austrian pine trees, nor is there enough available funding for construction of a tall concrete block wall in lieu of the trees.

Glenn asked Silviera if some or all of the rows of screening trees could be planted on her property. She said it would do no good because the grade of the frontage road is 25 feet higher than the grade of her lot and home. The headlights would be well above the tops of the trees for years to come, and they may never provide any screening. Glenn also asked if a hedge could be planted along the frontage road. There was concern about initial thickness of the hedge or its screening effectiveness during the winter months.

Shepherd asked if BRRTA could purchase "blackout" drapes for Silviera that would screen the affected bedrooms. Silviera was unsatisfied with that suggestion, adding, "We can’t live in this situation" and said her property value would drop significantly due to frontage road construction.

Silviera then suggested that BRRTA postpone construction until the county could formally require that the future owner of the Barber-Miller-Schmidt parcel provide access for the church and the two residential properties to the new Jackson Creek Crossing extension.

She said the county should also require that the new owner build a road through the center of the parcel that would extend downhill to the new Struthers Road that will meet Jackson Creek Parkway. She also said the county should require the church to pay for maintenance of these accesses until the vacant parcel is developed and that the planned intersection at Jackson Creek Crossing would be dangerous due to the steep grade of Baptist at that point.

Glenn replied that the slope of Baptist Road at the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection would be reduced from the current 9 percent to 3 percent. Monument Town Manager Cathy Green said that no preliminary design plans have been submitted to the town so she did not know whether there would or could be a rear access from the church parking lot to Struthers Road as requested by Silviera.

Barber, Schmidt, and Miller have applied for annexation of their parcel by the town without any submission of preliminary development plans, which is unusual. Typically, developers seek simultaneous approval of their development plans and requested rezoning, if required, before committing to being annexed.

Williams said that the proposal for the frontage road was the cheapest option available and was part of the PRRTA ballot issue, which the voters approved. The new owner of the Barber-Miller-Schmidt parcel cannot be forced to make unrelated improvements to the property that are not caused by the owner’s plans for development. Chaparral Hills resident and County Planning Commission Chairman Steve Sery said that Monument could require Silviera’s proposed access road to Struthers Ranch as a condition of annexation of the parcel.

Sandvik noted that there could be an access from the rear of the church lot to the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection and new Struthers Road without crossing all the wetlands and mouse habitat on the southwest corner of the vacant 5-acre lot next to Silviera’s home.

Glenn proposed that PBS&J, Silviera, and other affected Chaparral Hills residents meet with the potential buyer and developer of the Barber-Miller-Schmidt parcel to see if written, signed agreements could be completed by the next BRRTA meeting that would provide for:

• Cross-access easements from the church for the two neighboring homes through its parking lot to a rear/south access.

• Access easements from the parcel owner through the parcel to the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection.

• Access easements from the parcel owner through the parcel to new Struthers Ranch Road, south of Baptist Road.

• An agreement that the current and future owners of the church and residential properties could never request rezoning to commercial zoning, which is called for in the regional comprehensive plan

• An agreement that the current and future owners of the church and residential properties could never request a waiver on their limited access through the church parking lot in the future.

Silviera and Sery agreed to arrange the meeting with PBS&J as soon as possible. Williams said that if all these conditions could be legally met at no additional cost, then the vacant 5-acre lot for the frontage road next to Silviera’s home could be put up for resale by BRRTA.

Sandvik said that PBS&J’s "90 percent" engineering plans had been submitted to the county Department of Transportation for review and approval, which should be completed by the end of July. There are no expected problems with mouse habitat or right-of-way purchase (except for short-term funding) at this time that would delay the start of construction in February.

To date, 16 of 24 right-of-way tract purchases have been agreed to; closing will occur when funds are available. Planned remaining expenditures to complete right-of-way purchases are about $1.025 million, for a final total of $1.713 million.

The planned development of the Baptist Camp by Classic Homes will not affect any of the construction plans currently under development. Williams asked Shepherd to remind Classic of their need to pay BRRTA fees as they develop the property and coordinate with PBS&J on improvements that may be needed for Kingswood Road.

The board unanimously approved all purchases where prices had been negotiated, plus two new work orders for engineering change proposals.

Because of the large number of decisions that need to be made regarding right-of-way acquisition and Silviera’s request, the board unanimously approved a special meeting for 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 12 in Monument’s Town Hall, 166 Second St.

The next regular BRRTA meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 in Monument’s Town Hall, 166 Second St.

The Woodmoor Improvement Association (WIA) board discussed roads in the proposed Home Place Ranch development, south of Higby Road. There is one major road that snakes through the development and is apparently destined to connect to Gleneagle Drive. Further to the west is a smaller loop road that appears to connect to Fairplay Drive.

While this is currently shown only as a loop, concern was expressed that this might later turn into a connecting road. Currently, the road plans appear to be unfinished. WIA president John Ottino said that he would feel better if the proposed road joined Higby further to the east, though this might be a problem with regard to sight lines because of the hilly nature of Higby and might generate objections from the Higby Estates development to the east.

Ottino said he learned that Woodmoor Water and Sanitation is asking for bids on a vehicle warehouse at their site just off Woodmoor Drive. The plan is for the chosen contractor to design the building and for WIA to have a chance to review those plans. The only tentative information available about the construction is that the building would probably have a metal roof and be constructed in subdued colors. Ottino said he was cautiously optimistic that this development would proceed without any disputes.

