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Palmer Lake community comes together

Photos by Ray McCoy, Life Long Photography, www.lifelongphotography.com.  

Below: At Palmer Lake Elementary School April 25, Evan Tharnish places a ribbon on the tree planted 10 years ago in memory of Josh Eaton. David Lochridge and Mario Facinelli prepare to decorate the tree for the 3 p.m. ceremony. All three boys are in Mrs. Wilson’s second grade class and she was also Josh Eaton’s teacher.

Below: At Palmer Lake Elementary School April 25, NeTanya Hart unloads a pallet of pavers, passing them back to Bertie Nielson of the Home Depot team of volunteers. 

Below: At Palmer Lake Elementary School April 25, 4 year old Alex Powell, son of Home Depot Assistant Store manager Bret Powell, joins the pavers relay team breaking-in a new pair of donated gloves.

Who would have thought that on a cold morning you could get children, parents, and volunteers together to do a work project? Well, it happened throughout the Palmer Lake community and at the entrance to Palmer Lake Elementary School on Friday, April 25.

The activities celebrated Arbor Day and Earth Day, created a Memorial Garden for Steve Weiss, and brought to a close the remembrance of Josh Eaton, who would have graduated from high school this year. An evergreen tree planted by Dee Dee and Hugh Eaton 10 years ago to remember their young son was embellished with yellow ribbons.

The Project Green Panthers conceived by Shawn Cash spearheaded the activity of redeveloping the front of the elementary school. This is a group of youngsters from kindergarten through fifth grade involved in recycling and environmental education. They eagerly undertook their task with the tremendous support of Home Depot, which provided 15 volunteers and skids full of landscaping, patio supplies, and fencing.

While this activity was under way at the school, other children from all grades canvassed numerous areas around Palmer Lake, proudly collecting litter.

During a 3 p.m. ceremony to celebrate and recognize all the accomplishments of the day, several high school seniors who knew and would have celebrated graduation with Josh Eaton stopped by to place yellow ribbons in his remembrance.

That day was one of those unique moments when regardless of the conditions, people coming together in a community can demonstrate just what is important in their lives and enrich their neighbors and the place they call home.

Fire ban issued

The Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District has banned all outdoor fires, including campfires, trash, brush, and agricultural burning within the district. This is due to the very dry conditions, low humidity, and wind.

Exceptions are propane or charcoal barbecue grills and any other outdoor container approved by the district’s fire marshal. El Paso County fire bans will override this notice.

For information, contact Fire Marshal Curtis Kauffman, 266-3382.

Below: From right to left, Town Clerk Scott Meszaros (far right) swears in (L to R) incumbents Trustee Gail Drumm, Trustee Tommie Plank, and Mayor Byron Glenn; and new trustee Rafael Dominguez at the start of the Apr. 7 Monument Board of Trustees meeting. Photo by Jim Kendrick

Mayor Byron Glenn and Trustees Gail Drumm and Tommie Plank began new four-year terms on the Monument Board of Trustees (BOT) when they were sworn in by Town Clerk Scott Meszaros on April 7. Former Planning Commissioner Rafael Dominguez was also sworn in to start his first term, which will also be for four years. Each ran uncontested and no election was held.

Dominguez succeeds former Trustee and Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Mertz, who chose not to run for a second four-year term. Mertz had previously served as Planning Commission chairman.

Trustees Steve Samuels, Travis Easton, and Tim Miller were also present.

Glenn stated five reasons that the town should accept the county’s offer to transfer the county’s title to Old Denver Highway right-of-way:

Town Attorney Gary Shupp noted that the Board of County Commissioners had already approved a Bargain and Sale Deed (on March 10) to convey the right-of-way to the town, and the board was merely approving final acceptance of the deed to the road. He noted that the town would also be accepting the obligation to fund all future snow removal, drainage, maintenance, and repair costs.

The length of the conveyed road is 1.6 miles with a total of 12.9 acres of right-of-way. The portion of the road acquired extends north from Baptist Road to just south of the Woodfield Drive intersection in the Pastimes development.

Drumm objected to the town taking ownership, stating that the county had agreed to fix the road before it transferred ownership. He said the road is in serious disrepair and the town has allocated no funds to remove and replace the portions that have been seriously damaged.

Drumm said the county should completely repair the highway, including removal and replacement of the failed portions of asphalt caused by heavy county truck traffic. He said the county should also transfer the sales tax revenue from the owners of these trucks as a source of revenue for repairing future damage these heavy trucks will cause. Drumm stated that one heavy gravel truck trip does the same damage as 7,000 car trips and that he was tired of offering the county good will that would not be reciprocated. "This road is not going to stand up."

Drumm suggested that the board table the issue until Public Works Director Rich Landreth could provide an accurate estimate of total costs for removal and replacement of failed roadway, as well as the cost for adding lanes for new developments. "We have no idea what this is going to cost to upgrade it" or maintain it. Miller concurred on getting repair cost estimates before taking control of the highway after noting that the "county gets to off-load it."

Note: The most severe asphalt damage is apparent at the access to the R-Rockyard landscaping business, where delivery trucks make 90-degree turns on Old Denver Highway with very heavy loads creating very high shear forces that crack the surface. This company’s access is just south of the town’s boundary with the county. Other asphalt damage is apparent in both lanes south of this access, particularly in the southbound braking area in front of the Santa Fe Trailhead by the Baptist Road intersection.

