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Forest View Acres: Best water to no water

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Below: Residents’ comments dominated the Forest View Acres Water District board of directors meeting May 24. Seated at the table (L to R) are Lisa Johnson, SDMS district manager; attorney Paul Rufien; and board members Ann Bevis, Barbara Reed-Polatty, Eckehart Zimmermann, and Chris Monsen. Some residents objected to the presence of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputy seen at the upper left. Photo by Jim Kendrick.

In February, water produced by the Forest View Acres Water District (FVAWD) won the competition for best tasting water at the Colorado Rural Water Association (CRWA) 26th Annual State Conference held in Colorado Springs.

On May 2, the water system suffered a major failure that left some residents without water for up to five days. On May 21, after almost three weeks of investigation, a 40-foot crack in a major transmission line was found and fixed and the system returned to normal operations.

During the outage, water delivered to residents may have been contaminated.

The FVAWD board of directors held a special meeting May 24 at 6 p.m. in the Lewis-Palmer District 38 Administration Building. Much of that meeting was devoted to listening to residents’ concerns.

The board consists of Ann Bevis, Rich Crocker, Chris Monsen, Eckehart Zimmermann, and President Barbara Reed-Polatty. Crocker was absent. Bevis and Monsen have been on the board about 4 months. Crocker joined the board in April 2006. Zimmerman has been on the board since September 2005. Reed-Polatty joined the board in May 2004.

The district has retained Special District Management Services, Inc. (SDMS) as its administrative manager. Lisa Johnson, SDMS district manager, served as secretary at the meeting.

Mike Bacon of Community Solutions, Inc. (CSI) is the district’s contract operations manager. Deborah McCoy, President of SDMS, is a part owner of CSI. Bacon was absent.

The district water supply consists of a surface water plant and two wells, one in the Arapahoe aquifer and one in the Dawson aquifer. Only the Arapahoe well is currently being used.

The water is treated with chlorine, pumped through 750 feet of 6-inch water line, and stored in a 250,000-gallon steel storage tank. The water then travels through 36,000 feet of distribution lines that vary from one inch to eight inches in diameter.

ASCG, Inc., the district’s engineers, have determined that the water treatment facilities are in good condition, the water tank is in fair condition, and the distribution system is in fair to poor condition. ASCG has prepared a list of proposed improvements. (For the detailed cost breakdown see OCN June 3, 2006 "Forest View Acres Water District, May 25: Board ponders financing $6.2 million for improvements" posted at www.ourcommunitynews.org/v6n6.htm#fvawd).

In November, residents voted down a ballot measure that would have permitted the district to impose a property tax of up to 32 mills and issue bonds to pay for improvements to the system. At the same election, voters approved a ballot measure authorizing a property tax of up to 5 mills for administrative and operational expenses.

After attending to some routine matters, the board tabled the rest of the agenda items and listened to resident comments.

The district’s attorney, Paul Rufien, moderated the discussion during resident comments. Rufien said there would be a thorough written response to the comments. He added, "Meetings are open to the public. There is no requirement for public comment or for the board to listen. This is a neighborly goodwill gesture."

At 8 p.m., the meeting was continued to June 8 at the SDMS office, 141 Union Blvd., Suite 150, in Lakewood.

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The regular board meetings are usually held on the fourth Thursday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for June 28, 5:30 p.m. at Tri-Lakes district firehouse 1, 18650 Highway 105 (near the bowling alley). Those wishing to attend should check the date, time, and location by calling the SDMS at (800) 741-3254 or 488-2110.

At a special meeting on May 4, Mike Lund of Denver bond underwriter Piper Jaffrey & Co. announced that interest rates were lower than expected for the sale of Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA) sales and use tax revenue bonds that will finance the expansion of the I-25 Baptist Road interchange. Based on Lund’s ability to substantially reduce interest expenses, the BRRTA board unanimously approved a resolution to initiate the bond sale for the maximum voter-authorized amount of $21.5 million.

The BRRTA board also unanimously approved a resolution for implementation of a temporary 20-year 1-cent sales tax for all vendors within BRRTA, even though no construction contract for expansion of the state’s interchange has been awarded. The lower interest rates have greatly reduced the risk of BRRTA sales tax revenues not being sufficient to pay off the maximum allowable principal and reduced interest within the maximum bond maturity of 20 years.

BRRTA Secretary-Treasurer Dave Mertz, a Monument trustee, was absent.

There will be three series of BRRTA revenue bonds, with separate maturity dates and interest rates:

Previous projections of probable interest rates had ranged up to 6 percent; the average interest is 4.956 percent for bonds that are not rated.

The board unanimously approved several documents required for the sale of the bonds, including:

All these documents were signed by the board members after the meeting adjourned.