Elizabeth Miller, director of the Architectural Control Committee, proposed that the board consider approving the addition of Cameron Soelberg to the committee. This was unanimously approved.

Susan Shields, vice president, said there was some confusion over what sort of zoning codes were going to be given to the Village Center at Woodmoor (otherwise known as the Wahlborg property) and that this affected how much control Monument would have over what was constructed. She added that the developer seemed to have changed his mind about which filing was going to start first. Originally, she thought they were going to build Filing 1 first before starting anything else; now it appears they have changed their minds and want to start work in some of the commercial areas. This would potentially worsen dust and noise problems.

In reviewing the state’s completion of the rebuilding of the junction at Furrow Road and Highway 105, Ottino expressed surprise at the building of barbed wire fences adjacent to the road. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) had said that these were added as part of a new policy and were designed to control small animals. Ottino said this was somewhat confusing because nobody had seen such a use before. Otherwise, he was pleased with what they had done.

Hans Post, director of Public Safety, asked if the new CDOT traffic lights on Highway 105 were now synchronized. General opinion was that this was not yet true. He felt that if there were still coordination problems with the lights when school was back in session, then he would ask for them to be reprogrammed.

Added into the original agenda was a new report from Jim Woodman, director of Forestry, as to the current status of mountain pine beetle. Extensive activity has been going on this summer, with the discovery of many new infestations. There are 100 areas with infected trees, and approximately 80 of those have been fixed. Three people were still holding out and had not removed their trees and had subsequently been referred to the county forester. Four other residents had completed their removals after being informed by the county.

Woodman discussed the proposed new rules as to what should happen to trees that have newly discovered beetle infestations. Trees that are already infected with fungus should be removed in two weeks. However, trees that are newly infested with beetles should not be cut until after October and before Dec 15. If new beetles are discovered after Oct. 31, the trees should be removed within 30 days.

He believes that 20 to 30 people are getting rid of beetle trees without coordinating their efforts with WIA.

Woodmoor Pines Golf Course has begun chipping trees there and have removed around 120 trees. He was concerned about this because many of them have been piled up and not removed or chipped. He believed that they had talked about having a contractor transport them from the site, but thinks there is a state law that says you cannot remove infected wood. He said he would check to see if the golf course was going to make good on its promise to remove the stockpile.

The next meeting of WIA is Sept. 7, 7 p.m., at the Woodmoor Barn, 1691 Woodmoor Dr. The board normally meets the first Wednesday each month. For information, phone 488-2694 or visit www.woodmoor.org.

The meeting started with a lengthy audit report by Ken Waugh, CPA. In the end, the concise conclusion was that, with a limit of 3% on annual dues increases, finances will remain tight for the foreseeable future. There were no serious problems with the accounts and only minor questions were raised by the board as to the reserves being held for partially completed projects.

The board then went on to hear a request for a variance to build a higher than normal fence to contain a large dog belonging to a local resident. The dog had apparently attacked another dog after escaping through an electronic fence and in order for the dog to be placed back with its owner there was a requirement for a 6 foot fence with further security measures on the top. John Ottino, President, said that granting a variance for such a high fence to contain the dog might set a precedent. John asked the owner if he would be prepared to lower or remove the fence when the dog was no longer there and the owner said that would be acceptable. The board felt that any variance would have to be temporary and monitored to ensure continuing compliance. The board made no decision during the meeting and announced that it would issue its decision the following day after discussion in an executive session following the public meeting.

John Ottino then started a discussion on whether the board should consider a community-wide trash service, limiting the number of service providers or having them coordinate schedules to minimize the number of truck visits. Some residents had complained about so many trucks being used and arriving on different days. Allan McMullen, Director of Common Areas, suggested that if people were concerned they should get together on a street-wise basis and decide to standardize on one supplier. The general consensus in the end was that the WIA should not get directly involved in this.

Ottino discussed the open forum that had been held on the WIA website on issues of resident interest, following an earlier town meeting. He was disappointed in the lack of input on many of the issues. The hot item of proxy voting at the annual meeting had received little interest after the town meeting. Ottino said he still needed to make some decisions on proxies, whether to allow ancillary buildings, and traffic concerns in South Woodmoor. Tied in with the ancillary buildings proposal is whether to change the rules regarding the number of vehicles that can be parked outside a residence. Other members of the board were concerned about obtaining resident feedback. It was decided that feedback was necessary for those decisions that affected the rules and regulation.

Ottino went on to discuss the presentation they had seen from Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District regarding its proposed vehicle storage building. The construction will be where the current fenced-in area is and the concrete and stone exterior will match the current office building. Though WIA approval was not needed, because the building was not in the controlled area of Woodmoor, Ottino was generally pleased with what he had seen and that the plans had been discussed early in the process.

Ottino reminded board members that SB100, a bill regarding homeowner associations, has been signed by Governor Owens. He had asked Lenard Rioth, the WIA attorney, to review the document to make sure that the WIA is in compliance by Jan. 1. Ottino had heard that some legislators thought there were still some grey areas in the legislation that need to be clarified.