Town Manager Cathy Green said that Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara had talked to Andre Brackin, Capital Programs Division manager of the county Department of Transportation. Brackin told Kassawara earlier in the day that the county had no funds available for repair or upgrade of Old Denver Highway for a minimum of the next three years, there was "absolutely" no agreement for the county to fix the road prior to transfer, and improvements by the county are "virtually impossible."

Landreth estimated that the cost of a temporary repair of the three worst portions of the highway to make the road "drivable" would cost about $15,000 from the department’s contingency fund, $5,000 for each.

Shupp said that some town police officers have been trained to enforce restrictions on overweight trucks using the highway and enforcement could be increased after the town takes ownership, to partially mitigate further destruction.

Glenn said that the town needed to take over the road sooner rather than later because the county will do nothing for the foreseeable future, particularly near the "county’s own trailhead." Town utilities will have to be installed in the roadway, and the town should directly supervise their installation as well as the road’s maintenance.

Samuels, Plank, and Easton agreed. Samuels said that having town residents pay for repairs is not fair, but no improvements will occur unless the town takes over this road. Easton said the board needs to improve the situation. Plank noted that most residents think the board is responsible for Old Denver Highway already.

There was further lengthy and occasionally testy discussion between Glenn and Drumm. They each accused the other of being "short-sighted" about the factors affecting the town’s decision.

Miller offered a motion to table the acceptance of the county’s deed until Drumm could negotiate with the county for funds to repair the road, which failed by a 2-5 vote with only Miller and Drumm in favor. The board then voted to accept the county’s offer of a Bargain and Sale Deed for Old Denver Highway by a 6-1 vote, with Drumm opposed.

County resident Sarah Nasby said that a March meeting Glenn and Green had with County Commissioner Wayne Williams and El Paso County Department of Transportation Director John McCarty regarding options for extending Mitchell Avenue to connect with Baptist Road had violated Colorado and El Paso open/public meeting statutes. Nasby said that Colorado Rep. Amy Stephens, District 20, "also believes that meeting was illegal." (See www.ourcommunitynews.org/v8n4.htm#bot0317 for a report on Glenn’s previous discussion of this meeting at the March 17 BOT meeting, under "Trustee comments.")

Note: Nasby lives at the intersection of Spaatz Road and Rickenbacker Avenue, just west of the planned connection of the Mitchell Avenue extension to Forest Lakes Drive. Nasby had objected to the extension of Mitchell Avenue along this route at previous BOT hearings on the matter. (See www.ourcommunitynews.org/v8n4.htm#bot0303 for maps and details of the Mitchell Avenue extension issue that were discussed during the Willow Springs land use hearing at the March 3 BOT meeting.)

Nasby stated that Stephens had advised her to send a letter of complaint requesting a "thorough investigation" of the Mitchell Avenue extension to Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and acting El Paso County Attorney William Louis. Nasby asked the board to halt any discussions of the Mitchell Avenue extension until the findings of the alleged "investigation" of her formal complaint had concluded. She also asked that any development construction within the Willow Springs Ranch annexation by Infinity Land Corp. be halted until a "legal determination" of her request that the Mitchell Avenue extension be constructed through the center of that now-annexed parcel is "fully considered" in light of this alleged "illegal" meeting.

Glenn asked Town Attorney Shupp to respond to Nasby’s assertion. Shupp said, "Totally incorrect. It was not an illegal meeting. There was nothing to do with what she suggested. The state statute requires that it be a public open meeting if three or more trustees meet. That did not occur. The statute does not apply to staff members such as Cathy Green or John McCarty." He added that Stephens "is also incorrect" in concluding that the meeting was illegal.

Glenn said that if the town "goes further" with road construction for an extension of Mitchell Avenue through the county as proposed, the board would first go to the county Planning Commission for a recommendation. "It doesn’t matter if they vote yes or no. It’s a town project and the town has the authority" to go forward with construction of this town road through county property, including eminent domain condemnation if required.

Note: There are no funds available for construction of a Mitchell Avenue extension in the town’s 2008 budget or in the town’s five-year capital improvement plan.

Glenn reported on three factors that affect the status of town efforts to obtain surface water rights and delivery systems to supplement the town’s groundwater supply. He said he had held discussions with the mayor and members of the Colorado Springs City Council on Monument’s possible participation in the proposed Southern Delivery System as well as future exchanges of groundwater during droughts.

Glenn stated that a recently discovered prohibition in the city’s charter prevents Colorado Springs Utilities from serving areas outside of the city limits. Any future city water-sharing agreements with any town or special district outside of Colorado Springs would require that a ballot question on such an agreement be passed by city voters.

The second possible problem Glenn noted is that the Environmental Impact Study being performed for the Southern Delivery System is restricted to supplemental water service for Colorado Springs residents only. If any other entities are to be served with water rights owned by Colorado Springs in the Pueblo Reservoir, the entire impact study would have to be redone. The City Council opposes starting the study over again to amend it for more widespread service that would include surrounding areas.

The third problem Glenn discussed was the Springs City Council’s concerns about Monument and other northern county entities separately purchasing water rights from private water rights owners as well as those purchased from Colorado Springs Utilities. Glenn said the city attorney has advised the City Council that any purchase of private water rights by northern county entities in competition with Utilities’ services "undermines Colorado Springs’ position tying water service with cooperation on stormwater, land use, and related matters with entities within El Paso County. In other words, they want to control everything we do here if they give us water."

