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Contents:
WinterFest: The cool side of frigid weather!Photos by Mark Kirkland Photography, www.kirklandphotography.com Click here or on the photos to zoom in Below: Low temperatures and high spirits on the ice at Palmer Lake during WinterFest, Jan. 26. The Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts is in the background.
Below: Children of all ages came out for the event.
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 | Construction is to start no later than April. |
| Most issues raised by town staff during planning review have been resolved and the few remaining would be resolved quickly. |
| The facility will employ 25-30 full-time staff. |
| There will be 70-75 part-time employees; most will be hired from the local area. |
| When opened, the first phase will serve 12,000 people in the first year, growing to 18,000 users per year in five years |
| The building will be 45,000 square feet on 12 acres, including the first synthetic year-round ball fields, gymnasium, warm-water pool, wellness center, community meeting rooms, child-care facility, group exercise, and supporting locker rooms. (see http://www.ppymca.org/ for more info) |
Bennett said the price of the facility has escalated from $11.4 million to $15.8 million, due in part to unexpected costs for purchasing 6 additional acre-feet of water rights per year ($137,000) from the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, new Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District impact fees ($16,000), and traffic impact fees for Jackson Creek Parkway ($120,000). Bennett said his concern about escalating costs is that "we could end up with a wonderfully graded plot of land with great road, access, adequate water and drainage utilities and we’ve run out of money to build the building."
He asked the board to waive $63,110 in town fees that would be applied to the $120,000 requirement for improvements to Jackson Creek Parkway. Bennett said the fee waiver would also help encourage out-of-area donors who want to see matching fund contributions by the trustees. Contributions to date are $8.7 million, mostly from the local area.
Green said some of the town’s fees could not be legally waived and asked for further discussions with a YMCA representative to clarify the fees for required planning and engineering reviews, inspections, drainage and traffic impact fees, and the town’s use tax for construction materials. Glenn asked Green to research the fees waived by the board when it approved the non-profit Colorado Junior Volleyball Gymnasium on Mitchell Ave. on April 3, 2006.
Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara said he would provide a complete list of required YMCA fees to the board at the Feb. 5 meeting. Kassawara noted that a cost of about $200,000 would be evenly split between the YMCA and D-38 for a new Jackson Creek Parkway traffic signal at their new shared access north of the existing Higby Road signal. The other $20,000 would be for the town’s required construction of 600 feet of curbs and gutters and for acceleration and deceleration lanes for this new intersection, as well as traffic mitigation during construction.
Drumm asked if the town’s skate board park could be moved to the YMCA parcel. Kassawara said there was no room on the YMCA site for the park. (See site plan illustration at the bottom of this page.)
Kassawara said that the YMCA plat and site plans would be reviewed by the Planning Commission in February and BOT in March.
The board unanimously approved an ordinance amendment that allows simultaneous public notice of Planning Commission and BOT hearings for individual land use proposals. Currently, the required notice of BOT hearings cannot be made until after Planning Commission hearings. Kassawara said the minimum 15-day notice requirement for newspaper advertisements, posting yellow notice signs on the property, and sending registered letters to adjacent landowners often delays BOT hearings up to a month, which he said was "nothing but dead time."
Shupp noted that the change would not force premature hearings. An applicant could still elect to request continuations of scheduled hearings when they are not ready on the date they had previously requested. There was no public comment in favor of or opposition to the ordinance.
The Monument Ridge 30-acre lot is bordered by the new Struthers Road (under construction) to the west, Baptist Road to the north, Family of Christ Lutheran Church to the east, and the Chaparral Hills residential development to the south. The parcel is subdivided into 10 commercial lots, one office lot, one 8-acre medium density residential lot (to be subdivided later) on the southeast corner of the parcel, and a triangular lot on the southwest corner for a detention pond. The landowner is CAA 2006 LLC of Colorado Springs.
The gross commercial area of the parcel is 17.8 acres, the gross residential area is 8.1 acres, the area dedicated to the county for required Baptist and Struthers Road right-of-way is 3.1 acres, and the detention pond on the southwest corner of the parcel requires 1 acre. There are 4.5 acres of open space throughout the property. A half-acre of land within the residential area will be dedicated to the town for a small park when a developer is identified.
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. Each is a four-sided design to be appealing from any direction, a requirement of PD zoning. The Fairfield Inn will share a joint parking lot with a future adjacent hotel to the southeast.
Glenn asked Kassawara and the developer to present their plat and site plan information at the same time, prior to the board’s separate public hearings and votes on each.
Kassawara reported that there were no staff issues with the preliminary/final plat for the project and that it conforms to all town requirements. Kassawara recommended one condition. "Any necessary technical corrections shall be made by the applicant and approved by Staff prior to recording the Preliminary/Final Plat." The plat was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission on Dec. 13 with this single condition.
| Kassawara said that the staff had worked with the developer to establish a consistent architectural theme throughout the site. The preliminary site plan is the development’s "master plan" and the design guidelines are required for the existing PD zoning. |
Kassawara said the board was being asked to give final site plan approvals for the exterior architecture of the three proposed buildings and their lot designs. When buyers have been identified, there will be subsequent Planning Commission and BOT hearings for PD site plans for:
| The second hotel’s exterior architectural design |
| Each of the proposals for the other commercial lots |
| The proposal for the office lot |
| The plat for subdividing the 8-acre multi-family residential lot |
| The residential PD site plan, including the style and type of medium-density housing and the specific location and design of the mandated internal half-acre park. |
On Dec. 13, Commissioner Tom Martin had requested that the developer provide a "monument or other type of structure" in the gathering area of the "greenbelt" open space between the commercial and residential areas. The Planning Commission unanimously approved the preliminary PD site plan with Kassawara’s eight proposed conditions and Martin’s added condition:
| A revised design proposal for the pedestrian plaza will be submitted before hearings are conducted on the fourth (next) lot to be developed. |
Kassawara said that after the Planning Commission hearing, many of the technical corrections requested by the staff had been made. He noted that the revised preliminary PD site plan met all town requirements. However, several referral agency issues had been raised after Dec. 13 and many remained unresolved.
The town’s traffic consultant, SEH, Inc., had expressed concern prior to the Planning Commission hearing that motorists exiting Monument Ridge to go east on Baptist Road from the western right-in/right-out-only access would try to make an illegal 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. The two through lanes and the adjacent new acceleration lane would provide enough room for prohibited U-turns.