Executive Director Camilla Mottl announced that the El Paso County planning department had informed them of a new development called "Cross Roads at Monument" that was being proposed for the area East of the BP gas station, between Lake Woodmoor Drive and Highway 105. The proposal was for three commercial mixed-use buildings with one designed to be used as a restaurant. The primary access would be on Lake Woodmoor Drive and this aspect of the development was the only concern raised by the board.

Susan Shields, Vice President, and Elizabeth Miller, Director of the Architectural Control Committee, gave a brief update on the status of the Village Center and the rezoning hearings in Monument. Construction at the site is causing a number of problems for neighboring residents including run-off damage, siding and window damage from blowing soil, and noise and other issues. The developers had worked to rectify some of the damage but noise and dust problems were continuing. Fencing at the boundary to Woodmoor is still an issue, with the current status being that individuals will have to work with their new neighbors on an individual basis. Shields said that she would work with the Town of Monument to get clarification on fencing and rezoning.

July started off on the seasonal side, with highs in the 80s and scattered thunderstorms. This trend of morning sunshine, afternoon clouds, and scattered thunderstorms continued through the Fourth of July weekend.

However, a large area of high pressure was building out of the desert Southwest the rest of the week. This brought warmer temperatures and drier air. Highs soared into the upper 80s and low 90s from the 6th through the 10th. Clouds and isolated thunderstorms popped up each afternoon and evening, but they had very little low-level moisture to work with, so they produced more lightning and wind than rain.

Hot weather was the story for the second week of July. Temperatures routinely hit the upper 80s to mid 90s from July 10th through the 16th. This was the Tri-Lake’s hottest stretch of weather since July 2003. In fact, during the entire summer of 2004, many areas above 7,000 feet did not hit the 90-degree mark a single time! The warmth peaked on the afternoon of the 14th as highs soared into the mid and upper 90s. This is about as hot as it gets in our region at our elevation. Fortunately, afternoon and evening thunderstorms gave us some relief in the form of rain and cooling winds.

The typical moist "monsoon" air moving out of the Southwest has been a little lacking so far this summer. Instead, the ridge of high pressure that normally shifts further to the east of Colorado has been centered over the Four Corners area, effectively cutting off the flow of moisture and allowing the heat to build.

After a short break from the heat, with slightly below-average highs on Monday the 18th, record highs returned to the region. Highs soared to levels we haven’t seen in several years from Tuesday through Saturday, peaking in the upper 90s to near 100 on the 21st. Making matters worse was the fact that there was almost no relief in the form of afternoon and evening thunderstorms.

The strong ridge of high pressure responsible for the hot, dry weather finally began to show some signs of weakening on the 24th as it began to slowly shift off to the east. This allowed some much-needed monsoonal moisture to move over the region, producing widespread showers and thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday and knocking a couple degrees off the record highs.

A cold front swept through during the evening of the 25th and brought some much-needed relief over the next couple of days. Low clouds, rain, and drizzle, along with below-average temperatures, were just what the doctor ordered. However, high pressure again built into the region pushing the cool, moist air off to the east. This allowed highs to return to above normal levels with only isolated thunderstorms during the last weekend of the month.

August is the last true "summer" month for the Tri-Lakes area. We are often greeted with sunny, pleasant afternoons, with highs typically from the mid 70s to mid 80s, while temperatures at night dip into the 40s, making for better sleeping weather. Thunderstorms are still common during the afternoon and evening, as moisture from the Southwest adds to the activity.

August 2004 was a wet month for the Tri-Lakes area, and after a dry July, hopefully we will see above-average rainfall again this year. The official monthly forecast for August 2005, produced by the Climate Prediction Center ( http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/), is calling for an equal chance of normal temperatures and normal precipitation. For a complete look at monthly climate summaries for the Tri-Lakes region, please visit http://users.adelphia.net/~billkappel/ClimateSummary.htm.

Average High            88.1°

Average Low            51.3°

Highest Temperature 99° on the 21st

Lowest Temperature 43° on the 4th

Monthly Precipitation 0.66"

Monthly Snowfall        0.0"

Season to Date Snow     0.0"  (the snow season is July 1 to June 30)

Season to Date Precip. 0.66" (the precip season is July 1 to June 30)

Remember, weather affects all of us everyday and is an important part of life for us in the Tri-Lakes region. If you see a unique weather event or have a weather question, please contact us at our_community_news@hotmail.com.

Letters to Our Community

• Best Theme: Will and Laxie Sholts

• Most Unique: Hannah and Maddie Farris

• Honorable Mention: Bailey and Lauren Bergeron, Paige and Jessica Jvari

• Grand Prize: Colorado Dental Arts, Dr. Thomas Hughes

• President’s Award: West End Center

• Best Theme: Cavalier Trail Riding Club

• Best Appearance: Pikes Peak or Bust Girl of the West-Amy Jo Fields

• Best Group: Kit Carson Riding Club

• Most Unique: Pikes Peak Rangerettes

• Honorable Mention: Black Forest Saddle Club

• Best Theme: Project Lighthouse Native American Ministry

• Most Unique: Salon 105

• Best Workmanship: West End Center

• Best Business: Colorado Dental Arts, Dr. Thomas Hughes

• Best Kazoo Group: Tri-Lakes Women’s Club

• Honorable Mention: Boy Scout Troup 17

• Best Business: Debbie’s Custom Sewing

• Best Appearance: Forest Ridge Community Church

• Best Large Group: Colorado Springs Corvette Club

• Best Small Group: Pikes Peak Model A Ford Club

• Best Car: Bob and Jane Jones

• Best Truck: Tony Hiadek, 1928 Model AA Ford Flatbed

• Most Unique: Baker Family & Friends

• Honorable Mention #1: Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Rescue Station #3