Glenn also said that the city’s environmental impact study may have failed to address the regional impact of the Southern Delivery System as required. Colorado Springs may attempt to resolve that "regional" shortcoming by negotiating "agreements with outside entities such as Monument." Any future water agreements proposed to Monument by the city will have to be closely scrutinized from a legal standpoint and the town must avoid "huge participation fees."

In other trustees’ comments, Easton noted that he had attended his first session of the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce as the board’s representative and looked forward to improving the board’s communications with the business community.

Drumm reported that the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority was considering two candidates to conduct a study of regional rail needs.

An amendment to the town code that raised the average value for an acre of residential land within the town from $19,234 to $83,160 was continued until April 21. The maximum number of students and size of lots for elementary, middle, and high schools were also revised in the amended ordinance. The D-38 appraisals for land within the town boundaries show that the average value is double this amount, which will require further fee increases over the next few years to catch up with land value increases.

Cash-in-lieu fees typically apply to newly constructed homes in developments that are too small to be required to dedicate a full school site as part of the town’s 20 percent open space dedication requirement. The fees are paid by the developer for each lot to the town, which then transfers the revenue to Lewis-Palmer School District 38.

The new D-38 cash-in-lieu fees are:

Senior residence apartments are exempt from the fee since no children are allowed to live in them.

The revised school standards are:

Kassawara said that he believed that the fees were last increased in 1997. D-38 Superintendent Ray Blanch and Chief Operating Officer Cheryl Wangeman thanked the board and staff for amending the code to increase the fees. They explained that the fees for attached/town homes and multi-family units are significantly less than $1,350, because these units typically have far fewer school-age children.

The Colorado Springs Homebuilders Association objected by letter—two hours before this board meeting—to what appeared to be a mathematical error in an example showing the methods of calculation for the fee increase. The association’s letter also stated that the D-38 calculation methods differ significantly from methods used by other nearby school districts and expressed concerns about the revenues being used for purposes other than school construction. The association asked for a 60-day delay in implementation to allow for full disclosure of the $1,000 increase in fees required at closings for newly constructed homes.

Green stated that the town has no authority to determine the amount of money or acreage per student that D-38 requires. The amount agreed to as being necessary was $4,500 per home, but the town limited the increase to $1,350 during negotiations with the school district and homebuilders constructing new homes in Monument at this time to keep the jump from being too high all at once in a tight real estate market. Further increases over the next few years will be required. The change will not go into effect for 45 days.

Wangeman said that consultant Danny Hill, who performed the valuation study for D-38, also performs the same kind of survey for 30 other school districts in the Front Range area. The valuations for lots within the Town of Monument were twice the average value of $83,160 per acre. The cash-in-lieu fees must be increased again over the next few years until this discrepancy is resolved.

Wangeman also noted that the cash-in-lieu fees that the town collects for D-38 are segregated in a specific capital account used solely for new school construction, in accordance with Colorado statutes. This segregated capital fund account is audited every year.

Wangeman added that the land-per-student figures that are used in surrounding school districts had not been updated since 1992 and should not be used for comparisons by the association. She added that some nearby school districts are starting to revise their land requirement figures.

Blanch supported Wangeman, saying that the initial fee increase to $1,350 per home will not generate "nearly enough revenue" to purchase land within D-38 for new schools. The developments that are being approved by the town and county rarely are large enough to be required to donate enough land for a school site, so sites will have to be purchased in the future.

County resident Nasby said that the estimate of the average value of an acre of land at $83,160 in the Monument area was too low.

Glenn, who is also a developer, said that D-38 had been slow in seeking an increase in the fee. "An increase from $291 to $4,500 is huge. I think $1,350 is extremely generous on both sides. It’s a start. We’ll have to do it again soon." Glenn then asked Kassawara to address the accuracy of the complaints in the homebuilders’ letter. The board unanimously continued the fee amendment until the April 21 BOT meeting.

Developer Tim Irish had requested to be put on the agenda to make a presentation on water requirements for the Arbor Mountain senior living facility to be built on 2.7 acres of town land on Highway 105, east of Knollwood Drive. The land was donated to Irish in exchange for a perpetual guarantee of reduced rates for poor seniors in 10 percent of the available residence units. Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District has no supplemental water rights within the 140-acre Villages at Woodmoor that it can sell to Irish for the extremely high-density project. The available water rights for this lot would only support five single-family homes. Water rights are needed for more than 40 apartments.

However, Irish did not attend the meeting. When asked if Irish’s project was going to go forward, Green stated, "At this point, it’s not looking good."

Glenn read a letter from Palmer Lake Mayor Max Parker saying how grateful that town was for the assistance received from Monument Police Chief Jake Shirk and his staff in immediately helping Palmer Lake’s Police Department after the untimely and unexpected death of Chief Dan Gilliana on Jan. 4. "No request from the Town of Palmer Lake has gone unanswered."

Some of the other types of town assistance that Parker noted were:

Shirk, who received an enthusiastic round of applause, said, "I’m sweatin’. I’d rather face a man with a gun than this."

Green gave an overview of the resolution on how to calculate the excess water demand for the proposed Hull subdivision on the 16-lot vacant downtown city block between Grace Best Elementary School and Beacon Lite Road, south of First Street. She said an incentive should be offered to Hull to promote a high-density mixed-use "downtown village concept" with shops, restaurants, and lofts with a higher than normal water demand. Each of the 16 50-by-150-foot lots has rights to 0.5 acre-feet of water per year, but the project requires 27.14 acre-feet per year.

