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Superintendent Pomarico resigns

Below: Lewis-Palmer District 38 School Board President Jes Raintree and Superintendent Dr. Michael Pomarico at Pomarico’s first board meeting July 20. Pomarico resigned effective Dec. 15 for "extenuating personal circumstances" but will remain on administrative leave through June 30 and will receive $94,262 in compensation and a severance payment of $150,000. Photos by John Heiser

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At the Lewis-Palmer District 38 School Board meeting Dec. 22, the board unanimously accepted a letter of resignation from Dr. Michael Pomarico. Due to inclement weather and prior commitments, board members Stephen Plank and Gail Wilson were absent. President Jes Raintree said that due to the absences of the two board members, many of the agenda items were postponed to the Jan. 18 meeting.

Raintree said the superintendent’s resignation Dec. 15 was due to "extenuating personal circumstances." Pomarico started work July 1.

A subsequent press release quoted Raintree as saying "The Board of Education and Dr. Pomarico have reached a mutually agreeable separation." The press release went on to say "The Board and Dr. Pomarico have agreed that he will accept paid administrative leave through June 30, 2007. (The remaining balance of the total 2006-07 superintendent compensation package is $94,261.54.) Dr. Pomarico will receive a severance payment of $150,000 on or before June 30, 2007. The Board of Education unanimously agreed this action was in the best interest in pursuing excellence for all our students. The superintendent position will not be filled for the time being. The Board of Education is reviewing leadership team positions and delineation of responsibilities for the coming months."

After concluding the 8-minute board meeting, the board went into an executive session to discuss personnel matters. Raintree asked Assistant Superintendent Ray Blanch and Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Wangeman to attend that executive session.

In a separate press release issued Dec. 13, the district reported the sale of $57 million in general obligation bonds to fund the construction of the second high school and improvements at Lewis-Palmer High School. The reported true interest cost is 4.307 percent and the bonds have an average life expectancy of 15.853 years. The average coupon is 5.54 percent. Groundbreaking for the second high school is scheduled for April 2007. Improvements to Lewis-Palmer High School are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2007.

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The Lewis-Palmer School District 38 Board of Education normally meets on the third Thursday of each month at the Learning Center of the Lewis-Palmer Administration Building, Second and Jefferson. The next meeting is 7 p.m. Jan. 18. The district’s Web site is at www.lewispalmer.org.

Blanch named finalist to succeed Pomarico

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Below: Assistant Superintendent Ray Blanch during the Sept. 28 District Accountability Advisory Committee meeting on plans for the second high school. Photo by John Heiser

The Lewis-Palmer School District selected Assistant Superintendent Ray Blanch as "the finalist" for filling the vacant superintendent position during a special board meeting on Jan. 3. The board also gave Blanch the powers of the office until the formal appointment, which is scheduled to take place on Jan. 18 at the next regular meeting. The board also unanimously approved the formation of an Educator’s Advisory Group consisting of one elementary, middle school, and high school principal to lighten the workload carried by the new superintendent.

The 11 a.m. meeting started off with a 40-minute executive session by the board with Blanch. After returning to open session, the board and numerous staff and committee members of the district discussed options for appointing an interim or acting superintendent, as well as selecting a new superintendent with or without a search. Numerous specific prioritized leadership goals were also recorded. After this work session, Board President Jes Raintree visited each school to discuss the results with the staffs.

At the special board meeting at 5 p.m., the board unanimously passed a motion declaring Assistant Superintendent Ray Blanch the finalist for filling the currently vacant position of former superintendent Michael Pomarico and that the final decision on the next superintendent will be made at the next regular board meeting on Jan. 18. The board also gave Blanch, by acclimation, the authority to exercise all the authority of the superintendent to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the position in the interim.

Board Treasurer Gail Wilson said she had re-read the list of qualities and special considerations in the brochure advertising for the previous search and found that Blanch met or exceeded every one. Board Secretary LouAnn Dekleva said the board had a good discussion "on how not to burn out a superintendent" and how to provide support and better information directly to the next appointee. Director Steve Plank thanked Blanch for "taking on this and understanding where we’re going."

Raintree reported that in accordance with district policy, the board would appoint a committee to name the second high school, which will be built on the Hunter Run Farm property. She pointed out that the mascot and colors for the new school would be selected by the future members of the school as a team-building process. She added the committee members will be appointed soon so a name can be selected prior to breaking ground on Apr. 1. Committee membership will include community members from Palmer Lake, Monument, Black Forest, plus one retired person who has lived here for a long time and no longer has children attending D-38 schools. Input on the name will also be sought from students who will attend the new school.

Plank formally suggested formation of an Educator’s Advisory Group to advise and assist the new superintendent in performing the duties of the position. He said they would be a resource for Blanch, because the position now has "way too many things for them to do and the things that they do are pretty weighty," leading to turnover every two to three years throughout Colorado. The board approved formation of the committee, then appointed Principals Mark Brewer of Lewis-Palmer High School, Terry Miller of Lewis-Palmer Middle School, and Alexis Miller-Gibbore of Grace Best Elementary School to this group.

Raintree said she needed to note that this group would not replace or affect the operations of the Superintendent’s Council or the Administrative Council. She said the advisory group would "represent the voice of all the educators at that level for discussion and decisions" so "information is flowing all the way through." Plank added, "As we’ve been growing larger we’ve lost some of that. In the last few months we lost quite a bit of that."

The meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.

After adjournment, Wilson reiterated to reporters that the board was trying to restore the level of communications and access to the superintendent that had been a strength of the district before it started to grow so rapidly as well as understand the causes of the rapid turnover in this office.

On Dec. 4, the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) approved the mill levy certification, budget, and appropriation for 2007. The board also approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the newly formed Pikes Peak Rural Water Authority, and two plats for Monument Marketplace. Trustees Travis Easton and Steve Samuels were absent.

2007 mill levy certification resolution approved: The town’s 2007 property tax mill levy will be 6.4568 mills, an increase of 0.586 mill from 2006. Treasurer Pamela Smith said the mill levy increase was needed because it had been temporarily lowered for 2006, the certification had to be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners by Dec. 15, and the town has millions of dollars of capital projects to complete including the new Town Hall/Police Station building, Skate Board Park, and the Stormwater Master Plan. The maximum tax raised on the town’s net assessed valuation of $75,753,550 is $489,279. This rate meets the state’s 5.5 percent revenue limit and TABOR restrictions. The board unanimously approved the certification.