• Honorable Mention #2: VFW 4051, Pikes Peak Post

• Best Theme: Cowboy Steve, Trick Roper

• Most Unique: Maggie Wild and her Wild West Shelties

• Best Appearance: Pikes Peak Detachment Marine Corps League

• Best Represents America: VFW 4051 Pikes Peak Post

• Best Overall Presentation: Sunrise Republican Women

• Honorable Mention: Congressman Joel Hefley & Colorado State Representative Lynn Hefley

• Best Theme: Safeway Buggy Brigade

• Best Group: Tri-Lakes Athletic Association

• Most Original: Red Hat Society

• Most Entertaining: Cindy’s Dance Factory

• Honorable Mention: Wildflower Ridge Llamas

The Monument Hill Sertoma Club gives special thanks and recognition to the following individuals and organizations that graciously donated time and materials to ensure the parade was a safe and successful community event: Lewis-Palmer District 38, MCS and Merrill Austin, Historic Monument Merchants Association, Boy Scout Troop 17, Cub Scout Troop 117, KSPZ Radio and Jim Berry, Monument Hill Marching Band, Lewis-Palmer Serteens, Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, Tri-Lakes Printing, Our Community News, Tri-Lakes Tribune, Tidbits, CDOT, El Paso County Sheriff’s Department, Monument Police Chief Jake Shirk, Town of Monument police, Town of Monument, Monument Community Presbyterian Church, Big A Rental Center, and Woodmoor-Monument, Palmer Lake, Larkspur, Wescott and Tri-Lakes Fire Protection Departments

The message board at the Lewis-Palmer Middle School reads: "A summer afternoon … the three most beautiful words in the English language." While I agree with the sentiment, for Coloradans a more apt phrase might be "A summer morning …." As we enjoy our summer mornings and our afternoons (when the clouds stay put), many of us are exploring our state. When you do, don’t forget your copy of …

National Geographic/Trails Illustrated Maps, $9.95 

As I watch our personal collection of these yellow-tipped maps grow, I think my husband and I will own each map in the Colorado series before we hang up our boots. Waterproof, tear-proof, and getting-lost proof (well, as good as it gets), these maps will clearly guide you up hill and down dale. It is also nice to know just how far (and how steep) the trail was that you just proudly completed. The two maps you will want for our local area: no. 135 for Deckers and the Rampart Range and no. 137 for Pikes Peak and Cañon City.

Trails Guide: Denver to Pikes Peak
By Zoltan Malocsay, $19.99

Used by El Paso County Search and Rescue, this must be the definitive trail guide for our region. Much more than mere trail descriptions, this book is packed with extra information. The first chapter, "What You Should Know Before You Go," reminds us what we need and how to behave when out exploring. The Colorado mountains have very real dangers–lightning, hypothermia, and altitude sickness, to name a few. It is smart and "life saving" to be very Girl- and Boy-Scout-ish about Colorado adventures and "always be prepared." The trail descriptions begin in the table of contents with icons describing the usage: cross-country skiing, biking, fishing, horses, etc. Within the individual trail descriptions, you will find a topographic map, driving instructions, perhaps some history, and also a clearly written guide. This is an excellent book to begin or complete your collection.

Biking Colorado’s Front Range
By Debra Acord, $24.95

You may recognize Acord as the Gazette writer/editor and creator of the weekly column "Gear Girl." In this, her second book, Acord tackles bicycling on the Front Range. A binder format allows the reader to remove each trail page and place it in the included plastic sleeve for protection. The 94 rides are well described, including sections on "Getting There," "Quick Facts," and "The Ride." There is also a map and a distance/altitude graphic for each ride. This attractively formatted book is sure to please bicyclists of all stripes.

The Complete Guide to Colorado’s Wilderness Areas (Revised)
By John Fielder and Mark Pearson, $24.95

By the master photographer and nature writer himself, this guide was revised this year and includes 47 new hikes, 45 new photos, and three new wilderness areas. There isn’t enough space to include Fielder’s foreword or love letter to Colorado, but here is one line: "What is remarkable is that the mountains have weathered and crumbled to exactly the right degree to make them the most beautiful mountains in the world." How can you resist this book? The photos, trail descriptions, and maps make this a must-have reference source for the wilderness adventurer.

The Guide to Colorado Birds
By Mary Taylor Gray;
Photography by Herbert Clarke, $22.95

The book is a great guide for the backyard birder and the more serious "collector" of species. Wonderful photos with clearly written identification tips, birding hints, a species checklist for those who are keeping track, and a list of "hot birding spots." Color tabbed by bird families, this is an easy-to-use reference book.

Butterflies Through Binoculars
A Field Guide to the Butterflies of North America
By Jeffrey Glassberg, $19.98

Glassberg is the president of the North American Butterfly Association and editor of American Butterfly. Thus you are putting yourself in capable hands should you want to know more about these beautiful, graceful winged creatures. This book, part of a 10-year project covering the entire country, covers just the West. Scanning the pages, I find it incredible that anyone can tell the difference between one species and another, as the differences are so subtle. If this book does nothing else, it will convince you of the marvelous diversity of the West. The gorgeous lapis-colored specimen on the cover is enough to make you check out the rest of the book.