Consultant Westworks Engineering provided the specific uses in its estimate of the annual water requirement in the Hull development:

Green reported that unless additional water is sold to Hull, the vacant parcel will revert to an ordinary traditional residential development rather than promote the village concept to start revitalization of downtown Monument. The town has excess rights that total 384 acre-feet of water per year. The town staff recommends setting aside 84 acre-feet for future approved growth and 100 acre-feet for a reserve.

The resolution would approve the sale of additional town water to Hull at a cost not to exceed $2,000 per acre-foot. The staff would track water use during construction of the Hull project and for two more years after completion. Green also said that Gary Barber, director of the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority, had suggested a discounted selling price of $1,250 per acre-foot. The resolution was unanimously approved.

Green also noted that a public meeting was held in Town Hall on April 1 to discuss a proposed exploratory horizontal test natural gas well in the county near Mount Herman Road by Dyad Petroleum. Citizens who attended that meeting expressed concerns about the materials used during drilling of these and any future wells contaminating the aquifers in the Tri-Lakes region, as well as declining property values and excessive heavy truck traffic through town and up to the drilling site on unimproved dirt roads.

The board authorized the expense to have town water engineer Bruce Lytle analyze the Dyad’s environmental impact statement once it is released.

The board also:

Monument Board of Trustees, April 21: Wakonda Meadows hearings postponed; Board approves increase in D-38 fees for new homes

Below: Monument Chief Jake Shirk shows the Board of Trustees and town staff his department’s new state of the art night vision camera, which was paid for entirely by a federal grant he had applied for. The camera has a separate remote viewing screen, allowing police officers to see what the camera is observing from a distance without betraying their presence at the scene. Photo by Jim Kendrick.

The Monument Town Hall board room was filled with folks on April 21, many from Wakonda Hills who were there to comment on the annexation of 84.5 acres of the Wakonda Meadows development, rezoning to Planned Development (PD), and the proposed Planned Development (PD) sketch plan. Then Mayor Byron Glenn announced that applicant Ken Barber of Zonta Partnership LTD had asked at the last minute that these four hearings be postponed until May 5. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the request.

As the board moved on to approve a resolution declaring May 1 National Prayer Day in Monument, other Wakonda Hills residents continued to arrive, unaware that the hearings had been postponed. Trustees Gail Drumm and Tommie Plank were absent.

Four agenda items were scheduled for this vacant parcel north of the Century Park Development on Highway 105, between Beacon Lite Road and the railroad tracks:

However, Barber had advised the staff just before the meeting that he had not yet completed negotiations with the Colorado Department of Transportation regarding the state’s requirement that the Zonta Partnership pay for new turn lanes and a traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 105 and Beacon Lite Road and was not ready to move forward with the scheduled hearings. The Monument Planning Commission had unanimously approved all four of these agenda items on March 12.

Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara reported that an error had been found in the example calculation in his staff report for how much land would be subject to dedication to Lewis-Palmer School District 38 in future Monument developments based on a proposed amendment to the Town Code. The Colorado Springs Housing and Building Association (CSHBA) had complained at the April 7 hearing that the published formula required too much land to be dedicated by developers for new schools. The board had continued the vote on the ordinance amendment so staff could resolve the complaint. However, there was no error in the proposed land dedication ordinance amendment. (For more details see the article on the Apr. 7 BOT hearing.)

Kassawara reported that his staff had consulted with the homebuilders on the correction staff had made in its report. The association "withdrew its objections" in a letter dated April 17 from its representative John A. Kisiel to Town Manager Cathy Green. The D-38 cash-in-lieu fee paid by a homebuilder for a new single-family house in Monument will still increase from $291 to $1,350, as previously negotiated by the staff with the association.

The staff also revised the wording in the proposed ordinance to explicitly state the difference between the actual current average value of land in Monument –– about $155,000 per acre –– and the substantially reduced value town staff negotiated with the homebuilders as the basis for the increased cash-in-lieu fee. "Land value: $83,160 per acre" in the revised heading for the table listing the increased cash-in-lieu payments for different types of residences was changed to "Land value: $155,000 per acre—$3,558 per square foot (used forced value at $83,160 per acre)." The $1,350 fee is based on the reduced $83,160 per acre figure.

At the April 7 meeting, D-38 Superintendent Ray Blanch and Chief Operating Officer Cheryl Wangeman said that the cash-in-lieu fee for each new single-family home that the district needs to purchase land in Monument is $4,500, not $1,350. They also said they had agreed to the compromise of $1,350 per new house, based on the compromise $83,160 per acre figure that the homebuilders had agreed to pay. On April 7, Glenn stated that the $1,350 fee was "generous," and then acknowledged that it would have to be increased.

Marla Novak, who said she was attending this meeting as a representative of the homebuilders association, stated that the group now supports the revised amendment to Monument’s land dedication ordinance for D-38. Wangeman confirmed that the figures in the draft ordinance presented on April 7 had been correct and the new staff report was now accurate.

The board unanimously approved the correction to the amendment to the town code.

Glenn reported that Carter Burgess, the consultant contract manager for the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority’s (BRRTA) expansion of the I-25 Baptist Road interchange, may be able to advertise a construction contract bidding process as early as April 30. It is being financed by 20-year BRRTA transportation bonds paid for by the temporary voter-approved 1-cent BRRTA sales tax.