Kassawara said that he had proposed internal signage throughout the 30-acre parcel that would direct motorists wishing to go west on Baptist Road to exit northbound onto the new Struthers Road segment from the new Monument Ridge Road access at the southwest corner of the parcel, then turn left to go west on Baptist Road. He said the town’s and developer’s traffic engineers had agreed to his proposal. He added that the western Baptist Road right-in/right-out-only access was "very important to the developer" and those companies planning to purchase lots.
Kassawara reported that the county Department of Transportation had notified him earlier in the day that it did not approve the western right-in/right-out-only access to Baptist Road. The county department said the Monument Ridge site plan proposal had not been approved by the Major Thoroughfares Task Force. The county asked that the BOT delay final approval of the project until the Task Force has approved the plat and site plan.
CDOT had recently expressed concerns about the developer’s traffic study.
County and state Department of Transportation issues had emerged with regard to drainage during construction of Baptist and new Struthers roads. Baptist and Struthers are county roads that drain onto the state’s I-25 Baptist Road interchange (Exit 158.)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expressed concerns about the effect of activity and lighting at the Chase Bank drive-through area on nearby protected Preble’s mouse habitat on the opposite side of new Struthers Road. The Chase Bank is on the corner of Baptist and Struthers roads, directly south of the Shell gas station.
Kassawara proposed six of the nine conditions for approval by the Planning Commission:
Kassawara said the other three conditions had been resolved since the Planning Commission hearing. He added that there were no developer issues with any of these staff comments and conditions.
Land planner Perry Thomas, of Thomas & Thomas Urban Design/LA Inc., gave essentially the same developer presentation he had given to the Planning Commission. Thomas noted that the developer had changed the gathering plaza to make it amenable to art displays from the local community in response to Commissioner Martin’s request.
Kassawara commended Thomas for adding the numerous features the staff had requested. He said the staff had deleted the condition Martin had requested because the developer had volunteered to comply with it. Kassawara said that the staff did not recommend Martin’s change.
There were no public comments in favor of or opposed to the proposed site plan.
Board discusses access issues with developer: Mayor Glenn directed Kassawara to require the developer to submit an escrow payment for a full-motion traffic light at the Jackson Creek Crossing intersection on Baptist Road as a condition of approval for the plat. Kassawara said the Monument Ridge developers should be required to pay only a proportionate share of the signal cost.
Background: The developer of the new Jackson Creek Market Village shopping center agreed to share these Jackson Creek Crossing traffic signal costs when their site plan was approved on Apr. 18, 2005. The Market Village center will be adjacent to the east side of the King Soopers Center,
This Jackson Creek Crossing intersection is the current unsignaled right-in/right-out-only eastern access on Baptist Road to the King Soopers Center. Jackson Creek Crossing will be the only available access road for the Jackson Creek Market Village center due to the steep uphill grade of Baptist Road to the east.
Monument Ridge Road, on the northeast corner of the Monument Ridge parcel, will be the primary internal road in the project. This road will connect to Baptist Road opposite Jackson Creek Crossing. This access will also be right-in/right-out-only for eastbound Baptist Road.
Baptist Road will be four lanes wide with a median between Gleneagle Drive and I-25 with numerous acceleration/deceleration lanes as well as single or dual left-turn lanes. County standards for this type of major arterial road mandate no less than half-mile spacing between traffic lights. Jackson Creek Crossing is much less than a half-mile east of the existing Jackson Creek Parkway traffic signal (about 900 feet.)
Glenn said he plans to have the town annex this major arterial portion of Baptist Road after the county accepts ownership of the road a year after that, about a year after construction is completed. Under county rules, left turns from the King Soopers Center and Monument Ridge onto Baptist Road will be physically prevented by the county’s concrete median.
The annexation would allow Monument to void the county’s prohibition on any Jackson Creek Crossing traffic signal. Annexation would also allow the town to permit left turns in all four directions at this intersection, as urgently requested by the developers of these two new shopping centers.
Glenn added that the proposed full-motion intersection was also needed because of all the King Soopers center traffic that is already backing up in front of the food store trying to exit onto Jackson Creek Parkway. Glenn said this problem will be worse when the Timbers development opens on the northwest corner of Baptist Road and Jackson Creek Parkway.
When constructed, Jackson Creek Market Village shopping center traffic will also cut through the King Soopers center to get to the parkway, adding further to the internal backup.
Glenn told Thomas he wanted the developer to be aware that the county might deny the northern right-in/right-out-only access to Struthers Road and the western right-in/right-out-only access to Baptist Road until the town could annex both roads. Virgil Sanchez, the developer’s engineer, said they realized that they could not build their accesses until the county’s construction has been completed.
Glenn noted that there might be a problem with traffic exiting onto Struthers Road from the northern access, 410 feet south of the Baptist Road traffic light, because it would be cutting across the two northbound through lanes to get to the two left-turn lanes to go west on Baptist Road.
The developer’s traffic consultant, Jeff Hodsdon of LSC Transportation Consultants, said that the left-turn lanes are 460 feet long, and traffic exiting onto Struthers would be less than on Baptist Road, which would be less of a safety issue than the western access to Baptist Road. Hodsdon said the peak would be 280 cars per hour exiting onto northbound Struthers Road and the light would be red most of the time for Struthers Road traffic at the Baptist Road intersection, providing gaps for cars to cut across to the left-turn lanes. He said the expected delays before a car could turn north onto Struthers Road would still be minimally acceptable if the traffic count were to double.
Glenn asked Kassawara to have an SEH traffic consultant accompany Hodsdon to the Major Thoroughfares Task Force hearing on the project to be sure that the county knows that the town also believes there will be no significant safety problems with the three right-in/right-out-only accesses. Kassawara said he would also attend that hearing.
Glenn asked Kassawara to obtain a letter from Triview Metropolitan District certifying that Monument Ridge had paid $490,000 for well A. Triview is providing water and sewer service to the development.
Glenn also asked Kassawara to confirm that the development’s commercial and homeowner associations would maintain all the green space instead of the town or Triview. Kassawara said this maintenance obligation was required by the restrictive covenants for both areas.
Glenn asked the developer to confirm that there would not be a request that the residential area be converted to commercial space. Kassawara said the 8 acres was not suitable for terraced commercial development due to its grade and the board would have to approve a request to convert to commercial after approving this site plan.
Trustee Travis Easton asked if all the utilities along Baptist Road and Struthers Road would be installed before these two roads were paved. Kassawara said no and added that the development’s acceleration/deceleration lanes would also be built after the county’s construction is completed. Installation of the utilities and the additional acceleration/deceleration lanes for Monument Ridge will tear up the county’s roadways, curbs, and gutters.