The "pledged revenues" that are the sole source for securing the bonds include:

The proceeds from the bond sale will be used to:

The initial specific uses listed in the draft official statement for the bond sale proceeds were:

The lower-than-expected interest rates allow a lower required amount in the capitalized interest account, $700,000 less. This $700,000 was transferred into the facility fund, which will pay for the construction contract. This reallocation of bond sale proceeds will help cover higher-than-expected construction costs if the contract cannot be awarded until 2008 due to the lack of promised right-of-way donations by adjacent commercial landowners. The bond funds trustee can invest any amounts within the five bond funds not immediately needed for payments or other purposes of the individual funds.

Temporary investment of such cash in each of the five bond funds will probably offset most if not all of the required interest payments until BRRTA sales tax revenues grow to meet the payment requirements.

The total cost of the bond issue over 20 years is estimated to be $36.7 million if CDOT does not provide any reimbursement to BRRTA for the construction contract. This is $13.3 million less than the maximum allowable repayment of $50 million approved by BRRTA voters in November.

While the state will continue to own and maintain the I-25 through-lanes and the widened interchange ramps, the county will become the owner of the new bridge over the interstate and have to pay for future maintenance of the two new four-lane spans. The state’s existing two-lane bridge will be demolished to make room for the county’s eastbound span after construction of the county’s westbound span is completed. The county owns the rest of Baptist Road.

BRRTA President and Monument Mayor Byron Glenn has said at numerous Board of Trustees and BRRTA meetings that the town will annex Baptist Road after the improvements have been accepted by the county after the warranty period. However, the Monument Board of Trustees has not yet discussed or passed a resolution stating the board’s intent to annex the widened roadway between Tari Drive and the west end of Baptist Road after they are paid for by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPACG). Nor has the Monument board discussed or stated its intent to annex the two new interchange bridge spans that will be paid for by the BRRTA revenue bonds.

Glenn wants the town to be able to eliminate the county’s current restrictions on additional commercial access and traffic signals for the already-approved Monument Ridge and Jackson Creek Market Village shopping centers that will be adjacent to the King Soopers center to the south and east.

The BRRTA bond counsel, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, P.C., stated that the revenue bonds are exempt from federal and Colorado personal income tax and alternative minimum tax. The bonds are subject to redemption prior to maturity through payment of principal and accrued interest, at BRRTA’s option, with at least 30 days but not more than 60 days notice.

If CDOT makes any construction contract repayments to BRRTA, they will be placed in the CDOT reimbursement account of the surplus fund. However, CDOT cannot make any payments to BRRTA until the interchange project is listed on the state Transportation Improvement Program list of approved projects. The first opportunity for CDOT to add the Baptist Road interchange expansion to this list will be in July 2008. There will be no CDOT repayment for any financing costs for the BRRTA revenue bonds.

The trust indenture allows additional bonds to be issued by BRRTA to pay for facility (interchange expansion) costs, if approved by BRRTA voters in a future election, as long as sales and use tax revenues over the preceding 24 months exceed average annual debt service payments by 25 percent.

Any unused funds in the facility fund at the completion of construction and contract payments will be transferred to the bond fund principal or interest accounts. Any money left in any of the five bond funds – after all bonds are redeemed, any administrative costs are paid, and the BRRTA 1-cent sales tax is terminated – reverts to BRRTA.

BRRTA’s insurance for the bond issue is provided by the Colorado Special Districts Property and Liability Pool.

Board approval of the bond issue on May 4 was necessary to give Piper Jaffrey enough time to complete the bond sale by May 15. Completion of the bond sale was a condition that had to be met before the board could initiate the temporary 1-cent BRRTA sales tax. The Colorado Department of Revenue has a minimum 45-day notification requirement for the start of a new sales tax. The department can initiate a sales tax only on Jan. 1 or July 1 by state statute. May 15 is the deadline for a July 1 sales tax initiation.

There is a two-month delay between retailers collecting sales tax revenue and the Colorado Department of Revenue forwarding checks for this revenue. The department takes out a small percentage from revenues forwarded to rural transportation authorities, special districts, towns, and counties to cover its processing costs.

Prior to the Nov. 7 election, the board had promised BRRTA voters that the winning construction contract bid would be selected and the total contract cost finalized before the bonds were sold. However, right-of-way and utility easements for the expanded interchange have not been obtained.

The expansion project to widen the bridge over I-25 from two to eight lanes and widen the single-lane ramps to two lanes will be delayed due to the lack of previously promised donations of right-of-way by owners of the commercial property adjacent to Exit 158. Eminent domain condemnation will likely take a minimum of six to nine months. All of this needed right-of-way must be deeded to the state before CDOT will allow the construction contract for its interchange to be advertised. Contract advertising and award normally takes about three months.

Road-building costs have been escalating dramatically. The estimate for the interchange contract prior to the November election had been $16 million. If the construction bids are too high in 2008 to be paid for by the $21.5 million bond issue, the privately held revenue bonds will be liquidated. The BRRTA sales tax will be terminated after all administrative costs, principal, and interest for bond redemption have been paid off.