Glenn also noted that the numerous potholes in Baptist Road and on the bridge over I-25 had not yet been repaired by the county and state respectively due to continuing freezing weather. Some are too shallow to repair.

Now that these fee increases have finally been approved, D-38 will still be collecting very little money to buy land for its new schools. New home sales in Monument have plummeted, which is causing a shortfall in cash-in-lieu revenue for D-38 school construction. No homes have been sold in the vacant Promontory Pointe, Sanctuary Pointe, and Home Place Ranch developments since they were annexed by the town and rezoned for urban density Planned Development. Home Place Ranch was supposed to have a new D-38 elementary school site in the middle of the project.

Pulte Homes pulled out of two previously approved residential developments in north Jackson Creek and stopped work on its Promontory Pointe annexation after it was approved.

This stagnant real estate market has also resulted in a severe revenue shortage for Triview Metropolitan District, which had to raise property taxes in late 2007 to balance its budget for 2008 after voters rejected all four of the district’s mill levy override ballot questions in November. Triview depends primarily on new home construction fees in already approved subdivisions to finance infrastructure construction –– roads, water, sewer, parks, trails, open space –– in annexed areas as well as maintenance of all infrastructure. It cannot issue any more debt due to its financial condition. (See www.ourcommunitynews.org/v8n4.htm#tmd for details)

After the April 21 BOT meeting, acting Triview District Manager Ron Simpson reported at the Triview board meeting April 22 that the state will not consider approving a second low-cost $2 million loan to Triview until the final 2007 Triview audit is available for review in June or July (sentence revised from printed version). The loan is needed to pay for its 50 percent share of the cost overruns in the state-mandated expansion of the Upper Monument Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility. Donala Water and Sanitation District may have to cover this additional cost for Triview if the latter cannot qualify for this extra loan.

In addition, Triview now has insufficient revenue to build the roads and utilities it must provide to developers as a "developer district" at district expense. The dearth of home sales forced Triview to reduce its road and bridge impact fees last month, further reducing its ability to generate revenue to repair failing roads and other infrastructure in Jackson Creek.

Kassawara and the applicants for the Fairfield Inn, McDonald’s, and Blue Kona projects gave the same presentations that were presented to the Planning Commission on April 9 prior to unanimous approval by the board. Graeme and Martha Aston presented the same objections to the Villani project’s stormwater drainage onto the northeast corner of the Aston’s Electric Propulsion parcel. (See the Monument Planning Commission article for details of all these presentations.)

Several homeowners who live near the Blue Kona building between the railroad tracks and Old Denver Highway expressed concerns about the new building blocking their views of the Front Range and reflected train noise from the rear of the new building.

Applicant Steve Hammers presented illustrations that showed how the rear of the building would be screened with replanted ponderosa pine trees from the site. The drawings also showed that the top of the Blue Kona roof would be below the homeowner’s sight lines to the entire Synthes plant and would have no effect on their current views.

Trustee Steve Samuels said the train noise reflected from the rear of the Blue Kona building would be blocked by the trains from reaching these houses.

Police Chief Jake Shirk showed the board the Monument Police Department’s new state-of-the-art night vision camera, which was paid for entirely by a federal grant. The cost for training all the department’s staff to use the camera is also paid for by the federal grant.

Shirk stated that this camera will dramatically improve the department’s ability to conduct surreptitious investigations of all types. He emphasized that the camera will also be available for use by other county, state, and federal agencies conducting investigations throughout the northern county region.

Shirk stated that parents should be aware of a troubling new Web site called "Miss Bimbo," which preys on young children. Members of the Monument Police Department are coordinating with D-38 to give presentations to area schools to make students more aware of the hazards these types of sites present if children reveal too much information about themselves or their families.

Shirk announced that St. Peter Catholic Church, located at Jefferson and First Streets, had just been certified by the Red Cross as an emergency/hazard shelter. The Police Department will be coordinating county-provided CERT (civilian emergency response team) training for area residents to be conducted at St. Peter on May 29-31 to support this program. Area residents can register for the training on a first-come, first-served basis, at St Peter, 481-3511, or the Monument Police Department, 481-3253.

The board also:

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

Trustee Travis Easton, a civil engineer who works for Nolte, recused himself from the vote on the Nolte payment.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45.

**********

The next meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 5 at Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held on the first and third Monday of the month. Information: 884-8017.

On April 9, the Monument Planning Commission unanimously approved the final Planned Development (PD) site plan for the Blue Kona office/warehouse building, the first of six commercial buildings to be constructed in the Villani Industrial Park project on Synthes Avenue, east of Mitchell Avenue, along the railroad tracks.

The drainage plan for the Villani parcel was questioned by Graeme and Martha Aston, owners of the adjacent Electric Propulsion property to the south. The Astons did not want the stormwater from the proposed Villani detention pond on the southernmost of the seven Villani lots to be released onto the northeast corner of their Aston Industrial Park parcel as shown in the drainage portion of the final Villani Industrial Park site plan.

The commission also unanimously approved an amendment to the long-approved design guidelines for the Monument Ridge mixed-use development on the southeast corner of Baptist and Struthers Roads, opposite the King Soopers center. These minor color and material changes were based on requests for external appearance changes for the Fairfield Inn and MacDonald’s that are about to be constructed. The commission then approved changes to these same requested materials for the individual hotel and restaurant final PD site plans.

Commissioners Dave Gwisdalla and Rafael Dominguez were absent. Chairman Ed Delaney was delayed by traffic. Vice Chair Kathy Spence presided over the start of the Blue Kona hearing.