Glenn asked if the large retaining wall between the church and Monument Ridge would be built all at once. Virgil Sanchez, the developer’s engineer, said only the northern part of the wall would be built. The rest of the eastern property boundary will be graded immediately, however. The rest of the wall will be built as more commercial lots and the residential areas are developed. The developer’s retaining wall material will be the same as the county will use for its retaining wall on the north side of the church property. Glenn said a condition should be added for the site plan to restrict this temporary grading to the south to no more than a 3-to-1 slope for safety.
Glenn said that the greenbelt area would require even more landscaping and fencing to screen the pedestrian walkway and adjacent homes from the rear of the adjacent restaurant lots to the north.
Drumm said it was inappropriate to require or expect the private property owners to continually fund town art shows as well as pay for security for the displays. Glenn and Easton agreed. Trustee Tommie Plank said the decision should be left to the developer’s discretion. Sanchez said the original proposal for a sitting area was actually more appropriate. The developer’s voluntary proposal for art work displays in the green space was eliminated by consensus.
The plat, with Glenn’s added condition for traffic signal escrow money, was unanimously approved. The site plan, with Glenn’s added condition on temporary grading along the boundary with the church, was also unanimously approved.
There were no significant changes to either proposal from the presentations made to the Planning Commission on Dec. 13. Kassawara said Mountain View Electric Association had withdrawn its request for a wider than normal easement for its utilities.
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:
| Residential lots 9.14 acres |
| Right-of-way 3.88 acres |
| Landscape buffer 0.22 acre |
| Public park 0.64 acre |
| Gross density 3.88 dwelling units per acre |
| Net density 5.80 dwelling units per acre |
Lot sizes range from 6,050 square feet to 13,318 square feet, with an average of 7,536 square feet.
The small 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
The Pulte Homes presentation was also unchanged. There were no public comments in favor of or opposed to the proposal.
Drumm expressed concern about side setbacks being only 5 feet, and asked for a 20-foot separation between houses. Kassawara said this larger separation would not allow the developer to build as many houses as called for in PRD-6 zoning. This Regency Park zoning was established in 1987, when the town annexed the land. The town recently adopted all Regency Park zoning through an intergovernmental agreement with Triview Metropolitan District.
Vision Development project manager Rick Blevins said there was enough lateral spacing and grade differences between Remington Hills and Copper Heights to preserve Remington Hills’ views of the Front Range.
Trustee Samuels, who runs a landscape architecture company in Colorado Springs, suggested that the whole play area in the development’s small park be fully sodded with fescue to better withstand heavy use. Glenn expressed concern that Samuels’ proposal might set a precedent for increased irrigation requirements for Triview Metropolitan District. During the lengthy discussion that followed, Todd Levitt, vice president of Pulte Homes, said he agreed with the reasoning and examples Samuels provided and also preferred to fully sod the park. Green said maintenance of native grasses is always "a huge issue." Kassawara will administratively change the native grass requirement in the play area.
The Copper Heights plat and site plans were unanimously approved with no additional conditions.
The board unanimously approved the final plat for Filing 14 of the Monument Marketplace on the southeast corner of the center. There are three lots on this parcel for a Grease Monkey oil/lube center, a Checker Auto parts store along Jackson Creek Parkway, and a possible car wash behind them to the west. Kassawara noted that Triview Metropolitan District may not be able to provide water and sewer service to the proposed car wash due to infrastructure problems. The Planning Commission had unanimously approved the proposal on Jan. 10. There were no public comments on the filing.
After this hearing, Blevins reported that Pulte Homes had withdrawn from its development agreement with Vision Development for the Copper Terrace townhouse development between the Copper Heights development and Jackson Creek Parkway. Blevins said Pulte had encountered too many issues with gaining proposal approvals from town staff to be able to complete the Copper Terrace project by the end of 2007. Vision Development will take over development of the Copper Terrace project, but it is being put on "indefinite hold."
The board unanimously approved resolutions for:
| Continued posting of Planning Commission and BOT agendas at Town Hall and the Monument Post Office in 2007 |
| Renewal of Judge John Ciccalella with a three-year contract |
| Renewal of Town Attorney Gary Shupp with a three-year contract |
| Renewal of Town Water Engineer Bruce Lytle with a two-year contract |
| A contribution of $29,137 for a water study to be performed by Bishop-Brogden Associates, Inc., for the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority |
The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m. The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 5, at Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held on the first and third Monday of the month. Information: 481-2954.
By Jim Kendrick
On Jan. 10, the Monument Planning Commission approved the fourth amendment to the Monument Marketplace PD (planned development) site plan. The commissioners also changed the next meeting date to Feb. 21.
Monument Marketplace is east of I-25 and north of Baptist Road on the west side of Jackson Creek Parkway.
Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara reviewed the proposals from Marketplace project manager Rick Blevins. Kassawara said the PD site plan was updated to show the actual configurations of several filings to reflect minor changes that were previously approved administratively by town staff. Other configuration changes were for future uses that were different than "contemplated in the past."
Also proposed were changes to the center’s design guidelines to allow a broader range of exterior building materials and colors "while adhering to the overall ‘Colorado Mountain’ architectural theme."
Kassawara proposed no conditions to the proposed amendment.
In response to a request for the Texas Roadhouse now under construction, Kassawara asked the board to approve rough-sawn cedar siding, "painted or opaque stained" and eliminate the current restriction on forest green metal roofing. Kassawara said the staff had rejected Texas Roadhouse’s original request for clear-stained cedar siding and an unpainted roof like the two restaurants in Colorado Springs. He noted that a few roofing colors were added in the third amendment to the PD site plan at the request of other "national tenants" such as Home Depot. Prior to the third amendment the only color allowed for a metal roof was champagne. Forest green, blue, and red metal roofs were added to the palette, but only for small accent applications of fewer than 500 square feet.
He added that painted siding, a pastel green with 6-inch-wide horizontal lap siding, would not stand out from the other types of materials that are used in the Marketplace "in our opinion."
Kassawara reported that the proposed mansard-look roof would have no second level to a peak. There would be a flat roof above the lower part that would come out from the vertical face of the sides of the building. Kassawara said this mansard roofing would not go all the way up the vertical face. There would be a parapet above the mansard that would hide the heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment for the restaurant. The mansard would be equivalent to a continuous wrap-around metal awning in appearance and effect.