Smith said that during a preliminary 2006 budget review, the town’s auditor had suggested creating a new capital projects building fund to better track construction expenditures for the new Town Hall/Police Station to be built at Beacon Lite Road and Highway 105, segregating those transactions from the general fund. Revenue for this new major fund will come from the 1 percent sales tax that had been restricted to capital water projects and purchase of water and water rights. In 2005, town voters approved ballot question 2A, which authorized use of some of the accumulated sales tax revenues for building the new Town Hall/Police Station building in 2007.

After opening a public hearing during which there were no citizen comments, the board unanimously approved an ordinance creating the new major fund in the 2007 budget. This ordinance did not increase the size of the budget but only shifted some of the existing line items to the new fund.

Smith noted that the draft 2007 budget was presented to the board on Sept. 18. Each department head made a presentation on accomplishments, short-term and long-term goals, and specifics of each portion of the budget. A public hearing was held Nov. 20 for citizen comments on any aspect of the budget. After opening a public hearing during which there were no citizen comments, the board unanimously approved the ordinance for the 32-page 2007 budget, which included the new capital projects building fund.

Total revenue is $3,334,026. Total expenditures are $3,667,882. The beginning fund balance is $902,993. The ending balance is $569,137. After reductions are made for the TABOR reserved fund balance of $95,890 and the 15 percent reserve fund recommended by the General Accounting Standards Board of $463,440, the end-of-year reserve is $9,807.

The board unanimously approved an ordinance that appropriated the specific amounts required for each fund within the 2007 budget. There was no public comment on the appropriation during the open hearing. The amounts appropriated in the eight funds were:

Board meetings are normally held on the first and third Monday of the month. If a meeting date falls on a holiday, the meeting is normally held the following day. The board concurred on cancellation of the first regular meeting in January. The other scheduled Tuesday meetings for 2007 are Jan. 16, Feb. 20, and Sept. 4.

The Palmer Divide Water Group has been converted to the Pikes Peak Rural Water Authority. The board had previously approved a Memorandum of Understanding to convert the water group into the new entity. The intergovernmental agreement establishes the rural water authority. Membership fees and required funding are the same. All funds held by the water group were transferred to the authority.

The other members of the new rural water authority are: Town of Palmer Lake, Cherokee Metropolitan District, Triview Metropolitan District, Academy Water and Sanitation District, Donala Water and Sanitation District, and Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District.

Monument resident Claudia Whitney, an alternate member of the town’s Board of Adjustment, was appointed to replace former Planning Commissioner John Kortgardner, who has moved out of Monument to Colorado Springs. Town Attorney Gary Shupp said that there would be no conflict of interest due to Whitney being a town employee, because the board’s actions are reviewed by the District Court rather than by the Board of Trustees. The resolution to appoint Whitney passed unanimously.

Trustee Gail Drumm was unanimously appointed town representative to the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority by resolution. Town Manager Cathy Green was unanimously appointed as the alternate representative in this resolution. These two appointments expire after the April 2008 municipal election

Filing 11 of the Monument Marketplace is a single lot of 0.903 acre, adjacent to Jackson Creek Parkway. A fast-food restaurant, Carl’s Jr., will build on this site. Filing 13, a single lot of 2.7 acres on the west side of the center near I-25, will be a Texas Roadhouse. Both filings had been unanimously approved by the Planning Commission on Nov. 8. There were no conditions to the board’s unanimous approvals.

The board had asked the staff to draft a restriction on overnight parking of recreational vehicles in off-street parking, particularly at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart objected to being singled out in the third amendment to the Monument Marketplace Site Plan, the method initially proposed for implementation of the policy. The corporation asked the town for an ordinance that would apply town-wide. During recent Planning Commission and BOT discussions on this topic, Town Attorney Shupp had also recommended an ordinance applicable throughout the town.

The staff offered a draft amendment to the town ordinance at this meeting that would prohibit the overnight parking of occupied recreational vehicles in off-street parking lots, from dusk to dawn. Some of the unresolved issues were safety, enforcement, and town aesthetics.

Some of the comments made by trustees and st­aff during a very lengthy discussion follow:

Trustee Drumm asked that an exception be made for church parking lots and residential private driveways. He said the town would lose revenue from Wal-Mart and other nearby stores and restaurants to the Castle Rock and North Academy Boulevard Wal-Mart shopping centers that allow overnight parking. He noted that Wal-Mart requires drivers to sign a list within the store when they stay overnight and could restrict the number allowed.

Town Manager Green said that unlit office building parking lots had been a concern in drafting the language. She suggested that the board could consider designating specific locations on parking lots in town where RVs and campers can park, based on them not fitting in normal size spaces, to control illumination and their visibility to police patrols. However, she said it might be unfair to change parking requirements after Wal-Mart’s final plat and PD site plan have already been approved and the town would have to pay for signs designating authorized RV/camper areas or prohibiting overnight parking.

Trustee Miller said that he was considering withdrawing support for the proposed ordinance due to all the complexities it may raise for the town’s Police Department. He added that people plan their trips around these overnight stays at Wal-Marts and did not see how the department could enforce the new ordinance fairly. He questioned the safety of awakening people and requiring them to move their RVs in the middle of the night.

Trustee Tommie Plank said she would like to have Police Chief Jake Shirk tell the board what the Police Department’s issues and concerns would be if RVs could park overnight at the Marketplace Wal-Mart.

Trustee Dave Mertz said allowing Wal-Mart parking would hurt existing campground businesses in the area and harm the aesthetics of Jackson Creek. Other trustees noted that the RVs could probably not be seen from I-25 or any Jackson Creek homes.

Monument Police Detective Mark Owens said that RV owners typically do not present problems. Due to other duties, police would be unlikely to ask owners to move until after midnight.

The ordinance was continued until Chief Shirk could be present.

The board unanimously approved a one-year renewal for the liquor license of Brinker Restaurant Corp., owner of the Chili’s Grill and Bar in Monument Marketplace. There had been no liquor violations during the preceding year.

The board unanimously approved a new liquor license for the Rotelli Pizza Pasta restaurant in Monument Marketplace. Attorney Larry Gaddis and surveyor Sue Duffy-Schwall of Liquor Licensing Professionals, LLC, gave very brief presentations for the applicant, Rotelli Store Partners No. 2, LLC. The board unanimously approved the new license with a single condition for a clean report from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation on the corporate officers’ and registered manager’s fingerprints.

Green presented a draft Capital Improvement Program document that listed 14 projects that the town should consider completing within approximately 10 years. She suggested that the board should pick the projects it would fund within the next three to five years. Smith said a capital expense would be any item that exceeds $5,000 and that may be depreciable. Green asked the trustees to review her draft list after the meeting and suggest any additions to her.