During citizen comments, resident Steve Waldmann noted that some Web links on the BRRTA and El Paso County home pages do not lead to the most current agenda and recent meeting minutes information. County Commissioner Wayne Williams said he would e-mail the correct BRRTA links to Waldmann for future reference after the meeting.

Andre Brackin, county Department of Transportation capital projects manager, said the PPACG has authorized $10.7 million for the construction contract with Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt for the Baptist Road and Struthers Road improvement projects. BRRTA attorney Jim Hunsaker of Grimshaw Harring P.C. said the BRRTA contribution to the cost of the Baptist Road portion of the Rocky Mountain Asphalt contract was $6.9 million. BRRTA paid $393,000 to engineering consultant PBS&J for design and contract management of the Baptist Road widening project.

Baptist Road sewer delays: Brackin said that Rocky Mountain had accepted John Laing Homes’ sanitary sewer subcontractor, Pate Construction Contractors, Inc., as its own subcontractor for installing a new interceptor line for Promontory Pointe under the new westbound Baptist Road lanes currently under construction in November. The Rocky Mountain paving schedule between Gleneagle Drive and Jackson Creek Crossing was altered to allow the very deep sewer line installation to be completed so that new pavement would not have to be dug up. However, Rocky Mountain Asphalt said that Pate Construction had not restored the westbound roadway base to the correct grade. Since then, the two companies have privately agreed on the fee Pate had to pay to Rocky Mountain for subsequent regrading.

Brackin reported that he held a coordination meeting for the county earlier in the day on May 4 with Rocky Mountain Asphalt, John Laing Homes, and Pate Construction. Daily morning and afternoon meetings will now be held by representatives of these four entities to provide and confirm updates on all construction schedule changes.

However, John Laing Homes, Classic Homes, Triview Metropolitan District, and the town have not informed the county of the details of the second phase of the new Baptist Road sewer interceptor construction between Gleneagle Drive and Kingswood Drive for Sanctuary Pointe. There is no plan to avoid tearing up the new westbound Baptist Road pavement to be installed between these two intersections, Brackin added.

Triview District Manager Larry Bishop said he had no information to provide BRRTA or Brackin because Classic Homes was still negotiating with Triview and Donala Water and Sanitation District for water and sewer service. Mayor Glenn asked Bishop to send Classic Homes President Doug Stemple a letter requesting that he make up his mind within 30 days on whether Sanctuary Pointe would be included by Triview or the town would deny any sewer easements under Baptist Road for the development. 

Struthers Road sewer delays: Brackin said that the developers of Monument Ridge had not provided the county any plans for Triview’s water and sewer lines under the northbound Struthers Road lanes currently under construction. Rocky Mountain Asphalt has been allowed to continue construction after the normal April 30 cessation deadline for adjacent Preble’s mouse habitat to the west.

"We have a narrow window of opportunity where it could go in today" before asphalt paving of Struthers Road begins, Brackin said.

Monument Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara said he had been asking Monument Ridge project engineer Virgil Sanchez of ESI Inc. for utility plans for three months but had only received the second round of utility plans two days prior to this meeting. Kassawara said he had notified Sanchez the following day that "the plans were ready to go."

Bishop added that he had called Sanchez just before the BRRTA meeting began to reinforce the need for ESI to have a sense of urgency about installing the lines before paving begins.

Bishop promised to call Brackin immediately regarding any Triview construction issues affecting the Rocky Mountain construction.

Williams said that he didn’t want new Struthers and Baptist Road paving "ripped apart for a sewer line and then have cracks that ultimately cause road deterioration relatively quickly." He asked Brackin and Bishop to be more aggressive.

Mountain View Electric Association relocation delays: Brackin also noted that the Monument Ridge development had not recorded the revised plat with easements for Mountain View Electric Association electrical lines. Mountain View will not relocate its lines under the westbound lanes of Baptist Road until the plat is recorded. Bishop said he had requested a separate grant of easement from the developer prior to recording of the plat. Kassawara called ESI and was told the grant of easement to Mountain View had been filed with the county. Kassawara said the original approved Mylar plat was still in Town Hall and he would have it sent to the county as soon as possible during the following week.

Parade of Homes detour request: John Laing Homes has asked the county to provide an access permit for a second major detour to Promontory Pointe during the Parade of Homes this summer in addition to the first detour permit for its construction vehicles. The Gleneagle Drive-Baptist Road intersection will be closed in July and August for construction of new lanes and drainage. Brackin said he has weekly conference calls with John Laing Homes about construction schedules. Brackin noted that Rocky Mountain Asphalt is responsible for all traffic control safety through the construction site, including these two detours.

The revised phasing plans for all intersection closures and detours for Struthers and Baptist Roads construction will be posted on the BRRTA and county Web sites. The Leather Chaps intersection may be reopened in the first week of July. Desiree Drive intersection detours will also be scheduled from time to time this summer.