Kassawara said, "From the ground it looks very much like a full roof" but there is no peak or massive hip roof. He added approval of the mansard would not set a precedent for subsequent requests for a massive forest green metal roof on other Marketplace lots. (See: http://architecture.about.com/library/weekly/aa100900b.htm or http://architecture.about.com/library/blgloss-mansard.htm for examples of a mansard roof)
The other fourth amendment change Kassawara discussed was the "contemplated use" of a car wash on the southeast corner automotive service filing in lieu of a gas station for Filing 14. There are three lots in the filing, two along Jackson Creek Parkway and a larger lot behind them to the west.
Blevins said that earlier site plans for Filing 14 had shown a combination gas station and convenience store, a parts store, and a tire store. Blevins said the proposed Checker parts store would not perform any lube or oil services. The other proposed building is a Grease Monkey oil and lube center. Both would have frontages on Jackson Creek Parkway. The proposed car wash would be behind these two stores.
Blevins answered Commissioner Patricia Mettler’s questions about the car wash. He said there would be two automatic drive-through bays and four hand-held washing bays as well as the typical vacuum and drying areas. Triview Metropolitan District has not yet agreed to provide water for the car wash due to water, street, and sewer infrastructure issues. Re-used water cannot be used in hand-held car washes due to Colorado health laws.
Commissioner Kathy Spence expressed concerns about people performing repairs in the Checker parking lot. Blevins said that people may open their hoods for a few minutes to add fluids, replace a battery, or have a service representative verify that the part provided would match the vehicle component that was to be replaced. Blevins said that there would be no overhauls performed in the parking area and Kassawara said "there would be no jacks or winches" in use.
Commissioner Tom Martin asked Spence to explain her concerns. Spence said that a messy lot with a lot of inoperative vehicles around it would be the first thing visitors "from outside the community" would see driving north on Jackson Creek Parkway from Baptist Road. She added, "You know what I’m here for is to give my opinion." She compared this problem to unsightly views to the west when driving south on I-25 from County Line Road that give a bad first impression of Monument to motorists. She said she had frequently performed repairs in parts store parking lots on her "street rod," then "We of course cleaned up when we left."
Martin said the Checker store could be isolated by landscaping along the parkway. Blevins replied that there would be landscaping and the grade of Filing 14 was well below Jackson Creek Parkway, behind a berm. "It’s not all that visible." Blevins said he would discuss with owner CSK Auto, Inc., that Marketplace regulations on building owners and tenants would address the cleanliness issue. Kassawara said staff would ensure that all these suggestions were implemented in reciprocal easement agreements when it administratively approves the final site plan for each new filing.
Blevins also showed the commissioners where one of the four originally approved retail bays, building F on Lot 8, had been eliminated. The remaining bays on the northwest corner of Jackson Creek Parkway will be occupied by a PetSmart, Staples, and perhaps a national retail clothing outlet.
There was a lengthy unrelated discussion on the clock tower and surrounding gathering area and sidewalks throughout the Marketplace. Blevins said that sidewalks along all frontages and crosswalks are designed to allow people to walk between any two stores. The main east-west sidewalk is wider to allow for bikes and pedestrians.
After another 20 minutes of discussion on these same issues, Spence proposed adding a condition that the request for adding painted/stained wood siding and forest green roofing in excess of 500 square feet to the allowed materials list only apply to this specific Texas Roadhouse use as a "one-time exception." She added, "One of my pet peeves is the liquor store and the bank with the blue metal roof" on Highway 105.
Town Attorney Gary Shupp suggested reviewing use of wood siding and forest green roofing over 500 square feet via "case-by-case waiver requests" instead of amending the color and materials guidelines. Blevins suggested a compromise where only the restaurants adjacent to I-25 be allowed to use painted siding and green metal roofing. Spence countered that elimination of the two restrictions only apply to Texas Roadhouse rather than all of the restaurant lots along I-25. Blevins noted that the Texas Roadhouse contract was conditional, based on the results of this Planning Commission and future Board of Trustees hearings.
After further discussion between Spence and Shupp regarding the precise wording of her condition, the commission unanimously recommended approval of the amendment to the Board of Trustees.
The next meeting was changed to Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall to ensure a quorum and ensure that the proposals planned for the February session are completed.
The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
By Jim Kendrick
Mayor Max Parker gave his first "State of the Town" message on Jan. 11 to start a new year of Palmer Lake Town Council meetings. The council approved a petition for annexation of two parcels on Cloven Hoof Drive to initiate the formal hearing cycle for the request. Trustee Jim Girlando’s absence was excused.
Parker asked the council to add an agenda item for a conditional use request that had been unanimously approved the night before at the combined Palmer Lake Planning Commission workshop and regular meeting. The agenda, as amended, was unanimously approved.
The council unanimously approved payment of all final bills for 2006, including those that were paid after Jan. 1.