As has become customary at Planning Commission hearings, Principal Planner Karen Griffith gave a brief summary of the Kona proposal, followed by a presentation of the design features of the building by the applicant, in this case Steve Hammers of Hammers Construction Co.

Griffith noted that the office/warehouse building is 14,000 square feet with offices in the front façade and large garage doors in the rear façade for truck deliveries. There will be about 9,800 square feet of landscaping and 21,000 square feet of parking on lot 4 of the Villani parcel. The Blue Kona lot is about 1.03 acres. The Villani parcel has been zoned for Planned Industrial Development for several decades.

Griffith noted that the applicant will relocate most of the existing ponderosa pine trees to provide a rear visual screen for the existing houses across the railroad tracks in Santa Fe Trails and Villages at Monument. Some of the trees will be replanted on the adjacent vacant lot to the north for the same purpose. Dirt from the rear of the lot will be moved to the front of the lot to lower the profile of the building so that it does not interfere with existing views of the Front Range for the homes between the railroad tracks and Old Denver Highway.

Referral comments: Griffith reported the following comments from other agencies regarding the Blue Kona and/or Villani projects:

Griffith also reported that the Blue Kona final PD site plan meets all town code and comprehensive plan approval criteria. Griffith recommended four conditions of approval:

1. Any necessary technical corrections shall be made by the applicant and approved by the staff.
2. Any necessary utility easements shall be dedicated by separate instrument upon request by the utility provider.
3. The final plat for the Villani Industrial Park must be recorded before recording of the Blue Kona final PD site plan.
4. The final drainage plan for the Villani Industrial Park must be recorded before recording of the Blue Kona final PD site plan.

Hammers noted that there are no planned loading docks in the Blue Kona building. It will be served once a day at the close of business by a delivery truck.

There will be about 30-40 trips per day on Synthes and Mitchell Avenues generated by the 13 employees and delivery vehicles. There will be no weekend or evening deliveries. The total number of employees for this sunglasses business will grow to a maximum of 24 people over time with a trip generation that may go as high as 70 trips on occasion. Hammers added that his company would replace any replanted pine trees that die.

Drainage objections raised: During public comments, the Astons stated that there is no evidence of any historical drainage from the Villani property onto the Aston property and they don’t want any changes. They distributed aerial photos of the Synthes Avenue parcels that they said confirmed that there are no patterns of drainage onto their property. They added that their Electric Propulsion employees use the vacant portions of the Aston parcel for walks and playing golf.

They specifically objected to the depiction of a new Villani stormwater drainage pipe system that would intrude onto their land in the Villani –– rather than the Blue Kona –– drainage plan. The Astons said they had not granted an easement for that drainage way and had no intention of doing so. They added that the town staff should talk to their lawyer to resolve this issue, since it had reached a stalemate with the Villani Partnership.

There was a lengthy discussion in which several of the commissioners questioned the completeness and currency of the traffic study, as well as how the Villani drainage plan should affect their votes on the Blue Kona proposal.

Town Attorney Gary Shupp said that Director of Development Services Tom Kassawara, a registered professional civil engineer, would review and certify the final stormwater drainage plan for the entire subdivision before Blue Kona construction is initiated. The Astons reiterated their adamant objections to the depicted stormwater drainage pipe that would open into the wetlands area of their property without a granted easement.

The Blue Kona preliminary/final PD site plan was unanimously approved with an additional condition that the traffic study had to be updated to account for the recent annexation and sketch plan approvals of the Willow Springs Ranch project at the south end of Mitchell Avenue.

The commissioners unanimously approved three design guideline amendments for the Monument Ridge development. The first amendment, requested by the Fairfield Inn owners, allows the substitution of brown asphalt shingles for brown metal roofing. The other amendments were requested by McDonald’s. The second amendment allows two additional complementary colors of decorative accent bricks. The third amendment, which will only apply to the McDonald’s lot, allows a trademarked vertically striped awning with two unique alternating colors to be hung over the two McDonald’s drive-through windows. This type of awning and the two colors will not be authorized for any other lot on the parcel.

The commissioners then approved an amendment to the Fairfield Inn final PD site plan for two changes to the hotel’s exterior to restore economic viability to the project. The applicant reported that construction prices have soared over 25 percent since the preliminary PD site plan was approved. The proposed brown metal roof will be replaced by brown asphalt shingles, saving $90,000. Some of the proposed decorative masonry accents on the sides of the hotel will be replaced by stucco to save $30,000. No changes were made to the front or rear façade.

The commissioners also approved the final PD site plan for the McDonald’s restaurant, which will incorporate the newly approved colors of decorative brick and the trademarked awnings.

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

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The next meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 14 at Town Hall, 166 Second St. Meetings are normally held on the second Wednesday of the month. Information: 884-8017.

At the April 14 meeting, the Palmer Lake Town Council heard concerns from Chris Amenson, president of Front Range Environmental Resource Coalition (FRERC), about the proposal submitted to the U.S. Forest Service by Dyad Petroleum Co. of Midland, Texas, for two exploratory gas wells on Mount Herman and Mount Raspberry.

Amenson presented the council with an overview of FRERC and the potential hazards involved should the drilling proceed. FRERC is a volunteer organization that holds 501(c)3 status and, at the time of the council meeting, had over 200 members, primarily from the Palmer Lake and Monument communities.