Real Cool Colorado Places for Kids
By Liggett and Mack, $15.95

Combining a guidebook with suggested learning activities, this volume will add to any family’s enjoyment of our state. Check out the largest sand pile imaginable (hint: it is a new National Park), or track wild horses, or watch as dinosaur bones are being unearthed. All this and more are within the boundaries of Colorado. This book will make it all come alive as you and your kids explore.

Happy trails to you as our precious summer unfolds. There is so much to do and see in Colorado. Hope these book selections add to your enjoyment. Until next month, good reading—even if it is just on your own front porch.

Record-setting temperatures over the past couple of weeks have left us wiping our brows and hoping for cooler weather. The promised afternoon rainstorms have mostly missed us, although they have provided us some cloud cover for brief periods of relief.

We humans suffer in the heat, which makes us tired, thirsty, worn-out, and less able to perform our daily tasks well. Your plants react the same way. How do you help your plants beat the heat?

Here are a couple of summertime hints.

Water plants early in the morning. If your plants are showing distress in the afternoon from the hot sun, many times a good drink in the morning helps. Saturate and water deeply to ensure the plants get adequate water to the root system. By watering early, you reduce evaporation loss from your sprinkler system and help conserve one of our precious resources.

Add more mulch to your flower beds, shrubs, and around trees. This helps the plants retain more moisture by reducing evaporation of water from the soil in the hot afternoon sun. As a rule, the finer the mulch, the more moisture will be retained. I use Soil Pep around most of the perennials and smaller shrubs, but step up to medium-sized cedar bark mulch around most of the larger shrubs and trees. Apply mulch about 3 or 4 inches deep around the drip line of the trees and shrubs and about 2 or 3 inches deep around most perennials.

Fertilize your plants. The heat robs your annuals and perennials of their color as your plants direct the energy toward the leaves and stalks to survive the extreme temperatures. They need to be fed to keep up with the demand in order to perform well through the hot months. If you used a good time-release fertilizer around the root system when you planted this year or as a top dressing, you may have all of your bases covered. If not, then a quick application of a water-soluble bloom booster will help the plants gain some strength and provide the beautiful blooms you expect—even through the hot months.

Clean up in the garden. You know it’s going to get hot, so start early in the morning and work for short periods of time. Trim dead or dying leaves from perennials. Remove ("dead-head") the blooms as soon as they are "spent" to ensure the growth energy returns to the plant to make new blossoms. Pluck those nasty weeds that rob the water, fertilizer, and space your plants need to grow healthy, strong, and vigorous.

Below: Drawing by Elizabeth Hacker of a a Rufous Sided Towhee.

Zoom in

A bird we see frequently throughout the year in our backyard, along trails, and in parks and open spaces is the rufous-sided towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), also known as the spotted towhee. It is a member of the finch family and sounds a bit like the finch, but it gets its name from its melodic to-wheee trill. Unlike many bird songs, the towhees’ songs vary from region to region.

The rufous-sided towhee is 7 to 8 inches in length. It has reddish-brown eyes that are offset by its jet-black head. Its small, pointed black beak is similar to that of a finch or a sparrow, but that is where the similarity ends. The male rufous-sided towhee has a black head, neck, and shoulders and long black tail feathers. The white in the middle of its chest stands out against the rust color on the outer breast and side wings. Its upper wings are black, and it has white spots on its back and the end of the wing feathers. The female has a similar color pattern to the male, but where the male is black, she is dark brown.

The rufous-sided towhee inhabits forest edges and thickets from southern Canada down to northern Central America. Despite its numbers, it is somewhat difficult to get a good look at because of its shy nature and ability to hide. Even when it is out in the open, it rarely stays in one spot for long. To add to a birder’s frustration, the towhee has a variety of songs and is considered to be somewhat of a ventriloquist. But when the opportunity arises to see the towhee, it is truly a delight to watch this beautiful bird in action.

The towhee’s diet consists mainly of nuts, seeds, and berries. It also relies on insects as a source of protein during mating and when raising its young. Towhees scratch the ground for food in the manner somewhat similar to that of a domesticated hen. They will scratch with one foot and send leaves flying with the other! I’ve heard other birders remark that when towhees scratch, they can be heard from quite a distance.

Each May, the female begins to construct a cup-shaped nest of weeds, leaves, bark, stems, and grass on or near the ground in a well-covered area. We often observe towhees flying out from the bottom branches of a blue spruce tree in our yard, so we suspect it’s the location of a nest.

The female will lay two to six eggs. She incubates the eggs, and the male sometimes brings her food during incubation. The chicks hatch in about 14 days. Both parents feed the chicks until they fledge the nest in 10 to 12 days. The female may have two broods a year. This year, for the first time, I observed the male training one of his fledglings how to fly and forage for food. Because it is a shy bird, this observation was especially gratifying.

Although the towhee’s nest is always well hidden, the colorful bird is a frequent victim of the opportunistic cowbird, which has no scruples and will lay from one to four eggs in the towhee’s nest. Sad to say, in most cases the towhee raises the cowbird’s young together with its own.