Mayor Parker’s prepared remarks summarized noteworthy occurrences in Palmer Lake during 2006 and some proposals he plans to make for 2007. Some of the highlights were:
| "Although we do not have the kind of growth that some entities do, I believe that we prefer it that way. |
| "One of the most notable events of the year was the retirement of Chief Dale Smith. After long and dedicated service to the job, the town, and its citizens, Dale was able to retire his holster and pick up the fishing pole. |
| "We appointed another one of our officers, Dan Gilliana, as chief … in December. Chief Gilliana’s extensive law enforcement career and stature within the law enforcement community make him an excellent choice which will serve this town well. |
| "The passage of a one-half percent sales tax increase in April to support the Police Department will ensure Chief Gilliana has the means to provide the best service possible to Palmer Lake. |
| "The Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department also saw an increase in support. |
| "The voters passed a one-half percent sales tax increase in November that will continue to provide the means for their continued support to the people of Palmer Lake. |
| "The immediate effect of the sales tax passage saw the addition of three paid part-time Emergency Medical Technicians in an effort to supplement our staff of EMT volunteers. We will continue to work with Chief Beckman in 2007 to create a vision for the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department and how to make the most effective use of their increased revenue. |
| "The status of our ambulance agreement also changed [with] an agreement with the Larkspur Fire Department. It will be incumbent on our Council to assess the effectiveness of this agreement and to continue to make the decisions that are the best for the safety and welfare of the citizens. |
| "The year 2006 was a renaissance for the area of Economic Development. We approved 11 new business licenses. Our sales tax revenues saw an increase of approximately 130 percent. |
| "Our Streetscape Committee rejuvenated efforts to implement a part of the Comprehensive Plan with respect to our downtown corridor. |
| "There has also been an initial discussion … with the Colorado Department of Transportation on the issue of the Town of Palmer Lake assuming the responsibility of Highway 105 within the town limits. We will carefully weigh the benefits of having positive control of this thoroughfare and the outside funding it brings with the longer term prospects for sustainability. |
| "The new water rate structure brought in $560,425 while our production costs came in at $543,758. With the net result of $16,667, we did not achieve the goal of covering the cost of production while saving for potential improvements in the future. |
| "The Water Capital Improvement Fund currently stands at $266,610. There are improvements that will be necessary in the not-so-distant future that I believe require our attention now: maintenance or replacement of parts of our water delivery system (some of which is over sixty years old), and upgrades to our primary water treatment plant to ensure compliance with federal and state quality regulations. The approximate cost of these improvements alone could be several million dollars. |
| "I will ask the Council to revisit the water rate structure and to revise it in a way that saves for these future improvements. I will ask the citizens to cooperate with our efforts. |
| "In 2007 it is our goal to renew our efforts to search for alternatives that will provide a long-term, sustainable and legal method for augmenting Palmer Lake’s water levels. |
| "I will ask the Council and the Planning Commission to review and update the Palmer Lake Municipal Code. The example of the "Hillside" Ordinance is just one of the many Ordinances that are outdated and require our attention. |
| "I will be looking at the traditional workload of the staff in an effort to determine if our manning is adequate. |
| "We need to have clearer guidelines of what our expectations are, what the various roles of management and staff are, and how to evaluate the performance of the staff. |
| "The forms and procedures for routine requests such as re-plats, land use permits, etc. need to be clear and unambiguous. |
| "I will ask the Council to consider instituting the position of town manager for the benefits of myself, but more especially for the town and my successors. The continuity of knowledge, experience, and exposure is integral to the continued success of the town. |
| "We accomplished a lot, but have lots more work to do. I look forward to serving the town and working with the Council in 2007." |
Roads Trustee Richard Allen reported that the town had submitted a document to the county Office of Emergency Management for aid for the Dec. 20 and 28 storms.
Fire Trustee Gary Coleman reported that the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department (PLVFD) had responded to 30 calls in December, of which 5 were for mutual aid. With new sales tax revenue approved in November, the department hired 3 part-time emergency medical technicians, Derrick Sams, Justin Latifi, and Moses Berrera, who work from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Phillip Beckman was re-elected as fire chief, his third year in that position.
Coleman said volunteers who want to help the department in other than firefighting positions are being recruited. Information is available at 481-2953 for individuals interested in volunteering. He asked residents to post address numbers in front of their homes for non-fire emergencies.
Police Trustee Trudy Finan reported that department policies and procedures were being modified so that they coincide with those of Monument’s Police Department. Former part-time Officer Joe Lundie has returned to Palmer Lake, in a full-time position. There will be 24-hour police coverage by the end of February. Cindy Beers will fill the part-time police analyst position for evidence processing and crime scene analysis.
Recreation Trustee Trish Flake reported that an extensive program of town-supported winter recreation had been initiated by Great Starts on Jan. 8. Information on 16 separate programs in the following areas is available at 488-9370 or www.gscamps.com.
During a lengthy presentation, Fountain Creek Watershed Study representative Bob Miner reported that the study was entering a phase that would include technical advisors and representatives other than engineers who could finally speak on Palmer Lake issues. Federal, state, and local funding for the final phases of the study has not been worked out for the rest of 2007 or 2008.
Hulsmann of the Awake the Lake Committee asked that the town provide its water attorney, Ronnie Sperling, with full details of all surface and groundwater production records from recent years prior to her planned presentation at the joint council-committee water meeting that was held at Town Hall on Jan. 16. (See the article on this water meeting on page 14.)
Bob Miner asked that Sperling review the industrial water rights deeded to the town by the railroad in the past 50 years and their potential impacts on town water storage rights in the lake. Parker said Sperling had advised the town in 1994 that there were no records of previous uses for the rights given to the town in 1982. Parker added that Sperling’s opinion at that time was that the town’s rights would be considered abandoned since there has been no similar industrial use along the lake since then.
The board unanimously accepted a petition from Wealth Wonks Capital, LLC, for hearings on annexation and town commercial zoning of two parcels of land at 18805 Cloven Hoof Drive, adjacent to the west side of Highway 105.
Ruth Bolas, the landowner’s representative, explained that there are two other adjacent small parcels to the south for which the owners will also seek annexation and rezoning. Bolas added that construction plans call for a 20,000-square-foot building costing about $4 million to $5 million for a wedding chapel and reception hall.
Chris Olivier and Rick Hagler received unanimous approval of their request for a conditional use in a C-2 commercial zone for Protec Manufacturing at 780 Highway 105, Unit E. Their business is between GroomStar Pet Supplies and Tri-Lakes Service Center. They proposed a small machine shop to manufacture small aluminum, steel, and plastic components for local businesses like Synthes as well as Lewis-Palmer School District 38. Olivier said that normally this type of facility would go in M-1 zoning. However there are already small machine shops in the adjacent area and no molds or dies would be used by Protec.
Olivier said that Tri-Lakes Service Center already was performing welding and grinding in its shop closer to the bakery.
Coleman asked Olivier to submit letters of approval from the owners of GroomStar and Bodhicitta Bakery, tenants in this strip-mall building.
Town Attorney Jim Kin said that only the Town Council could impose conditions on granting the conditional use in a "compatible zone," and the applicants could not be required to get letters of approval from adjacent tenants. Olivier, however, volunteered to get letters from the two businesses stating that they were aware of his plans prior to the hearing for the new Protec business license in February. Kin said that provision of this additional information could not legally be required as part of the board’s decision on the business license.
Kin also noted that there had been no objections raised during the brief Planning Commission hearing leading to unanimous approval the night before. Planning Commissioner Gary Atkins said he had made the motion the previous evening to approve the use after that board had reviewed all aspects of the conditional use and notifications.
The council unanimously approved Parker as the town’s primary representative to the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority and Trustee Allen as the alternate representative.
Trustee Flake read a prepared statement regarding Larkspur Fire Protection District qualifications and professionalism. During her presentation she said, "I would like to publicly make a correction to an article that was in Our Community News Volume 7, Number 1, dated January, 6, 2007, in an article titled "Palmer Lake Town Council meeting number 14, 2006." There’s some hurt feelings over a statement that is reported that I made and in review of the tape recording of the meeting that that article is reporting on, that statement was not made or misconstrued and that statement was quote Larkspur does not have anybody nearly as qualified as the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District."