Amenson noted that besides the impact of the drilling process, known as "fracing," would have on housing developments adjacent to the area, a broader concern is the possible effects on air and above and below ground water quality in the region. Amenson stated that the Forest Service is conducting an environmental assessment review at this time. Once that report is released, there will be 30 days to respond to the assessment findings.

FRERC has contracted with a firm to perform an independent study of the drilling proposal and possible environmental effects. This independent assessment is projected to cost $35,000 to $40,000. Amenson noted that Colorado communities such as Walsenburg and Leadville have experienced severe negative environmental impacts from this drilling process.

Two citizens of Palmer Lake also expressed concerns about the drilling and the possible environmental impact on the community. News Channel 13 (KRDO) was present to cover Amenson’s presentation and follow-up discussion with the council.

Former Planning Commission Chair John Cressman was officially sworn in as mayor of Palmer Lake, replacing Max Parker who chose not to run for re-election. Former Mayor Nikki McDonald and Dan Reynolds replaced Trustees Trish Flake and Susan Miner since Flake and Miner chose not to run for re-election. Trustees Gary Coleman, Bryan Jack, and Max Stafford were re-elected. Jack and Stafford were recently appointed to the council to fill vacant seats, and this was their first opportunity to run for election. However, the number of candidates equaled the number of vacant seats, so the election was cancelled.

By unanimous decision, the council approved the Meadow Lane Extension project with adjustments. During the March 13 council meeting, a discussion occurred regarding local developer Randy Jones’ request to have council waive the requirement for an 8-inch concrete slab and allow the gravel road he had already installed to remain in place. The concrete slab was determined to be unnecessary. However, a 4-inch asphalt flare will be installed at either end, with 25 feet of the present gravel road to remain in the middle as recommended by the town engineer. Jones now needs to submit the approved design to the flood plain engineer of the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

By unanimous decision, the council approved the conservation easement for Lot 9 of the Babyshoe subdivision, totaling 4.8 acres. This easement proposal and parcel was provided by the developer to the town with the provision that development would not occur on the lot. However, it could be used for recreational purposes such as trails and open space.

Daniel Orcutt was hired as an additional road technician. Kathleen Chacon was selected from among 35 applicants for the vacant police records technician position.

By unanimous decision, an update to the town’s personnel manual was approved. Trustee Bryan Jack and Town Clerk Della Gray performed much of the review and suggested text changes. The manual had not been updated since 1994.

By unanimous decision, council approved entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority. This will enable the town to take part in the feasibility study for passenger rail service along the Front Range from Cheyenne, Wyo., to, potentially, Albuquerque, N.M. Trustee Miner recommended that the town be a part of this agreement as it might lead to a rail station and stopover for visitors. The town also approved a payment of $500 for membership and representation on the authority.

The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

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The next Town Council workshop is scheduled for May 1 at 7 p.m. The next regular council meeting will be on May 8 at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the Town Hall. The workshops are normally held the first Thursday of the month. The regular council meetings are normally held the second Thursday of the month. The next Planning Commission workshop will be held on May 14. These workshops are normally held on the second Wednesday of the month. The next regular Planning Commission meeting will be held on May 21. These regular meetings are normally held on the third Wednesday of the month. Information: 381-2953.

At the April 16 meeting of the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority (PPRWA), Monument Public Works Director Rich Landreth noted that the town has concerns about Dyad Petroleum’s proposed gas drilling on Mt. Herman.

He said some big issues are potential pollution of Monument Creek and potential aquifer contamination. He added, "I come from an area that has a substantial amount of drilling, and I can tell you there are definitely going to be some impacts." He suggested that once the environmental assessment has been released, the PPRWA might want to provide comments.

Phil Steininger, president of the PPRWA and general manager of the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, noted that the wells are three times deeper than the Denver Basin aquifers but that there is the possibility of contamination during drilling.

The current members of the authority are the Cherokee Metropolitan District, the City of Fountain, the Donala Water and Sanitation District, the Town of Monument, the Town of Palmer Lake, the Triview Metropolitan District, and the Woodmoor district.

At the March 19 meeting of the PPRWA, the group decided to form two committees: one to pursue a source of renewable water, and one to look at ways of coordinating local operations.

The renewable water committee, also known as the big picture committee, consists of representatives of Fountain, Monument, and the Cherokee and Woodmoor districts.

The local operations committee, also known as the northern committee, consists of representatives of Monument, Palmer Lake, and the Donala, Triview, and Woodmoor districts.

At the April 16 PPRWA meeting, each of the committees reported on their progress.

Kip Peterson, general manager of the Cherokee district, reported that the committee reviewed a proposal from Alex Brown of UBS Municipal Securities Group to conduct a study to assess the financial feasibility of the project proposed to bring agricultural water from the Lower Arkansas River valley north to the Tri-Lakes area. The first phase of the study would cost about $24,000 and be completed in about 60 days. Subsequent refinement phases, if approved, would produce results about every 30 to 60 days.

The committee recommended approval of the proposal. As treasurer, Dana Duthie, general manager of the Donala district, said the PPRWA has sufficient funds to cover it.

The PPRWA unanimously approved $24,000 for the study.

Duthie reported that the committee reviewed the existing infrastructure and available alternatives to coordinate operations. He said, "We concluded we can’t do [much] as far as coordinating our well field operations." He added that connections within the districts are inadequate to support significant changes as to which wells are being pumped.