Below: Overlot grading of the first phase of Promontory Pointe has transformed the landscape from that in the adjacent county development of Kingswood as viewed from the former tranquility of the cul-de-sac at the end of Celtic Court. John Laing Homes is working against a tight construction schedule to be ready for the Parade of Homes later this summer. Photo by Jim Kendrick

Other Struthers Road delays described: The county thought it had Preble’s mouse and wetlands permits and license agreements for its Struthers Road construction. However, the wetlands permit had originally been issued to Jackson Creek Land Co. for widening Baptist and Struthers Roads. Jackson Creek Land had recently cancelled the wetlands permit without notifying the county or transferring the permit to the Transportation Department, resulting in a federal violation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the county verbal approval on April 24 to work on Struthers Road after April 30 and promised a written letter of approval would be provided immediately. On May 1, CDOT notified the county that it was in violation and had to abandon the Struthers Road construction site. On May 2, CDOT reversed its construction prohibition but said it would send the county a violation letter for failure to remove all shrubs on site, with the possible result that the few remaining shrubs might have been used for nesting by protected migratory birds. Brackin added that "On this project, the hills have eyes … someone saw a magpie," and the environmental permits remain a "day-to-day issue."

Approval of substitute mouse habitat near Black Forest Road by the Army Corps of Engineers for the Baptist Road interchange is nearing completion, however.

Mountain View Electric Association had not yet moved its above-ground power lines from the utility poles that run along the center of the new Struthers Road right-of-way to roadside underground easements, preventing final roadway grading. However, Qwest had moved its phone lines.

Mountain View Electric had not yet provided an electric meter nor connected electrical power to the constructed traffic signal at the intersection of Northgate Road and Struthers Road. Power should be installed for this signal before the Gleneagle Drive intersection with Baptist Road is closed in July and August.

Kassawara reported the following items:

Williams discussed a county community meeting to be held on May 9 at the Black Forest community club to review preliminary plans to use PPRTA funds in the future to widen Hodgen Road east of state Highway 83 to Eastonville Road. (See the article on page 15 for more details of this meeting.)

Brackin reported on the progress of PPRTA-funded construction to extend Hodgen Road west of state Highway 83 to the intersection of Baptist and Roller Coaster Roads. Rain and snow prevented significant progress throughout April. The soil-cement treatment of the road base cannot be completed until a stretch of drier weather allows the graded soil to dry out. Glenn expressed concern that this segment of Hodgen Road might not be opened before the Gleneagle Drive-Baptist Road intersection is opened at the end of August.

Background: On April 13, the board unanimously directed the BRRTA staff to negotiate an agreement with THF Realty to waive any road-use fees for retail space in excess of the current maximum of 352,000 square feet in the planned development sketch plan for the Timbers at Monument development that was previously approved by the Monument Board of Trustees. The BRRTA staff was also charged with negotiating a donation of all needed right-of-way from THF for widening Baptist Road west of Jackson Creek Parkway and expanding the interchange. THF had an option to buy the three parcels that comprise the expanded Timbers property but had not closed on the sale as of May 4.

Hammers Construction Inc. obtained the initial Monument Board of Trustees approval for development of up to 352,000 square feet within the Timbers commercial and retail center on Feb. 21, 2006. The project is on the northeast corner of the Baptist Road interchange. Hammers later sold its share of ownership to ADK Monument Developers LLC investor Darel Tiegs.

The other current Timbers owner is Phoenix-Bell of Tucson, Ariz. Phoenix-Bell owns the northwest portion of the Timbers parcel, south of the Home Depot next to Struthers Road, as well as the vacant land north of Baptist Road between I-25 and the Santa Fe Trail and most of the vacant land north of the YMCA parcel between I-25 and Jackson Creek Parkway.

The original 73.5-acre L-shaped ADK/Phoenix-Bell parcel is bordered by Monument Marketplace to the north, Jackson Creek Parkway to the east, Baptist Road to the southeast, the hardware store parcel to the southwest, and Struthers Road to the west. This property "wraps around" the north and east sides of BRRTA resident Mike Watt’s former Foxworth-Galbraith hardware and lumber store property.

Foxworth-Galbraith did not renew its lease for the hardware and lumber store after the preliminary Timbers plat and site plan were approved. The entrance to the hardware store parking lot and Struthers Road – between Baptist Road and Higby Road – will be abandoned when BRRTA awards a construction contract for expanding the I-25 interchange. The frontage road portions of Struthers on both sides of Baptist Road will become the new northbound I-25 dual-lane access ramps.

Watt’s parcel was not part of the Timbers preliminary plat and preliminary PD site plan that were unanimously approved by the Monument Board of Trustees on Feb. 21, 2006. The board required ADK to grant Watt a road easement within the Timbers parcel for access to the Timbers Boulevard access to Baptist Road and the intersection of Blevins Buckle Drive and Jackson Creek Parkway after negotiations between the two parties failed, as well as utility easements for service to Watt’s property by Triview.