Flake’s clarification: Flake said, "I’d like the record to read as follows. The issue that I have brought up over the past several months starting the ambulance agreement with the town of Palmer Lake have been about response times to medical calls in Palmer Lake. In regards to the Larkspur Fire Department, Chief Baumgarner, and Chief Miller, the dialog never included any discussion about their department’s qualifications, capabilities, or training. I am confident that Larkspur personnel fully trained, highly competent, and totally professional. The issue that I have presented to my peers on the Palmer Lake Town Council over the past several months is simple. Can Larkspur provide us with the medical attention in a timely manner? I would like to recommend the contributions of the Larkspur Fire Department over the past couple months and further would like to recommend Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department as a fine representative of our quality of life in Palmer Lake and praise the time the volunteer firefighters and our fire chief, Phillip Beckman, donate to our well-being."
Allen added, "It’s déjà vu all over again. I would like to bring up the issue of the letter of agreement that we have, the current contract we have with Larkspur, and the possibility of having a letter of agreement with Tri-Lakes Fire." He added, "I would like to go back and draw on the comment that we would review it after a period of time. I feel very strongly that everything that Trish said about the Larkspur Fire Department is right on target. They’re highly trained, qualified. Their spirit of cooperation is remarkable. Their credentials are just impeccable and they’re extremely friendly to our people as well. They’re driven by the mission."
Allen also said, "The only problem that I have and that I feel very strongly about is response times. I feel that the Tri-Lakes Fire District is just as qualified and their training is just as good, and they’re two-and-a-half miles away from the heart of Palmer Lake."
Allen suggested that the council "sit down with Tri-Lakes, give it one more shot, and come up with a letter of agreement." He said, "And that’s not putting any disparaging words on the volunteer Fire Department, absolutely no disparaging words on the Larkpur Fire Department. None. I just think there’s a better solution to what I consider to be a critical problem."
He added that he would volunteer to help facilitate the negotiations with Tri-Lakes and, "If for one second that the Town of Palmer Lake is going to get the shaft, get the short end of something" he would "get up and walk out." He also noted that Spruce Mountain Road would be closed sometime in the future for two to seven months.
Flake said that there was an average response time of 12.5 minutes from Larkspur in data provided by Chief Bumgarner.
Coleman said, "I’m a little confused by this." He said Tri-Lakes Battalion Chief Bryan Jack had told him after the Dec. 14 council meeting, "What we’re doing was working out fine" with the current setup where the town or Larkspur can request mutual aid from Tri-Lakes for a dire emergency. "Does Tri-Lakes just want to put Larkspur out the window?"
Allen said that Tri-Lakes "wants to provide the best and fastest response to medical emergencies in the Tri-Lakes area possible. It’s nothing against Larkspur." Coleman replied, "But when they sent us a certified letter canceling the old agreement, that didn’t seem to be their attitude."
Parker said that "what transpired in the past" no longer should be considered as long as Allen only attempted to negotiate an ambulance services agreement instead of the comprehensive Tri-Lakes emergency service proposal that the town and the Palmer Lake department rejected. Allen said that the only thing that should matter is which of the equally trained people can respond fastest.
Trustee Susan Miner asked that the entire council be able to review all response records compiled by the county Sheriff’s Office for the same extended period for all North Group departments, rather than selected statistics provided only by Tri-Lakes, to get an accurate and fair assessment.
Hulsmann asked the town to clear snow from the side of Highway 105 to provide additional parking for downtown restaurants and other businesses. He also asked that it be dumped on the unused town parking lot in Centennial Park.
Bob Miner suggested that staff inquire about existing snow removal agreements in Summit County ski towns.
Trustee Allen and Roads Supervisor Bob Radosevich said they would consult with the Colorado Department of Transportation on what snow removal the town could perform within the state’s right of way.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
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The next meeting is a combined workshop and regular council meeting on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall, 54 Valley Crescent. Workshops are normally held on the first Thursday of the month. Regular meetings are normally held on the second Thursday of the month. Meetings are often combined, so check for actual dates at 481-2953.
By John Heiser
On Jan. 16, Palmer Lake Mayor Max Parker, Water Trustee Jim Girlando, and Trustee Richard Allen met with representatives of the Awake the Lake Committee to discuss strategies for refilling the nearly empty lake. Town water attorney Ronni Sperling, town water superintendent Steve Orcutt, and Paul Gilbert, Linda Firth, and R.D. Wiley of engineering company RTW also attended the meeting.
A variety of alternatives were discussed. For example, Awake the Lake Committee spokesman Jeff Hulsmann suggested that a well could be drilled to supply water to the lake. He noted that he had estimates of about $50,000 for a 4-inch well into the Denver aquifer that would supply about 18 gallons per minute.
Orcutt noted that 18 gallons per minute would be insufficient to offset the rate of evaporation, estimated by Sperling at about 30 acre-feet (9.8 million gallons) per year. Orcutt said, "You need to find a renewable source." Referring to groundwater, he said, "When it is gone, it’s gone." Orcutt added that the reservoir cannot supply the town’s needs year-round, so the town relies on its wells during the summers.
Another alternative debated would be that once the reservoir is full, to release excess water into the lake. Sperling noted that a court-approved augmentation plan would be required. That plan would call for 100 percent replacement of the excess water diverted into the lake. The replacement would be required to satisfy the senior water rights of downstream users.
One of the ways suggested to achieve the replacement would be to pump water from the town’s D3 well into Monument Creek. Some additional infrastructure would be required to accomplish that.
Sperling asked, "Are people willing to jeopardize the long-term reliability of the town water system?"
Hulsmann said, "The lake is a natural resource and should be preserved."
Parker noted, "You have to convince people it is as important as drinking water."
Allen said, "I have lived in Palmer Lake for 16 years. Every time we discussed it, we always walked away saying it is too expensive or impossible to do. We never proceeded past a meeting like this."
Awake the Lake committee member Jeannine Engel cited the narrow defeat of the November ballot measure as a sign that people will support doing something to refill the lake if the details can be defined.
Parker asked Gilbert to prepare an estimate of the legal and other costs to implement taking excess water from the reservoir and replacing that water using the D3 well. The estimate is to be presented at the Town Council’s February meeting.
Allen said, "It’s a beginning."
By Sue Wielgopolan
General manager Dana Duthie briefed members on the first meeting of the new Pikes Peak Water Authority at the Jan. 24 Donala Water and Sanitation District Board of Directors meeting. Bishop Brogden Associates received permission from the authority to begin work on an ambitious engineering scoping study that will guide future cooperative efforts to share resources and infrastructure among Palmer Divide-area water providers.