Below: The historic Estemere Mansion. Photo by George Barnes

View photos of the Estemere Mansion

By Leon Tenney

This year at the Estemere, the crowds were overflowing. Some people had to wait well over an hour to tour the 110-year-old mansion. Again, Kim and Roger Ward were very generous with their property to help the Palmer Lake Historical Society with its only annual fundraiser. Last year, the event raised over $1,700, while approximately 280 persons toured the mansion. This year, again under the leadership of committee chair Hans Post Uiterweer, both numbers more than doubled.

The Society had many activities outdoors to entertain the public, including three musical groups. Sam Swancutt and his protégé, Isaac Watkins, played the bagpipes, which have the sweetest sound amongst the old mountains in Palmer Lake. Gretchen Wagner, a local folk-rock artist, played the guitar, adding to the magic of the day. The 1st Colorado Union Volunteers, dressed as Civil War musicians, played a brass set with music of the Civil War era, while some called it old-fashioned oompah music. Also, those wandering around could visit the Vaile Hill Art Studio or see works by local artists sponsored by Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts.

Jodi Watkins sold local history books in the Carriage House, while Janis Frazee was in charge of a bake sale there. The Palmer Lake Fire Department brought a fire engine and the Colorado MG Club displayed 10 antique MG cars. The Safeway and the Speedtrap coffee bar donated beverages for the many volunteers. The event was run by volunteers from our local Society, whose contribution was invaluable.

In addition to opening their home, the Wards acted as tour guides, with the help of eight knowledgeable volunteers from the Society, UCCS, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The tours lasted 10 to 15 minute, and one started every 10 minutes. Ticket sales were ended at 3:15 p.m. to avoid overtaxing the guides and the mansion.

Next month, Aug. 18, 7 p.m. at the Palmer Lake Town Hall, the Society goes back indoors and listens to Victor Vaile, the nephew of Lucretia Vaile, for whom the museum is named. She bequeathed over $50,000 for the education and preservation of culture in our local community. Victor has written a book about her that is available in the museum, which is staffed by local volunteers and is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Below: "Joie de Vivre" art quilt by Liz Kettle. Photo provided by Janet Sellers

Zoom in

I took my daughter to the July Art Hop and was yet again amazed at the bounty of works at the Pankratz Gallery. While I have enjoyed their exhibits and selection of artists’ works for many years, this season is particularly dazzling.

This month in that gallery, bright, colorful paintings by Karen Scharer and fresh, plein air oils by Kathryn McMann are incorporated into the current show that also features stunning white Colorado marble sculptures by Ruth Burink. Richard Pankratz’ usual gems of ceramics are now available on a limited basis, making way for his new love of ceramic and bronze works, so we’ll have to enjoy the functional ceramic ones while we can. Barbara Westwood has her regal jewelry on exhibit, and the sparkling glass works of the more than 10 glass artists there are luminous. Not to be missed is Sky Hall’s photography show that had just opened at the Pankratz Gallery the night of the July Art Hop. His large silver gelatin prints exemplify his command of a superb tonal range.

We hopped over to Bella Art and Frame and admired Carla Willis’ vivid paintings in bright and bold colors. But then a couple of glass mosaic sculptures of summer sandals by Juanita Canzoneri stole our attention, and we marveled at the bijou of glass on the chunky shapes. On the way out, we bade farewell to our favorite horse sculpture by Chavenelle Studio.

We found that we hadn’t left ourselves enough time to visit any more of the Art Hop galleries and merchants, so we look forward to discovering more at the next one, on Aug. 18. We plan to start earlier and enjoy the art longer. For me, there is nothing like good art and good refreshments on a summer evening.

Actually, you don’t have to wait for the Art Hop evenings to visit the galleries; you can go most any day. Just pick up a brochure at local Monument merchants and make it an outing. I enjoy visiting the venues time after time. There are several places on my must-see list, such as the High Country Store Gallery (which features Elizabeth Hacker’s new show) and the Winter Gallery. The venues are close together, making for a nice walk while "doing lunch" or meeting for coffee close by.

Recently, while doing research on the new "Art and Nature of Fiber" show, I found out that my fiber art guru, Liz Kettle, is one of the artists at that very show, at the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts. Her "Joie de Vivre" art quilt (see photo above) is sure to be a favorite with its luminous colors and appliquéd clematis flowers. She has nurtured a lifelong love of fabrics, color, and texture in art and fibers since childhood, and whenever we go to look at fabric or wearable art, she reminds me that fabrics have—in addition to color, visual texture and sculptural qualities—a delightful tactile as well as visual beauty. We can enjoy the additional sense of touch of fabric art. (One would never be able try that with a framed painting or a work under glass.)

• Elizabeth Hacker’s "White-Throated Sparrow" was accepted into the first statewide nature art exhibit, titled "Nature’s Inspiration: Wildlife of the Rockies," to be held at the new Evergreen Arts Center. Hacker, who writes OCN’s bird column, is an award-winning artist and has her work in galleries in Colorado. The exhibit, which runs Sept. 1-30, is at the Evergreen Arts Center, 32003 B Ellingwood Trail, (303) 674-0056. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

• Sky Hall, a local fine art photographer, has a photo show at the Pankratz Gallery (Second Street and Beacon Lite Road) in Monument through the third week in August.