Town Attorney Shupp reported that the Masse/Rockwell business license issue has been revived. Kalima Masse has again asked for "renewal" of a business license for the concrete batch plant on the northeast corner of Highway 105 and Washington Street. The plant has not been operated for nearly 20 years. A previous denial of the application led to a lawsuit that Masse lost.

Shupp noted that the second license application was also denied. Masse asked for an appeal 25 days later. The ordinance allows only 10 days for an appeal. Masse has submitted another application. The attorney provided to the town by the town’s insurer has suggested mediation of the issue to Masse rather than a formal town hearing. Green would preside over the appeal hearing if the mediation offer is not accepted by Masse.

Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara said he hoped to have a recommendation for the general engineer and design-builder for the new Town Hall/Police Station project at the next BOT meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

On Dec. 18, during the last board meeting of the year, the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) authorized town staff to begin negotiations for engineering services contracts for 2007 as well as for the design and construction of the new Town Hall/Police Department facility. The board also discussed the current status of the proposed town-subsidized senior center on Highway 105. Trustee Tim Miller was absent.

Mayor Byron Glenn announced that expansion of the state’s I-25 Baptist Road interchange would begin in March. He said a construction manager for the project would be selected at a Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA) meeting that was scheduled for Dec. 21. (The BRRTA meeting was actually delayed until Dec. 22 due to snow. The $1,692,703 construction management contract was awarded to Carter and Burgess, Inc.)

BRRTA voters passed a temporary 1-cent, 20-year sales tax on Nov. 7 to pay for private funding of the interchange expansion with $21.5 million of general obligation revenue bonds. The construction contract will be awarded early in 2007. This sales tax will begin July 1. The El Paso County Department of Transportation will administer the construction contract for BRRTA, in coordination with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

CDOT has promised to pay back BRRTA $15 million in principal for the cost of construction if and when Colorado Senate Bill 1 funds become available. The sales tax will end, probably in fewer than 20 years, once the interest and principal are paid off from generated tax revenue, or if CDOT pays BRRTA the $15 million as promised in the next five to 10 years. (See BRRTA article on page 26 for more details.)

Trustee Gail Drumm, the town’s representative to the Front Range Rail Authority, said the authority and CDOT were initiating a study on where high-speed passenger rail lines should be installed along the Front Range.

State Sen. Tom Wiens, who represents the Tri-Lakes region, offered his assistance on local matters during the upcoming 120-day legislative session. He thanked the town for its efforts to get the Baptist Road interchange privately funded well before the state could pay for the construction. "It’s a big deal you can all be very proud of."

Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara said 11 requests for qualifications were sent to engineering firms on Sept. 19 that the staff had identified for consideration for future on-call service contracts for 2007. He said nine responses were received, and the staff selected the four most qualified firms for contract offers. Kassawara said their expertise overlapped, which would give the staff choices for particular services at the most reasonable cost. The negotiated contracts will all have maximum fees listed so that no bids will be required for work and the staff can pick the consultant firm that will give the best service for the best price.

Kassawara’s proposed resolution asked for approval to enter contract negotiations with four firms for the following engineering services:

Trustee Travis Easton, a civil engineer who works for Nolte Associates, Inc., stated he would recuse himself. Glenn said he works with Stantec Consultants and would recuse himself on that vote. With these two abstentions, a resolution authorizing all four contract negotiations by staff was unanimously approved by the other four trustees.

Kassawara said he had advertised for contractors who could design and construct the two-story, 17,000-square-foot Town Hall/Police Department facility on town-owned land on the southwest corner of Beacon Lite Road and Highway 105. Only one proposal was submitted on Dec. 6, by the team of developer Centennial Services, Inc., general contractor Alexander Building, Inc., and architect John P. Nelson Associates. Kassawara said the team had the qualifications necessary to build the facility within the $2.9 million budget and complete it within 12-14 months. He asked the board for permission to begin negotiations with Centennial Services for a design-build contract that establishes a guaranteed maximum price, a schedule for completion, and a "B+" level of quality. The board unanimously approved a resolution for the negotiations. Kassawara will bring the negotiated contract back to the board for final approval.

The board unanimously approved a resolution appointing Public Works Director Rich Landreth as the primary town representative to the new Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority (which recently replaced the Palmer Divide Water Group) and former Mayor Betty Konarski as the alternate. The first authority meeting is scheduled for Jan. 9.

During public comment on items not on the agenda, President Maureen Poirier of the Tri-Lakes Health Advocacy Partnership asked for information on the proposed senior residence facility to be built on a town-owned lot on Highway 105, east of Knollwood Drive. She said the board had approved the donation of the land for this facility a year ago, but the transaction had not yet taken place.

Poirier said it was her understanding that grant money for the new facility would be jeopardized if the land was not transferred to the developer by the end of 2006, when the available funding would expire. She said that the town-appointed attorney for the donation had not responded to the developer’s contract proposal after four weeks. She asked the board to advise the community on how the situation would be resolved before the end of the year.

Green said she had prepared an additional packet for the trustees on this item, which was then added to the agenda by unanimous approval of the board.

Green noted that last fall, the board had passed an ordinance that authorized donation of a lot in the Village Center at Woodmoor development on the southeast corner of Highway 105 and Knollwood Drive that was dedicated to the town as a condition of the annexation of the 140-acre Wahlborg Addition. She said a condition of the donation requires the developer to provide lowered rents on at least 10 percent of the units for people with incomes below the median regional income. Another condition for the donation was for the developer to provide construction plans for the staff to review and approve as well as financial statements that show financing plans are in order, which had not occurred.

Green said that she was told on Dec. 15 that the developer would lose its federal grant if the land was not transferred by Dec. 31. She said she then checked with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development on why the developer’s grant might be in jeopardy and learned that no such grant application had been submitted by the developer. Green added that she then learned that there may be some tax break for the developer if the land donation is made in 2006 and some private investors "may possibly walk away" if the proposal is not finalized very quickly.

Town Attorney Gary Shupp said that if the town was to transfer the deed with a "reverter clause" and something occurs that was not foreseen, there is a strong possibility of litigation for the town to reclaim the land if the developer failed to fulfill its contract. He suggested deeding the property in escrow, with appropriate conditions on the developer for completion, before it would be released, signed, and transferred.

Shupp added that all of the details on the escrowed transfer had not been worked out with the developer’s attorney. He said the board could conditionally approve the escrow proposal. If the developer’s attorneys were not to approve Shupp’s proposed contract, then the board’s approval to transfer the land would be revoked.

Green said the resolution she had presented to the trustees would be changed after the meeting based on final negotiations. "There’s quite a bit of ‘Trust me here’ in order for this to happen before the end of the year. Otherwise we would definitely not have brought this to you. We would have cleaned this up and would have brought it to you in January."