Duthie announced that the drilling operation on the new well in Fox Run Park was successful. The well will probably yield a respectable 600 gallons per minute.
Duthie told board members that Donala experienced a 10-foot-long water main split just after 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, near the intersection of Rangely and Wuthering Heights. Maintenance operator Terri Ladouceur, upon learning of the break, acted immediately to bring on other employees to help. Duthie, Ladouceur, superintendent of operations Robert Hull, maintenance operator Troy Vialpando, and water operator Mike Lavin worked for about 12 hours until around 10 p.m. to repair the water line. Office manager Jackie Sipes manned the district office to field phone calls.
Most customers who were affected regained service within two hours. Only two homes on Rangely lost water for the day. Duthie said that Donala offered to pay for hotel rooms for the occupants. One family accepted, but they decided to return home once the pipeline was repaired and did not stay the night.
Duthie said he was very pleased with the quick response and extra effort exhibited by his team. The weather was cold, and the frozen ground extremely difficult to dig through.
In recognition of their hard work and dedication, the board presented Ladouceur, Hull, Vialpando, Lavin, and Sipes with gift certificates to Chili’s.
Ladouceur was also named the employee of the quarter for the months of October through December 2006. She has received the award two out of the past three quarters. Ladouceur was rewarded with a day off and a gift certificate to Chili’s.
Duthie distributed the investment updates Davidson Fixed Income Management prepares each month for the district.
Director Dennis Daugherty voiced concern that investment returns were not as high as the district would have realized through Colo Trust, a fund approved by the state for special districts.
Daugherty also suggested Davidson put together a proposal for a retirement program for district employees. He said that he felt part of the board’s responsibility was to ensure that Donala employees were receiving the best value for their retirement investments and were not paying unreasonable commission fees, which he said were not always shown on investment fund statements.
Other members agreed to allow Daugherty to "check the market" to compare returns and rates on district investments and various retirement funds.
Duthie told members that they would need to amend the 2006 budget, and distributed copies with the final figures incorporated.
The budget was originally passed in October, with projections for the remaining months.
Donala would have collected enough money this year to pay off the old debt, but would not be allowed to do so until 2009. Rather than put the money in an escrow account and keep the debt on their books, the district purchased state and local securities with money collected through the mill levy to pay off the debt, and turned management over to another agency that is then responsible for making loan payments until the debt is retired.
The process has several advantages. It allows the district to take the debt off its books and use interest earned toward the debt payment, and removes responsibility from the district. However, the defeasement must be claimed as an expense that was not listed in the 2006 budget. So the board amended the budget to reflect the expense.
Duthie told the board that he had also added two line items in the 2007 budget reflecting the combination of all previous budgets into one.
The directors passed three resolutions: one to adopt the 2007 budget, another to appropriate funds for the coming year as described in the budget, and the third to amend the 2006 budget.
Duthie distributed summaries of the El Paso County Water Authority’s (EPCWA) December and January meetings. New officers were nominated and elected for 2007. Betty Konarski of Monument will serve as president; Kip Peterson of the Cherokee Metro District will serve as vice president, Ann Nichols of Forest Lakes Metro District as secretary, and Duthie as treasurer. Triview Metro District’s manager Larry Bishop and Security’s Roy Heald were elected at-large members.
Pat Ratliff will continue as lobbyist for the authority. Her contract and executive agent Gary Barber’s were approved.
Although Duthie’s written memo mentioned that the state engineer and representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey gave a lengthy presentation on the history and future of the Transit Loss model at the December meeting, he did not elaborate on the contents of the program.
Duthie told the Donala board that Ratliff briefly discussed a couple of bills that have been introduced and have the potential to affect northern El Paso County water providers. The most relevant was HB07-1132, co-sponsored by Rep. Buffie McFadyen of Pueblo. Essentially, the bill states that water quality must be taken into account when water is exchanged, or transferred from one area to another. The former Palmer Divide Water Group has been negotiating to buy Arkansas Basin agricultural water to supply areas north of Colorado Springs with a surface water source. The salinity of that water could become an issue.
Duthie announced the formation of the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority (PPRWA) and the dissolution of the Palmer Divide Water Group (PDWG). Money remaining in the former PDWG’s account after all bills have been settled will be transferred to the authority’s account. The intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the agencies involved was modified to reflect the transfer of funds. Donala directors voted unanimously to approve the new IGA.
Duthie told board members that Phil Steininger of Woodmoor had been elected president, Rich Landreth of Monument vice president, Bishop secretary, and Duthie treasurer.
Duthie said that Petrock and Fendel, PC, the law firm that represents Donala in water matters, was selected as the newly formed authority’s legal representation. He expects the amount Donala spends on legal fees to decrease this year, as the new water authority will pay its own legal expenses.
In the past, Donala paid water attorney Rick Fendel for any work done for the Palmer Divide Water Group. Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District contributed an equivalent financial portion by assuming the bill for PDWG work performed by its engineer. Triview district’s lawyer handled legal matters at Triview’s expense. Beginning this year, the new authority will pay for those services through dues.
Duthie stated that there was potential for conflict of interest, as Petrock Fendel will be representing Donala and the PPRWA.
As expected, PDWG former manager Barber was hired to manage the PPRWA at a salary of $51,000 per year.
Hydrologic consulting firm Bishop Brogden Associates (BBA) presented its formal proposal for a regional engineering study that will identify cooperative projects Palmer Divide-area water providers will undertake to consolidate and share infrastructure and maximize exchange credits.
The study will cost approximately $246,000. That cost will be divided among participating entities based on an estimate of the number of homes in each district by the year 2020. Donala’s share is about $45,000.
The study will consist of seven phases; BBA expects to complete it by September 2007.
Members debated whether to retain the dues structure previously used by the PDWG and offer full voting memberships for $20,000 per year as well as associate memberships for $2,500 per year for small districts, or to require that all members pay $20,000 for full membership and a single vote regardless of size. After discussion of the pros and cons of the two options, members decided to retain the old dues structure for another year and revisit the issue at a later meeting.
The authority discussed meeting schedules and decided to meet monthly for the time being, possibly breaking into small subcommittees that get together more frequently to address specific topics or projects. As the cooperative engineering study progresses and larger projects get under way, the authority might decide to meet twice a month. They settled on the third Thursday of every month as the date, and set 8:30 as the time. Members will take turns hosting the group. The next full membership meeting will be at the Donala district office on Feb. 15.