Tiegs, Watt, and Phoenix-Bell are negotiating separate sales of the three adjacent properties to THF Realty. The THF proposal to double the commercial density has not been discussed at a Monument board meeting. No announcements have been made regarding financial incentives the town may offer THF if it buys the three properties. Monument has already offered tax incentives to landowner Team O2 for development of an indoor water park to be built southwest of the Baptist Road interchange, next to the Air Force Academy’s north runway.

ADK Monument LLC has never recorded the approved preliminary plat and PD site plan for the Timbers property. During town hearings on these applications in 2006, Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara said that ADK had already donated the right-of-way to CDOT in return for CDOT allowing the Timbers project to have a right-in/right-out-only at the Timbers Boulevard intersection with Baptist Road. The substantial right-of-way donation was a condition of approval that is listed in the approved but unrecorded site plan. Kassawara also stated at that Sept. 21, 2006 board meeting that there would be no interchange improvements until the Timbers preliminary site plan and plat were recorded with the county.

In many circumstances, an approved plat must be recorded with the county clerk within one year or the approval may be voided by a special district or town. THF has not announced whether it intends to amend the approved ADK plat and site plan or initiate a new Monument application process that integrates the Tiegs, Watt, and Phoenix-Bell properties into a single project.

THF fee waiver approval reversed: County Commissioner Wayne Williams said he and Commissioner Jim Bensberg were unable to attend the April 13 BRRTA meeting due to other meeting requirements and asked THF representative Karen Blumenstein to restate her case on why BRRTA should give up any portion of its only source of revenue for widening Baptist Road after BRRTA attorney Jim Hunsaker presented an overview of his negotiations. Hunsaker said that there had been no agreement reached on setting fixed BRRTA fees THF would have to pay. BRRTA’s road use fees are proportional to square footage but vary substantially by the type of commercial use. The fees are scheduled to increase on Jan. 1, 2008. Hunsaker noted that there was one temporary fee credit approved in the past for Phoenix-Bell right-of-way near the Leather Chaps intersection but no previous waivers.

After giving the same presentation she previously gave on April 13 to Mayor Glenn and Commissioner Dennis Hisey, Blumenstein said that ADK had planned to start the project in 2010, but THF had to complete all its planning and financial evaluation within the time limit of its due diligence option, 120 days. She said that the total fees for development of 600,000 square feet from BRRTA, Monument, and Triview, would be $8 million. "At an $8 million fee level, it is not commercially feasible to develop the center. Nobody will come in at $8 million."

Based on her review of BRRTA’s market analysis for sales tax revenue from the Timbers for 352,000 square feet to be "launched in 2010" in the bond issue documents, Blumenstein said the THF increase to 600,000 square feet to be "launched in 2009" would generate an additional $11 million in BRRTA sales tax revenues and approximately $500,000 to $1.3 million in additional road use fees, depending on what types of businesses purchase space.

Blumenstein said THF needed to lock in the current fee structure through relief on the increase in fees on Jan. 1 and relief on any additional road-use fees above what ADK would have paid on 352,000 square feet to be able to proceed with the project at 600,000 square feet or a possible increase to 700,000 square feet. Blumenstein said that large anchor tenants will demand a locked-in amount for all fees and THF cannot absorb average increases of $1.25 per square foot in 2008 or the risk of future BRRTA fee increases. The THF position is that BRRTA will gain sufficient sales tax revenue to justify the waiver on additional square footage and future road use fee increases.

Williams replied, "The board adopted the change in fees prospectively for several years, so people would know ahead of time what those fees would be." He said granting the THF request would set a precedent for BRRTA having to waive fees for any future developer increasing the initially proposed size of a future development. Expansions of projects would also increase the traffic on all of Baptist Road and the interchange as well as any developer’s profit, Williams said. Neither would be fair to developers who have already paid the fees for road use based directly on traffic, which is entirely separate from the sales tax for the interchange.

Blumenstein said "the fee structure as a whole" of $10 per square foot, not just the BRRTA road use fee, is a disincentive to development of the proposed larger acreage and square footage now, compared to what they might have been in the past.

Blumenstein said that other jurisdictions negotiate risk sharing with THF. Every other Colorado jurisdiction had offered it incentives to create 2,500 acres of commercial shopping because THF is "an exceptional" developer that retains ownership of its centers and does not "flip" its land just to increase its value. The only thing that BRRTA can negotiate is a waiver of impact fees, which is "a normal business transaction."

Williams said BRRTA should not give THF "special privileges" to generate sales tax revenue for the "sophisticated investors" who purchased the bonds, and the THF center does not compare to a "destination resort like Disney World that brings people in."

Glenn said he still resented THF holding the interchange hostage for right-of-way but agreed on April 13 to the THF waiver request due to the tax issue for paying off the bonds. Now that the bond interest rates are lower than expected, he now agrees with Williams.