A time limit of nine months for good faith negotiations on a final plat and engineering and development plans was discussed. Green said there was a lot of engineering work to get done in that short a period. The board unanimously approved a nine-month negotiating period with the developer and the immediate, though escrowed, transfer of the property with the other conditions noted above.

Treasurer Pamela Smith asked for approval of four payments over $5,000. One payment was to Triview Metropolitan District for its share of the town’s October sales taxes and November special ownership taxes on motor vehicles. Three of the payments were money held in escrow by the town for the future construction of a traffic signal at Knollwood and Highway 105 by WED, LLC, the developer of the Village Center at Woodmoor. Smith noted that these three checks were not the town’s money, not an actual payment, and had no effect on town fund balances.

The traffic signal construction is one part of the cost allocation agreement that also calls for Highway 105 widening, turn lanes and intersection improvements. The other parties to the agreement are Copper Knoll Investments, LLC for the Knollwood Center; TKO Development/HWY 105, LLC; Paisano LLC for the Tuscany Center; and WED, LLC for the Village Center at Woodmoor.

Green said the town’s new cost-recovery ordinance would prevent the town from being a party to this kind of private agreement in the future. Kassawara said there will still disputes between the county and state departments of transportation over transfers of roadway between the two and further delays in the required approvals for actual construction of the needed traffic signal.

The board unanimously approved the four payments.

Smith proposed an additional early payment of $250,000 to pay down principal on the town’s loan for the Monument Dam to save over $200,000 in interest and pay off the loan three years earlier. This money was part of the recent budget restatement showing surpluses due to increased revenues and decreased expenditures in the water enterprise fund. Trustee Gail Drumm had asked Smith at the Nov. 20 BOT meeting to consider using the money instead for purchasing of water rights. Green said the town’s water attorney, Bob Krassa, had since advised her there was no need to purchase water rights in 2006, and only $40,000 was needed in 2007 to buy a water right necessary for future negotiations on others. Smith noted that this $40,000 had already been included in the approved 2007 budget and there was a large contingency fund balance should water rights be available at the right price.

The pre-payment of the water loan was approved 5-1, with Glenn stating that the money should be held in reserve to "keep options open" in the future.

Smith summarized a 29-page financial report for the first 10 months of 2006. She reported that general fund revenues were 17 percent ahead of budget and water enterprise fund revenues were 8 percent behind, after setting aside the $2.5 million for the new Town Hall/Police Department facility. General fund expenditures are 5 percent over the budget and water enterprise fund expenditures are 42 percent under. Sales tax revenues through August were 7 percent ahead of budget. The report was unanimously approved.

Shupp reported that Kalima Masse had rejected the town’s offer of mediation on her third application for renewal of a business license that expired 19 years ago for the inactive concrete batch plant on the northeast corner of Highway 105 and Washington Street. The town then sent her a third denial.

Masse recently abandoned her unsuccessful three-year appeal of the town’s rejection of her first application. Masse then resubmitted the same request. The town also denied that renewal request. Masse did not appeal this second denial within the new 10-day limit enacted by a recent amendment of the town’s business license ordinance.

Shupp said that the town currently has no minimum time limit on when an applicant can resubmit a new application for a previously rejected use. The town is unable to stop her from immediately re-applying after each rejection.

Shupp added that if she appeals the third rejection, the town would be obliged to hold an appeal hearing for her. Green would be the hearing officer for the appeal under another new amendment of the town’s business license ordinance

Kassawara reported that he had hired Joe Otkean, an engineering inspector with over seven years experience in this field, to start work on Jan. 8. The current inspector, Ron Rathburn, will return to the Water Department.

Landreth gave a report on the first skateboard park meeting he had held with area youths and parents. He said the kids did not like the current location of the park. They wanted a larger park built within Dirty Woman Creek Park, which would cost about $500,000. A park of this size would require two years to design, plan, and fund through grants and fundraising events. He asked if the board wanted to go ahead with reconstruction of the existing park; the board did not make a decision. The next committee meeting will be held on Jan. 10.

The committee also proposed building a skateboard park on the YMCA parcel northwest of the Higby intersection with Jackson Creek Parkway. Kassawara said that the current site plan proposal was "already packed."

Police Chief Jake Shirk introduced Palmer Lake’s new Police Chief Dan Gilliana. Shirk described an "exciting" first joint venture that was conducted with Palmer Lake after Gilliana took office.

In early December, Monument PD Officers arrested Trenton McCall of Palmer Lake on suspicion of theft and other violations after receiving a report of shoplifting from Wal-Mart. Monument detectives obtained a search warrant for McCall’s residence in Palmer Lake.

The El Paso County SWAT Team searched the home Dec. 16 and officers and deputies seized drug paraphernalia, a small amount of marijuana, and one ounce of crystal methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $3,500. Robert McCall was arrested on drug counts and jailed. An arrest warrant was issued for Jerry Lynn McCall. Anyone with knowledge of his location should call the Monument Police Department at 719-481-3253 or Palmer Lake Police Department at 719-481-2934.

Shirk said the united efforts of area law enforcement agencies will prove more successful in combating illegal drugs and their role as the underlying source of many crimes in the Tri-Lakes area. Gilliana said the policies and procedures manuals for the two towns were being aligned and streamlined for more effective joint actions. He said the towns will also standardize rules and training.

Green suggested the town consider initiating a recreation fee to help pay for little-league fields for players 5-17 years old.

She proposed leasing the current Town Hall building for $1 senior center lunches for the first year after the staff move out of the building while working out the building’s future uses and the ability to fund its continued operation with grants.

Glenn said the town should form a charter committee on a proposal for home-rule status. Shupp said he would research the timing of the committee’s requirements.

During citizen comments, Margaret French thanked the board for moving forward on the resolution for the land donation for the senior center on Highway 105.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

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The next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, in Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held the first and third Mondays of the month. Information: 481-2954.

Below: Location of the Monument Ridge Development.

Below: Planning consultant Perry Thomas of Thomas & Thomas discusses plans for the Monument Ridge commercial and residential mixed use development on the southeast corner of Baptist Road and Jackson Creek Boulevard to the Monument Planning Commission on Dec. 13. The commission approved the plat and site plans for a Fairfield Inn hotel, a Walgreen’s drug store, and a Chase bank. Photo by Jim Kendrick

On Dec. 13, the Monument Planning Commission approved plats and site plans for the Monument Ridge mixed-use center on the southeast corner of Baptist Road and Jackson Creek Parkway and the Copper Heights residential development on the northeast corner of Leather Chaps and Bowstring Drives. The commission also approved Filing 14 of the Monument Marketplace and a proposed minor wording change in the town’s ordinance on land use public hearing notifications that would allow separate Planning Commission and Board of Trustees public notice cycles.