• Art Marketing Salons are a free nine-week serious marketing salon for artists. Locations will be Saturday mornings at the ARTFEST booth at the Monument Farmer’s Market and one on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. (location to be announced upon registration). Bring your own chair and a notebook to ARTFEST. For further information or to sign up and register, contact me at 488-8280 or e-mail me at janetsellers@mac.com for the registration link for the Salon and the free materials from www.Artbizconnection.com. The workshop and materials are courtesy of the highly successful Serious Art Marketing Salons with former museum curator and ArtBizCoach.com mentor, Alyson Stanfield.

• Art Festival at the Farmers’ Market: every Saturday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the first and third Sundays 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Second and Adams Streets.

• The Art and Nature of Fiber, featuring weaving, batik, tapestry, quilting, and more fiber art. Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts, 304 Highway 105, in the historic Kaiser Fraser building, 481-0475. The show runs through Aug. 27. For more information, call 481-0475 or visit www.trilakesarts.org.

• Art Hop in Monument: A monthly art evening in Historic Monument, with food and drink, fine art and crafts, and plenty of conviviality; Aug. 18, 5 to 8 p.m. Just follow the Art Hop banners into Old Town from Highway 105.

• Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts:Art classes, camps, and gallery art shows; call 481-0475 or visit www.trilakesarts.org.

• Monument School of Fine Arts: Classes for children and adults, art camps, art events and day tours, Galerie du Jour art shows in local businesses; call 488-8280, or visit www.startmyart.com.

• 2-Watts Creative: Pottery, painting, and parties; call 488-0889.

Special Events and Notices

Stroll on the lawn of the Palmer Lake Village Green, savor ice cream, and honor seniors at this annual ice cream social featuring the Daytime Singers of the America the Beautiful Barbershop Chorus. This free event, Aug. 6 at 1:30 p.m., will be hosted by the Monument and Palmer Lake branch libraries and sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Friends of the Library, the Town of Palmer Lake, and People’s National Bank. For information, call 481-2587.

The annual Black Forest Festival takes place Aug. 13 from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the corner of Black Forest and Shoup Roads.

• Pancake breakfast 6:30-9:30 a.m.

• Flea market, business, and nonprofit booths 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Sale of festival T-shirts 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

• Open house at the Black Forest Log School 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

• Parade 10:30-11:15 a.m.

• Open house at Black Forest Fire Department, demonstrations, displays, dunk tank, bounce house 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

• Food vendors open 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

• Children’s’ activities noon-2 p.m.

• Live entertainment on the stage, including the Air Force band Wild Blue Country, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

For information, phone 495-8675.

The annual Tri-Lakes Expo, hosted by the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, is an opportunity for businesses to display their goods and services to the community. It will be held Saturday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Soc N’ Roll, 16240 Old Denver Highway. The exhibitors put on quite a show for the hundreds of visitors who come out each year to see their goods and services, and they work to outdo each other with creative booths and free promotional items. More than 70 booths will feature businesses showcasing their services and products such as health care, pet care, insurance and financial services, home products, and much more.

Prizes and promotions will be occurring throughout the expo. "It is a great opportunity for area residents to learn about all the wonderful businesses and services available right here in Tri-Lakes," said Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce President, Mike Law. For more information, visit www.trilakesexpo.com.

Have you been thinking about making your wooded property more "fire-wise?" Do you wish to reduce the chance of mountain pine beetles infesting your ponderosa pines? The solution to your problems could be thinning, and the slash-mulch site is the place to take your slash. The Black Forest Slash-Mulch Program is a wildfire mitigation and recycling program of the El Paso County Solid Waste Management Department. The slash-mulch recycling site is located in Black Forest on the east side of Herring Road, between Shoup Road on the north and Burgess Road on the south. Residents may bring slash up to 6 feet long and up to 8 inches in diameter to the slash-mulch site, where it will be ground into mulch and recycled. Slash is accepted through Sept. 17, Tuesday and Thursday evenings 5 to 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. The cost is a donation of nonperishable food for 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 to Sept. 24. Bring your own tools and load mulch free of charge. The mulch loader schedule for July is Saturdays only, 7 a.m. to noon. In August and September, the mulch loader will be available Saturdays, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. 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.

This refresher course is designed for motorists age 50 and over. Get a discount on your car insurance. The class will be held Aug. 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Monument Branch Library, 1706 Lake Woodmoor Dr. Charge for the eight-hour course is $10 and registration is required. Bring a lunch. For information, call 488-2370.

This new event is designed to celebrate the end of summer and get people dancing, while raising money for Monument Hill Sertoma to purchase a hearing dog and for Tri-Lakes Cares, the local food pantry. The event is on Aug. 27, from 5 to 11 p.m. at the Monument Plaza, 481 Highway 105, behind Rosie’s Diner. Kick up your heels to a mighty fine dance band, Promises, featuring multiple dance styles and periods.

There will be ‘50s to ‘70s costume contests and sock hop tunes as well as salsa, country and western, and big band/swing. Food vendors will be serving, with 50 percent of the sales going to the charities. Dance tickets are $5 per person or $10 per family. For information, call the Chamber of Commerce, 481-3282.

Sheriff’s office hosting community meeting

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting a community meeting to speak with local residents about different issues, such as crime patterns and statistics for this area, as well as services the sheriff’s office offers. Residents are encouraged to attend and learn about what’s happening in their area and to find out how they can get involved in crime prevention. Sheriff Terry Maketa and staff members from several divisions will be present to talk to citizens and to address questions or concerns. The meeting will be Sept. 1, 7 p.m., at the Gleneagle Golf Course Clubhouse, 345 Mission Hills Way. For information, call Bob Swedenburg, 481-2723.