Williams made a motion to deny the request, which Bensberg seconded. Williams noted that the construction of the interchange will vastly increase the value of the THF property as well as all other commercial properties, and heavier-density commercial projects usually pay higher fee rates, not lower rates as THF was requesting. Blumenstein responded that BRRTA has an obligation to consider its impact on Monument and the Tri-Lakes region, and THF would substantially shorten the time it takes to pay off the interchange bonds.

During citizen comments, Waldmann said there is no huge groundswell in the community to subsidize commercial development by $1.3 million in forfeited fees for future unfunded BRRTA projects such as the bridge over the railroad tracks.

After further discussion, Glenn and Hisey said they had rethought their positions on the THF fee waiver request issue after their April 13 approvals. The board unanimously denied the THF request. Bishop asked Williams to assist him in Triview’s fee waiver negotiations with THF.

Glenn asked the board staff to begin condemnation proceedings against all property owners who have not made right-of-way donations for interchange expansion. Kassawara said that Greg Anderson, owner of Phoenix-Bell, would donate right-of-way for widening if the county would grant him six Santa Fe Trail crossing accesses to Old Denver Highway. Williams said the Board of County Commissioners would approve the six roadway cuts along the Santa Fe Trail.

Forest Lakes Metropolitan District Manager Anne Nichols said the Shuck Corp. would probably make a right-of-way donation for widening Baptist Road west of I-25.

The board unanimously approved cancellation of the regular May 11 meeting because the directors would be signing all the bond sale and taxation documents after adjournment. A special meeting might be scheduled in June or July to deal with utility relocations and right-of-way condemnation issues now that bond funds would be available for their purchase.

The meeting adjourned at 4:10 p.m.

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The next regular BRRTA meeting will be held on Aug. 10 at 2:30 p.m. in Monument Town Hall, 166 Second St.

Below: Relocation of utilities and repaving the intersection of the Desiree Drive intersection with Baptist Road to match the revised grade of the new eastbound lanes has begun. Right: Motorists may use Gleneagle or Tari Drives to detour the temporarily closed Desiree Drive intersection, until this construction is completed. Photo by Jim Kendrick. Map provided by El Paso County Department of Transportation

The following is a brief status update regarding construction activities by contractor Rocky Mountain Materials & Asphalt (RMMA) on the Baptist Road and Struthers Road projects funded by the Pikes Peak and Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authorities on work completed through April 30.

During April, RMMA completed the following items:

Four items have contributed to construction delays regarding the Baptist Road corridor:

Starting in late May, pending traffic control plan approval, RMMA was scheduled to close the intersection of Desiree and Baptist Road for approximately one month. This closure is necessary to complete the installation of stormwater inlet boxes, stormwater conduit, and curb and gutter in preparation for bottom mat paving and the phase change prior to the Gleneagle intersection closure.

Depending on utility relocation activities, and weather permitting, anticipated construction activities will be as follows.

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For further information, call the county department of transportation at 719-520-6460.

Below: On May 9, John McCarty, Director of the El Paso County Department of Transportation, presented the county’s plans to modify Hodgen Road east of Highway 83. Photos by John Heiser

At the Black Forest Community Club May 9, John McCarty, Director of the El Paso County Department of Transportation, presented initial transportation planning data and findings to a crowd of about 120 residents. The Black Forest Citizens’ Transportation Committee hosted the meeting.

The conceptual design McCarty presented was prepared by URS and covers changes to Hodgen Road over the 10 miles from Highway 83 east to Eastonville Road with possible future extension to Elbert Road. McCarty said the conceptual design will be refined through additional public meetings into preliminary and final designs. The work currently underway to extend Hodgen Road to connect to Baptist Road is a separate project.

McCarty noted that since at least 1987, the county has planned Hodgen Road as a major east-west corridor. The present right-of-way is 60 feet wide. The county wants to expand that to 100 feet. He said the county would negotiate with landowners to purchase the additional 20 feet on each side. If those negotiations fail, eminent domain would be used to obtain the land. He said, "We want this to be a fair and open process."

The improvements include extensive regrading to eliminate hills and valleys, numerous turn lanes at intersections, and limitations on non-intersection access to Hodgen Road. The design calls for two 12-foot traffic lanes, one in each direction, bordered by 10 feet on each side containing a bicycle lane and sloped gravel shoulder.

The planned improvements to the road are projected to cost up to $32 million. McCarty said there is currently about $10 million earmarked for the project from the Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority’s one-cent sales tax approved by voters in November 2004. He noted that the priority would be on making safety improvements based on accident data.

In response to suggestions that the improvements would worsen the present problem of speeding on Hodgen Road, McCarty said, "The design of the road, unless we turn it back to gravel, will not slow people. That is an enforcement issue. It’s the sheriff’s job."

Some objected to the current heavy truck traffic on Hodgen Road and said the changes would make it worse. McCarty said, "It’s a truck route corridor, a primary carrier of traffic in the northern part of the county."