Commissioner Kathy Spence was absent. Commissioner John Kortgardner had resigned and had not been replaced.

Prior to the first hearing, the commission voted unanimously to continue the scheduled hearing on the fourth amendment of the Monument Marketplace Final Planned Development (PD) Site Plan until the next regular meeting on Jan. 10.

Background: Wal-Mart first proposed construction of a supercenter on this Baptist Road site, coupled with annexation of the 30-acre parcel by Monument, in 1999. Discussions never led to any town hearings, and eventually Wal-Mart applied to El Paso County.

A modified Wal-Mart Supercenter proposal was rejected by the county Planning Commission (7-1) on May 11, 2004, after a six-hour hearing. This Wal-Mart proposal was unanimously rejected by the Board of County Commissioners after an 11-hour hearing on July 15, 2004.

Some of the issues raised at the Wal-Mart hearings were:

These issues shaped the Monument Ridge proposal by developer AP Baptist Road LLC. The new Monument Ridge proposal called for annexation, PD rezoning, and a mix of smaller scale commercial buildings (retail stores and offices) plus multi-family housing on the southeast corner of the parcel as a buffer for the adjacent Chaparral Hills five-acre residential lots. While most concerns expressed by citizens at the county Wal-Mart hearings were addressed, concerns about traffic loading on Baptist Road and the interchange remained.

Prior approvals: Annexation and PD zoning were unanimously approved by the Monument Planning Commission on Sept. 28, 2005.

The PD sketch plan only defined the land uses and maximum allowable densities being proposed. Until recently, all Monument annexation requests were accompanied by final PD site plans. The only written comments received by staff were from the town’s traffic engineering consultant, SEH, Inc. The SEH report recommended against approving the developer’s request that the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection on Baptist Road be converted to a full-motion intersection with left-turns allowed in all four directions. Jackson Creek Crossing is the existing private road that is the right-in/right-out-only access to the King Soopers center from westbound Baptist Road.

A private internal road, aligned with the existing Jackson Creek Crossing, will extend southward from the eastern Monument Ridge access to Baptist Road. This interior road, called Monument Ridge Road, will extend through the commercial and future residential areas to the southern full-motion access on New Struthers Road. It will also be the primary access to the undefined residential area. The northern access to New Struthers Road and the western and eastern accesses to Baptist Road will be right-in/right-out-only.

There will be no traffic signal at the Jackson Creek Crossing/Monument Ridge Road intersection. County standards require a minimum of half-mile spacing between traffic lights on major county arterial roads. The separation between Jackson Creek Crossing and Jackson Creek Parkway is only 870 feet—much less than the required half mile (2,640 feet.)

A median will be installed on Baptist Road that extends from the I-25 bridge to east of Desiree Drive. Dedicated left-turn lanes will be built to allow vehicles turning left from eastbound Baptist Road to go north on Jackson Creek Crossing or from westbound Baptist Road to go south on Monument Ridge Road. Left turns from Jackson Creek Crossing and Monument Ridge Road onto Baptist Road will be blocked by the new median structures.

At the Sept. 2005 hearing, Commissioner Lowell Morgan voted against the PD Sketch Plan, noting there was no resolution of the limited capacity of the state’s two-lane Baptist Road bridge over I-25. (See www.ourcommunitynews.org/v5n11.htm#monpc for details)

The Board of Trustees (BOT) approved annexation, rezoning, and the PD Sketch Plan on Dec. 5, 2005.

At that hearing, Town Manager Cathy Green’s staff report noted that the town’s traffic consultant, SEH, Inc., "had expressed concern over the location of the full movement turn on Baptist Road" at Jackson Creek Crossing. Green said that the town would support the Monument Ridge developer’s attempts to have the county reverse its position against a traffic light and full-motion intersection on Baptist Road at Jackson Creek Crossing.

Mayor Byron Glenn has also advocated this plan at a variety of town and county public and private meetings. He has often said that Monument would annex Baptist Road after all of BRRTA’s and PPRTA’s improvements are completed and install a full-motion intersection and traffic light at Jackson Creek Crossing. This proposed new traffic light would also relieve loading of the western access of the King Soopers Center on Jackson Creek Parkway.

A condition was added to the annexation ordinance that required the developer to escrow the parcel’s share of future costs for a full-motion intersection at Jackson Creek Crossing.

Green’s report also noted that Triview Metropolitan District "has issues with water, which is deficient on this site, as well as questions about topography and site layout." However, Triview has included this parcel because of its sales tax revenue potential.

Conditions added to the Monument Ridge annexation ordinance were:

At its March 10, 2006, meeting, BRRTA abandoned its proposal for a voluntary 1 percent public improvement fee to expand the interchange due to the refusal of Wal-Mart to allow its Monument Marketplace store to participate. Wal-Mart’s new corporate policy was that BRRTA and/or Monument voters should vote to impose a 1 percent sales tax rather than have Wal-Mart ask its customers for a 1 percent fee, contrary to its previous agreement to collect a 3 percent fee for road improvements during its county hearings in 2004. Home Depot and Kohl’s also refused to participate voluntarily. (See http://www.ourcommunitynews.org/v6n4.htm#brrta for details.)

There have also been construction delays in both the Baptist and New Struthers Road projects adjacent to the Monument Ridge parcel, primarily due to Mountain View Electric Association and Qwest not moving their underground utilities on schedule, particularly at the northeast corner of the Monument Ridge property. Final determination of the grading of the steep slope along Baptist Road at the property line between Monument Ridge and Family of Christ Lutheran Church was delayed by the utilities’ concern over its new easements. Other utility delays are expected in all three road projects. The county’s construction contractor, Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt, has worked on other aspects of both road projects during these utility delays.

Bridge funding logjam broken: BRRTA’s property owners voted for a 1 percent temporary sales tax by mail-in ballot during the recent November election to privately finance interest payments on road construction bonds for a new eight-lane interchange bridge and widened ramps that will be built by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). Expansion of the interchange will now be performed in conjunction with the ongoing county improvement projects for Baptist Road and New Struthers Road, saving millions of dollars by avoiding temporary Baptist Road construction and demolition work between the interchange and the Jackson Creek Parkway intersection.

On Nov. 20, BOT passed an ordinance defining a cost-recovery mechanism for required infrastructure (including new traffic signals) that benefits developers who do not build on their properties until after the infrastructure is installed.

Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara and Principal Planner Karen Griffith presented the staff report on the proposals. Kassawara said the developer had addressed all staff inputs. Griffith then reviewed the plat and site plan proposals.