The library needs volunteers for varied positions, including gardening and landscaping, maintenance work, print shop work, adult literacy coaches, and more. To apply, complete the appropriate volunteer application and send to the East Library, call 531-6333, x1251, or e-mail nmilvid@mail.ppld.org. Volunteer applications are available at all libraries and at ppld.org, under "Jobs and Volunteers Positions."

The second annual chili cookoff fundraiser for the Tri-Lakes Cares Building Fund will be held in downtown Monument Sept. 10. The event is sponsored by High Country Store. To participate as a contestant, sign up at High Country Store, 243 Washington St. The entry fee for contestants is $15. Tasting tickets will be available to the public at 5 tickets for $1. Watch for details in the September issue of OCN or call 488-4377 for more information.

Volunteers interested in advocating for abused children in local courtrooms are invited to apply for the next training hosted by CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of the Pikes Peak Region. Volunteers are trained and supervised to act as the child’s voice in court for abused and neglected children. CASA will also offer an independent study for volunteers who cannot attend all 12 sessions of training.

The next training begins Sept. 22, and interested people may call CASA Volunteer Director Jerri Miller, 447-9898, ext. 1008, no later than Aug. 30 to apply. There will be an open house at CASA, 701 S. Cascade Ave., at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, for those who wish to learn more. Please RSVP to 447-9898, ext. 1008.

This annual "event to attend" is sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Women’s Club. The date is set for Oct. 20, and the place is Pinecrest Event Center in Palmer Lake. Food samplings, celebrity wine servers, and a silent auction will be part of the evening. Watch for more information in future issues, or phone 351-1437.

The Tri-Lakes Women’s Club membership is open to all women living in School District 38. Luncheon meetings with programs are held September through May. The Tri-Lakes Women’s Club proudly sponsors the annual Pine Forest Antiques Show as well as the Wine and Roses event. Proceeds from these fundraisers benefit local nonprofit groups. For more information, visit the Web site at www.tlwc.net or call Linda Celestre at 481-0114 or Lorrie Jaeger at 481-2882.

More than 40 vendors and health care professionals from the Tri-Lakes community and El Paso County will be at Lewis-Palmer High School Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide health and wellness information. Free health screenings, including hearing tests, vision/glaucoma tests, cholesterol tests, blood pressure checks, and cancer screenings; chair massages; reflexology; exercise program consultations; and many other services will be available. For information, call Steve Spry at the Chamber of Commerce, 481-3282, or Amy Dreher, 488-8786.

Forest Rose Productions, a Monument-based company that specializes in film and videotape production, directed and produced Disneyland…Then, Now and Forever, a 90-minute DVD commemorating the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom in Anaheim, Calif. The DVD was released nationwide on July 12. ABC Television Network, the Hallmark Channel, and major airlines will utilize excerpts from the 90-minute feature throughout Disney’s 50th celebration year.

Tri-Lakes residents Bob Garner and Jan C.J. Jones of Forest Rose were chosen by Victory Communications of Los Angeles, in association with the Burbank-based Walt Disney Studios and Disney Home Video divisions, to oversee all production aspects of this "docu-tainment" special.

Disneyland…Then, Now and Forever is hosted by actress Julie Andrews and features interviews with George Lucas, Diane Disney, Michael Eisner, the creative heads of Pixar Studios, and many more. Included are never-seen-before vintage film clips of Disneyland.

Volunteers needed for CERT Training

We live in a different world than we did before September 11, 2001. We are more aware of our vulnerabilities, more appreciative of our freedoms, and more understanding that we have a personal responsibility for the safety of our families, our neighbors, and our nation. But we also know that we can take action now to help protect our families, help reduce the impact an emergency has on our lives, and help deal with the chaos if an incident does occur.

The Gleneagle Civic Association (GCA) plans to sponsor training to establish a local Gleneagle Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in early September. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Department, in cooperation with the Colorado Springs Office of Emergency Management, will be doing the training. At least 12 participants are needed; the maximum will be 35. The training is also open to Boy Scouts seeking to earn their Emergency Services Merit Badge, but they would need a parent’s permission. Physical ability is not a requirement for CERT training. The county welcomes handicapped persons (including those in wheelchairs), senior citizens, and all interested people. Training is free.

The CERT program helps train people to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. CERT training includes disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, and light search and rescue operations.

CERT programs were first developed to assist communities in taking care of themselves in the aftermath of major disasters when first responders were overwhelmed or unable to respond because of communication or transportation difficulties. However, CERTs have proven to be an active and vital part of their communities by performing various services, including desk work and taking notes, distributing and installing smoke alarms and batteries for the elderly and disabled, and promoting community awareness of potential hazards and preparedness measures. CERT members are not meant to replace professionally trained paid and volunteer responders, but rather they serve as an important supplement, particularly when first responders may not be available.

Training will be held at Donald Wescott Fire Station 2, 15000 Sun Hills Dr., on Thursday, Sept. 8, from 6 to 10 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 9, from 6 to 10 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 10, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Persons interested in this CERT training must attend all three sessions. For more information, call Bill Carroll at 488-4288, or e-mail Squid1@adelphia.net.

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