He noted as an example that not all of Donala’s wells are piped to both of its water treatment plants. Furthermore, the water from Donala’s various wells has to be mixed in certain ways to address pH and radiology issues. He concluded that there is very little most of the districts can do during the summer, which is when the issue is most critical, to reduce pumping to mitigate interference between the wells being operated by the various districts.

On a positive note, Duthie said the group could facilitate coordination between the districts regarding the drilling of future wells. He noted that none of the districts plan to drill any wells during the remainder of 2008.

The committee also addressed organizational structures to support exchange of effluent credits. Duthie said that Donala has effluent credits available now, and Woodmoor could make use of them. Woodmoor district engineer Jessie Shaffer reported that engineering consulting firm Bishop-Brogden Associates in Englewood proposed a $5,500 study to evaluate alternative organizational structures.

Duthie presented some rough estimates from consulting engineer Roger Sams of GMS, Inc. for the following connections between districts:

He added that the backbone pipeline proposed in the recently completed PPRWA Water Infrastructure Planning Study (WIPS) was intended to serve in place of most of these sorts of piecemeal connections. He noted that these projects do not connect Donala to Triview, Monument to Woodmoor, or Monument to Triview. If the additional connections were added, he said, the total cost could approach or surpass the estimated $15 million to $21 million cost of the backbone pipeline.

Landreth added that the backbone pipeline would be needed to distribute imported water such as that proposed to be piped from the Lower Arkansas River valley. He said the PPRWA would be better off to find a way to fund the backbone pipeline. He noted that the Monument to Palmer Lake connection would be needed even if the backbone pipeline is built.

Duthie said the first thing the PPRWA needs to do is to figure out an organizational structure.

Regarding a unifying organizational structure, Steininger said, "I don’t see the benefits to Woodmoor."

Dick Brown, lobbyist for the authority, reported that Colorado HB08-1141, which would require developers to identify a sustainable water supply for their developments, is moving ahead but in an altered form. He said that although it is opposed by some homebuilders, "It should go through without much difficulty." (As of press time, the amended form of HB08-1141 had passed the House and Senate but had not yet been signed by the governor.)

Brown said that HB08-1259, which proposed restricting districts from providing service to customers outside their boundaries, has died. (As of press time, HB08-1259 was shown as having been tabled until May 10.)

SB08-119, which originally would have authorized the use of cisterns to collect rainwater from up to 3,000 square feet of roof on a single-family primary residence, has been amended to conduct a test to assess potential impacts to water rights holders. (As of press time, the amended form of SB08-119 had passed the House and Senate but had not yet been signed by the governor.)

Larry Patterson, City of Fountain utility director, reported that HP08-1160, which calls for full net metering of customer-generation of electricity, was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.

Gary Barber, the PPRWA manager, reported on a visit he made to Stonewall Springs, a proposed storage site on the Lower Arkansas River. He said owner Mark Morley is excavating the site with the intent to provide 4,000 to 8,000 acre-feet of storage in about 18 months. An acre-foot is 326,851 gallons.

Barber reported that Colorado Springs Utilities has recharged Denver Basin aquifers with 600 acre-feet of water.

Barber noted, "Every reservoir in the state of Colorado is going to spill [excess water] in 2008, and we are going to mine 10,000 acre-feet [of water from the aquifers] in El Paso County." He stressed that the time is right to press for access to renewable sources of water.

Rocky Wiley of Rothberg, Tamburini, and Winsor (RTW) Engineering, reported that the PPRWA’s application seeking a $60,000 grant to develop a comprehensive coordinated conservation plan has been submitted. He is working with the Colorado Water Conservation Board to resolve issues.

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The next regular meeting of the PPRWA will be held May 21 at 8:30 a.m. at Monument Town Hall, 166 Second St. The meetings are normally held on the third Wednesday of each month at 8:30 a.m. Most of the meetings are held at Monument Town Hall; however, the meeting June 18 will be held at the City of Fountain office, 116 S. Main, in Fountain, and the meeting Oct. 15 will be held at the Cherokee Metropolitan District office, 6250 Palmer Park Blvd., in Colorado Springs. The PPRWA Web site is www.pprwa.com. 

Colorado state bill text, history, and status can be found at www.statebillinfo.com. 

Facing the Yuck Factor: Embracing Recycled Water

Editor’s note: The Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority is considering implementing an indirect potable reuse (IPR) system. The article below about IPR systems is an abridged version of an article that originally appeared in the September 17, 2007, issue of High Country News. The full original article is posted at www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17227. 

Sometime this fall, Mike Nivison plans to take a healthy swig of water that exemplifies everything you’d expect from a small resort town set high in a Western mountain range. The water will be cool, clear, refreshing. But it won’t be pristine spring water pouring from some mossy crevice.

Nivison is Cloudcroft, New Mexico’s village administrator, and what he anticipates savoring will come from the village’s drinking-water treatment plant — and, not too long before that, from its sewage treatment facility.

Cloudcroft’s will be one of the first wastewater systems in the nation to allow — or require, depending on your perspective — residents to drink treated wastewater that hasn’t been naturally cleansed in a river or aquifer. It will be built entirely as a matter of necessity. At an elevation of more than 8,500 feet in the Sacramento Mountains, Cloudcroft is high and, thanks to recent years of drought, dry.

"A city like San Diego can go buy more water," says Bruce Thomson, a University of New Mexico civil engineer who has been helping Cloudcroft develop its new water system. "It’s expensive, but they can. But Cloudcroft