The plat depicts 10 commercial lots, one office lot, one large medium-density residential lot, and a separate detention pond lot. No plans have been made regarding the residential area; it will be subdivided in the future. The landowners will dedicate land to the town for a half-acre pocket park, similar to those in Jackson Creek developments. The location and design of the pocket park will be determined at future hearings on the site plan for the residential lot.

The gross commercial area of the parcel is 17.8 acres, the gross residential area is 8.1 acres, the right-of-way area dedicated to the county for Baptist Road and Struthers Road is 3.1 acres, and the detention pond on the southwest corner of the parcel is 1 acre. There are 4.5 acres of open space throughout the property. The initially proposed gas station has been deleted; no users were identified by the developer.

The exterior designs of the three proposed buildings, a Fairfield Inn hotel, a Walgreen’s drug store, and a Chase bank, were included in the PD site plan.

Public access to the parcel will be provided by internal private roads, sidewalks that connect all 13 lots to Baptist Road and Struthers Road, and a trail. A cash-in-lieu payment will be made to School District 20 rather than a land dedication. All required public utilities are available.

Griffith said the proposed plat and PD site plan meets all town requirements. The design guidelines for the preliminary PD site plan call for common:

There were no significant issues referred to the town by other agencies. Griffith proposed the town’s standard condition that all necessary technical corrections are to be made to the final plat and approved by the staff prior to recording.

Griffith noted that U.S. Fish and Wildlife had expressed some concerns about lighting and activity levels affecting nearby protected Preble’s mouse habitat. She said the new town ordinance requiring a photometric grid and lighting plan for the parcel would resolve the issue. She also reminded the commissioners that none of the Monument Ridge property is mouse habitat.

Another Jackson Creek Crossing issue is raised: Kassawara said one minor issue between the developer’ traffic consultant, LSC Transportation Consultants, and the town’s traffic consultant, SEH, Inc., had not yet been resolved. Kassawara said that SEH was concerned that motorists exiting Monument Ridge to go east on Baptist Road from the western right-in/right-out-only access would try to make a U-turn at the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection to go west on Baptist Road. There will be three westbound lanes at this uncontrolled intersection after the widening construction is completed, two through lanes and an acceleration lane, which would provide enough room for a U-turn.

Temporary barriers have recently been installed in the center of the current temporary roadway at this intersection to try to prevent left turns from eastbound Baptist into the King Soopers center, as well as outbound left turns to go east on Baptist Road. Vehicles turning left through them have knocked down several. Previously, a concrete median physically prevented these left turns into and out of the center.

Kassawara said he had proposed internal signage throughout the 30-acre parcel that would direct motorists wishing to go west on Baptist Road to exit at the southern Monument Ridge Road access onto northbound New Struthers Road, then turn left at Baptist Road. Kassawara added that this issue needed to be resolved prior to the hearing for the final PD site plan.

Griffith and Kassawara added that there were no developer issues with any of the many staff comments. The six conditions they had proposed for the preliminary PD site plan were technical in nature.

Planning consultant Perry Thomas of Thomas & Thomas gave the formal developer presentation. The developer’s consultant architect, Jim Nikai, described the design elements that are required to provide a common theme when future development on the parcel is proposed. Marriott consultant Kevin Inglehart described the franchising process for its two proposed hotels.

Commissioner Tom Martin asked numerous detailed questions about the appearance of the three proposed buildings, shielded exterior building and parking lot lighting, pedestrian circulation, infrastructure, and the pedestrian plaza. Developer consultants and town staff pointed out where the information had been provided in the plat and site plan. Martin also asked staff to summarize the Jackson Creek Crossing traffic signal controversy.

Commissioner Carl Armijo expressed concerns about having both hotels so close together, sharing a single parking lot. Kassawara noted that this has become a standard industry practice over the past five years. He listed several Colorado cities with similar side-by-side configurations. He also noted that the town had no legal options, much less retail expertise, to force the developer to move either hotel or any other use on the parcel.

Commissioner Patricia Mettler said she was concerned about the viability of the proposed hotels, given the failures of Falcon Inn under several owners. She also asked why the drug store on Highway 105 had failed. Kassawara said there is a lot more activity on Baptist Road and better access than for Falcon Inn. He noted that this Rite Aid drug store was successful but was closed due to a Rite Aid corporate policy decision to pull out of this region.

The preliminary/final plat was unanimously approved with a single standard town condition that all the remaining minor technical corrections must be made and approved by town staff before the final plat is recorded.

Citizens comment on site plan: During the public hearing on the preliminary PD site plan, Chaparral Hills resident Pete McKinney asked for details on the retaining wall between the Lutheran Church and the parcel. The light brown keystone retaining walls will be built in 6-foot-tall sections, with landscaping buffers between each successive wall. Fencing will be composed of cast stone pillars with aluminum fencing. Griffith said that landscape buffers will be provided along the eastern and southern boundaries of the parcel.

Chaparral Hills resident Debbie Grandia asked if the natural topography of the parcel would be leveled. Thomas said that each of the building pads would be terraced in a stair-step fashion to follow the existing contours of the parcels.

Martin initiated another lengthy discussion of changing the design of the pedestrian plaza. After considering several options, there was consensus that a proposal from the developer would be required for the next site plan hearing. Armijo asked for a separate condition to have an additional traffic analysis performed to resolve the two issues raised by SEH regarding the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection on Baptist Road.

The preliminary PD site plan was unanimously approved with eight conditions:

1. More landscaping will be added along Baptist Road; the changes made by staff must be added to the landscape plan portion of the PD site plan; specifications will be added to the preliminary PD site plan for a colored and patterned concrete strip to be installed between the sidewalk and curb along Baptist Road and Struthers Road.
2. Numerous technical changes must be made to the design guidelines for the parcel and then be approved by staff.
3. Documentation will be provided showing that all minor issues raised by several referral agencies have been resolved to the satisfaction of staff.
4. A master signage plan will be submitted and approved by staff before any sign permits are issued.
5. All minor technical corrections to the preliminary PD site plan, design guidelines, and zoning regulations shall be made and then approved by staff prior to final approval of the site plan.
6. Approval is subject to final approval of engineering plans by staff.
7. A revised design proposal for the pedestrian plaza will be submitted before hearings are conducted on the fourth lot to be developed.
8. A traffic analysis for Baptist Road at the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection will be performed prior to hearings on the site plan for the next lot to be developed.

Griffith gave the staff report on both proposals. No citizens were present for these public hearings.

The 53-lot, 13.67-acre Pulte Homes subdivision is on the northwest corner of Leather Chaps and Bowstring Drives. The first phase of the Remington Hills development is adjacent to Copper Heights to the east. Bowstring Drive separates the two residential areas. There are two accesses to Bowstring at the north and south ends of the parcel.