In response to concerns that the acquisition of right-of-way could diminish owners’ development rights, McCarty said there are provisions in the county’s land development code that grant the same development rights to property owners even though the purchase of right-of-way reduced the size of their parcel below the required minimums specified in the code.

One resident asked if the county is planning wildlife corridors and another raised concerns about the changes worsening the problem of snow blowing across the road. McCarty replied that wildlife and snow control issues would be considered during the design.

McCarty said the planned project would take 12 to 18 months and is scheduled to start in 2008 or 2009.

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The Hodgen Road Corridor Plan documents are posted on the El Paso County Web site, www.elpasoco.com, as two Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files. To find the files, search for "Hodgen Corridor Plan" and look for HodgenAccessMgmtPlan_1.pdf and HodgenCorridorPreservationPlan_1.pdf.

For further information, call the county department of transportation at 719-520-6460.

The Monument Board of Trustees on May 7 passed a resolution creating an annual "Jim Moore Award," appointed a replacement planning commissioner, approved an amendment of ordinances on fee payments for development and rezoning applications, and renewed four liquor licenses. Trustee Dave Mertz was absent.

Mayor Byron Glenn said the county gave "10, 12, 15 excuses" for not making progress on Baptist and Struthers Roads at the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority (BRRTA) meeting on May 4. Glenn, who is also the president of BRRTA, said, "I found out that a lot of the problems" are caused by the developers of the town’s recent annexations on Baptist Road.

The developers of Monument Ridge, SWAT 14 LLC and CAA 2006 LLC, still have not submitted any plans for installing the Monument Ridge water line under northbound Struthers Road, and Classic Homes has not submitted any plans for installing the Sanctuary Pointe sewer lines under westbound Baptist Road. He has told the developers that if they don’t get the lines installed immediately they will have to purchase other utility easements that will not be under the new paving.

Glenn discussed planned Baptist Road intersection construction dates:

Glenn added that he had asked the county to delay opening the new Baptist Road extension –from the Roller Coaster Road intersection 1.25 miles east to the intersection of Hodgen Road and Highway 83 – from June 1 until mid-September, when the Gleneagle Drive intersection is re-opened.

Glenn said he had asked CDOT to proceed with condemnation for all required right-of-way for the I-25 Baptist Road interchange. "To my knowledge, we’re not getting any help from the (adjacent commercial) landowners. It’s disappointing but it is what it is."

The BRRTA board approved and signed all the documents for the revenue bond sale, which will have much lower interest costs than expected, and for initiation of a temporary 20-year 1-cent BRRTA sales tax on July 1 to pay for the privately-held sales tax revenue bonds.

Trustee Gail Drumm said the Colorado Department of Transportation would provide $350,000 in funding for two studies on freight-line relocation to the eastern plains and passenger service along the Front Range and from Denver to the Utah border. The studies will be completed by the end of 2008. Town Manager Cathy Green added that the membership of the Front Range Rail Authority has grown from 2 to over 20 municipalities in the past six months. Monument was one of the two founding members.

Drumm also said that the state appears ready to make the town’s Energy Star energy efficiency initiative a statewide requirement. Aquila Gas and Mountain View Electric Association (MVEA) have joined the town initiative.

Trustee Steve Samuels thanked Public Works Director Rich Landreth for getting the county to patch about 90 percent of the potholes in Old Denver Highway. He and Glenn asked Landreth to call the county again to repair the remaining 18-inch potholes.

Trustee Tim Miller asked Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara when the state’s traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 105 and Knollwood Drive would be turned on, and said, "It’s a public safety issue and we don’t want one of our kids getting killed." Kassawara said the developer of the Villages at Woodmoor, WED LLC, had finally paid MVEA to provide the electrical connection for the CDOT traffic signal, but the town has no control over this longstanding startup delay.

High Country Home and Garden on Washington Street asked the board to make the Washington Street and Second Street intersection a four-way stop due to visibility problems for pedestrians and motorists when crossing Second Street. Planning Commissioner Lowell Morgan "seconded" the request, noting half the problem is speeding drivers.

Glenn asked Police Chief Jake Shirk to have his department monitor the speed limit. Shirk replied, "Writing more tickets, yes sir!" Drumm asked Kassawara to "eliminate that parking" in front of the Monument Sanitation District’s building next to Town Hall.

Kassawara said he would have the intersection studied by a new traffic engineer from Carter Burgess, because the town was phasing out SEH as its consultant. It will take several weeks to generate traffic counts. "Sometimes four-way stop signs aren’t an answer for a dangerous intersection and just make it worse," he said. Glenn suggested adding islands that extend into Second Street to position the new stop signs for greater visibility by motorists.

The board unanimously approved an amendment to the town code that requires developers to pay a cash retainer fee for all staff reviews for each land use application and rezoning application.

Previously, the town staff invoiced developers for payment of fees after the applications had been reviewed and processed, but frequently had difficulty getting reimbursed after the applications had been approved. Now, the development requests will not be looked at by staff until the full payments are made.