Duthie told the Donala board that Barber and the PPRWA officers gathered for an impromptu discussion on Jan. 8. Cherokee, Palmer Lake, and Academy did not attend. The small group talked about establishing a logo for the authority, ideas for setting dues for 2008, and Barber’s duties as manager.
Donala, Woodmoor, Triview, and Monument decided to institute water-rationing programs in their districts this summer. Representatives rejected the "diamond, circle , square" program used in many Front Range communities and tried at Woodmoor last summer, primarily because of the difficulty in programming irrigation systems with a 14-day timer to water every third day.
Instead, customers will be allowed to water between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule. The rationing program will be in place from June through September.
Duthie said that in order for a program to be successful, it must be user-friendly. He intends to offer help to the elderly and others in the Donala district who may need assistance in programming their irrigation system.
Duthie informed board members that the preliminary treatment room and influent pump station have been approved by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, and plans for the electrical room are in review. Duthie had become frustrated by the unnecessary delays in construction resulting from rejection of the plans due to inspectors’ lack of familiarity with waste plant construction.
To compound the problem, GMS engineering was unable to meet with or talk to the inspectors to explain the plans or discuss the reasons for rejection in spite of numerous attempts.
Finally, Duthie wrote a letter of protest to Henry Yankowski, the new building department director, enumerating the various errors made by the department and pointing out that the delays could result in the inability of the waste plant to complete the expansion on time.
Yankowski was receptive and moved immediately to expedite approval. He also came out for a tour of the plant.
Weaver construction is moving the yard piping for the influent pump station, and removing and repairing an air line that was incorrectly installed while waiting for plans for the three buildings to be approved. Duthie expects construction of the pump station and electrical and treatment rooms to begin in March, with completion scheduled for May or June.
Duthie mentioned that he would like to include a bedroom in the new administration building so that operators or others working at the plant overnight during inclement weather have a room away from the computer in which to rest.
However, any additions to the administration building may not be workable, as the costs continue to skyrocket due to price increases in steel, copper, and concrete. The contractor estimates that the price tag for the waste plant will be close to $10 million, significantly higher than the original projection. Sams believes the cost will exceed that figure.
Donala and Triview obtained approval from Colorado Water and Power for loans up to $5 million each, which would cover the revised figures but leaves no room for contingencies.
Duthie said Bishop will have to work with his board to decide what course of action to take. Duthie is confident that due to Donala’s good financial position, the district would probably be successful in securing additional loan funds from Colorado Water and Power if necessary. But that may not be an option for Triview.
Change orders to the contract, in the form of emergency generators (the existing generator was found to be insufficient for the expanded plant), new denitrification filters, and repair of the air line have also increased the price of the expansion.
Frazee construction has begun installing the pipeline along Struthers Road, which will eventually connect Donala’s 12-inch water main on the north end of Struthers Ranch to Triview’s system. Due to the delay caused by El Paso County’s dispute with two Chaparral Hills homeowners over the price of the right-of-way for the road, Triview will have a second opportunity to install its share of the pipeline while the road is under construction and avoid the expense of digging up asphalt later.
Donala had planned to put a valve at the end of the district’s portion, as Triview had not been ready to construct the remainder. The delay may give Triview enough time to finish the plans.
Duthie informed the directors that Henkel had finished drilling new well 14A, which was now in the development stage. The company had drilled to a depth of 2,240 feet; Duthie expects to have a yield of 600 gallons per minute.
Donala contracted to have the initial development water, which contains a high level of the mud used in drilling, hauled away. Once the water is mostly clear, the remainder will be released down Smith Creek. When their portion of the operation is finished, Henkel will regrade the site and put a chain-link fence around the well mud pit, which contained the water, media and bentonite mixture used during drilling. They will fill it in after it has had an opportunity to dry.
AmWest will conduct testing on the well.
Eventually, Donala will erect a stockade around the well controls and surround the site with a split-rail fence.
The district is holding off on construction of the pipeline from Tari Drive to the Holbein plant until the new well is complete. An 8-inch pipeline will carry the water along the right-of-way between Pleasant View Estates and the Ridge at Fox Run to Tari Drive. From there, a larger pipeline will eventually carry water to the treatment plant.
Due to the difficulty and expense involved in digging through the rock along Baptist Road to reach the Holbein plant, the district is considering boring through instead.
Duthie said he has been approached by Triview and Classic Homes about providing sewer service to homes on the east side of Sanctuary Pointe. As part of Classic’s concessions to homeowners in Kingswood Estates, Classic agreed not to run a sewer line through the subdivision, which was the only gravity-feed route available for a sewer line.
Donala has a lift station in nearby Fox Run, but has already promised service to Randall Construction, which plans to build 30 homes on 2.5-acre lots and 66 patio homes on the former Brown Ranch. The ranch property has already been annexed to the district. Donala’s lift station can handle only an additional 60 homes above the total number of patio homes Randall hopes to construct, which is insufficient to provide service to all the homes on the east side of Sanctuary Pointe.
Randall must gravity-feed through Sanctuary Pointe to reach Donala’s lift station or lift his waste to the Donala tank site in the park where it will gravity feed down Baptist Road.
Classic has proposed using Randall’s capacity until he constructs the patio homes. The development has not moved past the planning stage.
Duthie is still discussing the issue but has made no promises to Classic or Triview. He assured the board that he would charge rates that would reflect the total cost district customers pay for their service, including taxes, if an agreement was reached.
| Duthie told the board that the redrill of well 2A is complete. He plans to get it equipped and ready for operation during the first quarter. |
| Well 9A went down in December. Operators found that the motor was burned up, but luckily it was still under warranty. The well will be operational again by the time it’s needed in the spring |
| Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt is installing the electrical lines along the north side of Baptist Road. When the work is complete, they will start on the water lines. The Gleneagle-Baptist intersection will be shut down for several weeks during construction. |
Ladouceur and Mark Parker will attend the 2007 Peak to Prairie landscaping symposium at the Doubletree Hotel at the World Arena on Feb. 9-10 to learn more about xeriscaping. By educating Donala employees, the district hopes to incorporate xeriscaping on district property as well as provide expertise to customers wanting to know how to modify their landscaping to reduce water consumption.
The board went into executive session at 2:53 p.m. to discuss the purchase, acquisition, lease or transfer of water, and personnel matters.
The Donala board will hold its next regular meeting on Feb. 21 at 1:30 p.m. at the Donala office, 15850 Holbein Drive. Meetings are normally held on the third Wednesday of each month.
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