Land use breakdown:

Lot sizes range from 6,050 square feet to 13,318 square feet, with an average of 7,536 square feet.

The pocket park on the southeast corner of the parcel has street frontages on Leather Chaps, Bowstring, and Butte Circle (the southern access) to the north. This park and two other open space tracts will be dedicated to Monument and maintained by Triview Metropolitan District

Griffith said staff had asked the developer to add a fence around the perimeter of the pocket park.

Griffith said that the developer and MVEA had not agreed on the width and location of electric utility easements. Originally, MVEA requested 10-foot-wide easements. The developer submitted a letter to staff saying MVEA had verbally agreed to 7-foot-wide front yard easements. After that, MVEA submitted a letter to staff that if the requested easements are not provided, MVEA "may not be able to provide services to the subdivision." She reported that all the other unresolved issues raised by referral agencies are technical and not significant.

Griffith reported Pulte had proposed some minor changes to the road alignments adjacent to the development and in the vicinity. The staff asked Pulte to request the changes to the Regency Park master plan via a PD sketch plan application to be in conformance with the town’s review and approval process for planned developments.

Griffith reported the site plan was consistent with the Regency Park PD and the town’s Comprehensive Plan, citing 11 review and approval criteria.

Griffith proposed two conditions for the preliminary/final plat:

1. Documentation shall be provided that referral agency comments have been resolved to staff’s satisfaction prior to recording.
2. Any necessary technical corrections shall be made to the satisfaction of staff.

Commissioner Armijo asked if the proposed lot sizes were consistent with those for existing houses in Remington Hills. Griffith said that the Regency Park zoning for the first filing of Remington Hills is PRD-4 (four houses per acre). The Regency Park zoning for the Copper Heights parcel is PRD-6 (six houses per acre). The Regency Park zoning for the undeveloped Remington Hills filing adjacent to the north half of Copper Heights is PRD-6. The adjacent parcel to the west is zoned PMD-10 (multi-family) and will probably be a townhouse development.

Project Manager Darsey Nicklasson of Pulte Homes gave Pulte’s developer presentation. She said that MVEA’s request for an exclusive 10-foot easement would unduly restrict options for front-yard landscaping. MVEA has not required that large an easement in any other Jackson Creek development.

Pulte Vice President Todd Levitt said that gas and electric lines are installed in a common 7-foot easement everywhere else in Jackson Creek. He noted that the water and sewer easements were under the roads, and phone and cable easements are in the back yards.

Jackson Creek Land Co. Development Manager Rick Blevins confirmed Levitt’s statement and added that the town would create significant problems for all future Jackson Creek development if it allowed a precedent to be set for an exclusive MVEA easement, particularly with how close pad-mounted transformers might be installed to individual homes. He noted that MVEA had not asked for an exclusive 10-foot easement in the adjacent Remington Hills lots under construction, even though these lots are much larger.

Kassawara said the staff agrees with Pulte, saying as little as 3 feet would be adequate for electric and gas lines in a single trench.

Commissioner Mettler asked why the pocket park was located near traffic on Leather Chaps and Bowstring Drives

Nicklasson said the location would make the park more visible as a public park to all residents of Jackson Creek similar to the public park adjacent to Creekside Middle School Moving it away from Leather Chaps would make it seem like it was exclusively for the use of Copper Heights residents, as has occurred in other Jackson Creek subdivisions. Also, it would be far more visible to citizens and patrolling police, particularly at night, promoting prompt reporting of problems. The major play areas are in the rear of the park and are buffered by landscaping and a detached sidewalk.

Martin said that the Copper Heights lots were confined in a manner unlike the other Jackson Creek developments. He said a community of exclusively two-story houses would be unique. He noted that the existing semi-custom Remington Hills homes adjacent to Copper Heights are much larger and most are ranchers. Blevins said that the Remington Hills homes being built are much bigger than expected. Martin asked if Pulte had a rancher product that would fit on the proposed lots to provide greater variety. Levitt said no, and that no developer could build a rancher in a similar development at an acceptable price, because ranchers of the same square footage are more expensive to build.

Armijo said the development would "feel packed in" because all the models are two stories and "in my opinion the exterior lots are too small." He also said, "I’m not quite sure that this is what the town of Monument should look like." He said the park should be moved to another location, away from the two collector roads.

Consultant Land Planner John Maynard of NES, Inc., disagreed, saying that Copper Heights was a transition area between PRD-4 and PRD-10 parcels. Levitt said the cost of building ranchers in a PRD-6 zone next to a collector road is prohibitive to buyers. Kassawara said that houses in the mid-$300,000 range are appropriate to ensure a variety of housing prices in Monument, "the best you can do" from a town planning standpoint. Levitt said the prices of these homes would be considerably below the average price of Monument homes, meeting the objective of the town’s comprehensive plan. Griffith said all the other projects recently approved by the town were for even larger lots, creating a shortage of smaller lots to meet the existing demand.

After considerable further discussion about various land planning philosophical issues, the preliminary/final plat was approved (5-1) with Armijo opposed. After more discussion about these same issues, the preliminary/final PD site plan was approved (4-2) with Armijo and Martin opposed.

The preliminary/final plat for filing 14 of Monument Marketplace was unanimously approved. Blevins said this 3.54-acre 3-lot property on the southeast end of the commercial center will be an auto service complex, including a parts store and a lube center. There has been no interest in building a gas station on the parcel.

Public notification ordinance revision narrowly approved: Inconsistencies exist in the town code regarding whether or not a Board of Trustees hearing can be advertised in a newspaper before a Planning Commission hearing has been completed. There was a lengthy discussion about legal and technical requirements, recent advertisements of hearings not being published on the date requested by staff, efficient and expeditious scheduling of hearings, and giving citizens full 15-day notice for a board hearing after the recommendations of the Planning Commission are known. The proposed ordinance revision to allow concurrent notice of Planning Commission and Board of Trustee hearings was approved (4-2) with Armijo and Morgan opposed.

The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

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The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10 in Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held the second Wednesday of the month. Information: 481-2954.

The Palmer Lake Town Council held a special meeting at 6 p.m. for an executive session on personnel issues on Dec. 7, before the regular workshop meeting at 7 p.m. In addition to discussions of alternatives for refilling Palmer Lake and the draft 2007 budget, the council received a lengthy presentation on a proposed certified identity theft risk management service program.