If additional unanticipated staff work is required, a supplemental payment must be made by the applicant as well before the application review will be completed.

Overdue payments will be charged 18 percent interest, as will costs for collection and attorney fees. The review fees pay for all costs and salaries of the Developer Services Department.

The board unanimously approved a temporary street closure of a portion of Washington Street between Second and Third Streets on Aug. 25, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the fourth annual High Country Chili Cook-Off held by High Country Home & Garden. Proceeds from the charitable event will again go to Tri-Lakes Cares.

The board unanimously approved a resolution to provide financial support later this year for promoting senior services, housing, support services, recreation, and other needs in the Monument and Tri-Lakes region. No specific amount was set for the pledged donation because it is too early in the budget cycle to know what surpluses may be available. No allocation was included for seniors in the original 2007 budget approved in late 2006. The specific contribution will be determined after Town Treasurer Pamela Smith develops the mid-year budget restatement for board consideration in July.

Glenn and Samuels said the town needs to be a regional leader now that it is beginning to have extra revenue to support this kind of initiative. The county will offer no direct financial support to the town’s effort. Drumm said the town does not have unlimited funds and only has one-fifth of the Tri-Lakes population. However, Samuels compared the seniors initiative to Drumm’s high-speed rail initiative in terms of gathering support from other municipalities and entities following Monument’s leadership.

Senior Alliance spokesman Chuck Roberts thanked the board and said he was recruiting new members and contributors and was holding a four-day, four-church country-gospel fundraiser concert series from May 31 through June 2. Roberts said the new town senior housing facility already had 25 of its 60 residences in the Villages at Woodmoor reserved before any plans had been proposed or ground broken. Drumm asked Roberts to "put up signs for the performances since a lot of us don’t read the newspaper."

The board unanimously approved Glenda Smith’s appointment to fill the vacancy created when Commissioner John Kortgardner resigned and moved out of Monument. Smith’s appointment runs through January 2009. Her other service to the town of Monument includes:

Her husband, Don Smith, was recently re-appointed to another term on the Board of Adjustment, which he chairs.

Engineering consultant GMS Inc. recommended and the board unanimously approved the award of a construction contract for $195,993 to Friedland Construction Inc. to connect the previously completed town well No. 9 to the town water system. The well was previously drilled on land donated to the town by Jack Wiepking in the Villages at Monument development. It will be connected to the south end of the previously installed town water supply main that runs south along Old Denver Highway from the recently expanded water treatment facility at Second Street and Beacon Lite Road. Planning for the connecting pipe, pump house, vault, valves, controls, and electrical service will take two months, followed by two months of construction. Friedland was the low bidder of six companies that competed for the contract award.

Trustee Tommie Plank and Downtown Community Development Director Lucy McGuire, representing the Historic Monument Merchants Association, presented a resolution to create an annual award for area citizens who have been instrumental in the preservation and enhancement of the Historic Downtown Monument District. They also nominated Jim Moore for the inaugural award and asked that the award be given each year on his birthday, April 16. Plank listed Moore’s qualifications for the award:

McGuire said this is an ideal time to recognize Moore, noting that many items Moore had performed were not listed in the resolution, and to establish a process to recognize others for encouraging preservation and enhancement of the downtown district to make the town better.

The board unanimously approved creation, presentation date, and title of the new annual town award and selection of Moore as its first recipient. The first award presentation was scheduled for the May 21 meeting.

The board also unanimously approved McGuire’s $54,000 budget for her new position to promote community development through organizations like the Merchants Association and special projects to enhance Limbach Park with new benches that will have plaques honoring Moore as well as a new sound system for the annual summer concerts in the park.

The board unanimously approved liquor license renewals for Eagle Wine & Spirit, 1060 W. Baptist Rd.; Columbine Garden, 481 S. Highway 105; and Monument Inc., doing business as "Cork N Bottle," 351 S. Highway 105. An application for renewal of the Il Fratello’s license was unanimously tabled due to the absence of the owner.

The board unanimously approved three payments over $5,000:

The Bosco payment was discussed at length. The roof of the expanded plant building still leaked. Final claims for payment to subcontractors Construction Dimensions, Munson Ditching, and Drywall Specialists have been withheld. There is one more payment to be made to Bosco and the town still is withholding Bosco’s retainer fee, which covers any warranty repairs that might have to be made by another contractor if Bosco does not repair them. Once all repairs have been made and the warranty period has expired, the remainder of the retainer fee will be returned to Bosco.

The board unanimously directed Green to draft a TABOR ballot initiative that requests voters to approve that excess revenue would be retained by the town for another four years and be directed to parks and recreation for seniors and kids. The board also discussed the latest iteration of Green’s draft capital improvement plan at length.

Town Attorney Gary Shupp said that the town had rejected Kalime Masse’s offer of a settlement in