Donna Jack and Peg Richardson of the Kroll Risk Consulting Co. gave a 50-minute presentation on options they could offer town staff for training on how to prevent identity thefts within the town’s daily operations, certification of this training, and legal services for defending the town from claims for civil and criminal liability. They said identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the country. Although they said their basic coverage would cost $13 per employee per month, they left no documentation for their presentations or proposed fees for service for the trustees and staff to analyze, due to what they said was the proprietary nature of their offer in a very competitive industry.

The Awake the Lake Committee asked the town for water production records and a meeting with town water attorney Ronnie Sperling to discuss the committee’s proposal to purchase new water storage rights in Palmer Lake for the town. Chairman Jeff Hulsmann said the committee would pay for a meeting with Sperling if it could set the agenda and list of questions proposed to her. While the committee expects this session to be an open public meeting, it wants enough control of the discussion to be sure its questions are presented to Sperling.

The committee also offered to pay for filing for water storage rights in the lake. Sperling would prepare the filing at the direction of the council. Hulsmann said the filing fee would be $500 but the committee did not know whether to budget $2,000 or $20,000 for the proposed hearings in water court.

Hulsmann said the committee also wants to develop a strategy for water augmentation and expanded water production to refill the lake. He presented a letter to Mayor Max Parker and Water Trustee Jim Girlando that asked for production statistics for four years (2003-06) for the town’s A2 and D2 wells, and surface production of Anchor Ditch, the town’s water system, and the Glen Park reservoir. The committee also asked for a tour of the town’s water facilities. Hulsmann asked the council to commit to filing for storage rights in the lake at the regular council meeting on Dec. 14.

Roads Supervisor Bob Radosevich said that developer Tim Shanks and other residents on the south fork of Shady Lane had asked the town to plow this private road. Shanks is building a development at the top of the hill on this one-block dead-end road and has regraded the road to withstand the loads of heavy construction vehicles. Asphalt millings were to be laid down in late November to stabilize the dirt road and minimize rutting and erosion. However, spreading of the asphalt millings was cancelled due to recent blizzards. They will not be applied until the spring. The town has not accepted ownership of the road yet due to it not meeting town standards.

Radosevich said that there is more ice on the road now than in previous years due to more traffic. The council approved plowing of the still-private road on a time-available basis as a priority 3 roadway. Parker reminded citizens that they use the private road at their own risk whether the town plows it or not.

Parker said that consolidations of unnecessary line items had reduced the length of the proposed 2007 budget from 31 to 22 pages. Estimated sales tax revenue will increase from about $227,000 to about $248,000 due to the temporary 10-year half-cent sales tax approved for the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department in the last election. The half-cent tax began on Jan. 1.

Town Clerk Della Gray said sales tax revenue for October was up to $22,000 from previous years where the October revenue was $10,000 to $12,000. Gray asked for any changes immediately so the final budget could be approved on Dec. 14.

Fire Trustee Gary Coleman reported that the fire department would be hiring an emergency medical technical for the new paid position for weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. He also said there were two recent calls for urgent emergency medical care at the southwest end of town. Both were immediately assigned to the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District ambulance for treatment and transport.

Parker said the council needed to go into executive session to discuss staff pay increases for 2007. The meeting went into executive session at 8:30 p.m.

Below: Dan Gilliana (right) describes his plans for the Palmer Lake Police Department to the Town Council on Dec. 14 prior to being unanimously approved for appointment as the new police chief. Photo by Jim Kendrick

Below: Palmer Lake resident Travis Fisk, 13 (#44) was a member of last year’s Colorado State champion hockey team (pee wee division). He joined his friends Jeremy Aquino, 13 (in the middle) and Malachi Colebank, 14 (closest to the net) also from Palmer Lake to give a hockey demonstration for spectators on a cleared portion of Palmer Lake on Christmas Day. The Palmer Divide Community Sport Association sponsored this free skating event. The Town of Palmer Lake intends to continue this trend by hosting the Winter Fest. The first one will be held at the lake on Jan. 26 from 5-8PM. Details about this event can be obtained from Trish Flake, Palmer Lake Trustee of Parks and Recreation at 481-4810. Photo and information by Kim Makower

The Palmer Lake Town Council approved ordinances for the 2007 budget and appropriation and certified the 2007 mill levy on Dec. 14. The council also approved two additional appropriations for 2006 and an intergovernmental agreement converting the town’s membership in the Palmer Divide Water Group to membership in its successor, the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority.

Police Trustee Trudy Finan introduced Dan Gilliana as the new Palmer Lake police chief. Officer Mike Brennan had served as interim chief since Dale Smith’s retirement after more than 30 years in this position.

Gilliana has served in the police community since 1977 and has been a part-time officer in Palmer Lake since 1999. He is leaving his job as Criminal Justice Department chair at Colorado Technical University He also served on the advisory board for the Pikes Peak Community College criminal justice curriculum and related training programs.

Gilliana said he would continue the community-oriented police program created by Smith long before it became a popular and commonly accepted approach to relationships with citizens. Gilliana said his staff would add an officer, participate in El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in-service training, work with Douglas County on vehicle maintenance, and have a closer working relationship with the Monument Police Department.

Gilliana’s appointment was unanimously approved by the council. He was sworn in by Finan to a warm round of applause.

Since Gilliana’s selection, Brennan and administrative assistant Mary Kay Reed have resigned from the department for personal reasons.

The council unanimously approved two ordinances that amended the appropriations for the 2006 budget. Unused funds from the administration budget ($4,860) and police budget ($11,811) were re-appropriated to the fire budget for Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department (PLVFD). The fire budget was increased by $16,671, from $42,140 to $64,256, to cover planned expenses through the end of the year. Then the council approved a transfer of funds received from a state grant of $5,445 to be paid to the Fire and Police Protective Association pension fund by the town. This further increased the 2006 fire budget to $69,701.

Town Clerk Della Gray said the increases were used to purchase the new roof installed on the fire station. Additional funds were also required to pay for part-time emergency medical technician coverage during working hours on weekdays beginning in October after Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District cancelled its emergency services agreement with PLVFD.

The town had also purchased an RV to provide temporary on-duty living quarters for volunteer firefighters and medical personnel and Larkspur Fire Protection District personnel under a new emergency services agreement with that district. The RV has been installed behind Town Hall and connected to the building’s utilities.

The council unanimously approved a resolution that certified each of the 2007 property tax mill levies that will raise the following maximum revenues:

The certification had to be filed with El Paso County by Dec. 15.

The council unanimously approved the ordinance for the 2007 budget. While several of the funds have small reserves that were rolled over from 2006 to 2007, only the general fund has an end-of-year balance for 2007. The 2006 general fund end-of-year balance brought forward was $234,204. The balance general fund balance drops slightly at the end of 2007 to $233,710.

The council unanimously approved the ordinance for the 2007 appropriations. The 14 appropriations (total) were: