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Volunteers reporting on community issues in Monument, Palmer Lake, and the surrounding Tri-Lakes area

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Allen Alchian

Triview Metropolitan District, Oct. 19 – Traffic safety concerns; NDS pipeline nears completion

By Natalie Barszcz

At the Triview Metropolitan District (TMD) meeting on Oct. 19, the board heard about measures to enhance traffic safety measures along Gleneagle Drive, received an update on the Northern Delivery System (NDS) pipeline project, heard about an addition to an existing loan, and held an executive session to discuss water supply contracts, property acquisitions, strategic planning, and change cases.

Director Jason Gross was excused.

Traffic safety measures enhanced

Ann-Marie Jojola, president of the Promontory Pointe Homeowners Association, thanked the board and the district for the traffic study conducted in the Promontory Pointe neighborhood along Gleneagle Drive. The study will help alleviate a lot of the questions about speed for the residents, she said.

District Manager James McGrady said the district is making changes after the study revealed that motorists were travelling through the neighborhood a few miles over the posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour. The district will change the speed limit to 25 mph near the Little Train Park and through the curved areas from Kansas Pacific Court down to Baptist Road. The straight areas will be 30 mph. A split-rail fence will be installed along the east and south sides of the park to prevent children chasing after balls down Gleneagle Drive. An additional number of crosswalk reminder signs will also be installed, making safety improvements and signs that make sense for the road conditions, he said.

NDS update

McGrady said the Kiewit team installing the NDS pipeline would be wrapping up the installation project along Rollercoaster and Northgate Road by the end of October. Milling and paving has begun at the north end of Rollercoaster Road, and the overlay is expected to be completed before winter. After completion of the pipeline installation, Kiewit will install a pipeline to the Conexus development for $200,000. The pipeline to segment D (future Conexus development) is part of the NDS and it is hoped the installation will move the Conexus development forward. The pipeline will end about 200 feet from the Town of Monuments municipal water infrastructure. See MTC article on page < 12 >. The district has spent almost $15 million as of September and the project is about 68% complete. The project is projected to total about $21.8 million.

Note: For NDS pipeline project updates, alternative traffic routes, road closures, answers to questions, and to sign up for email and text notifications, visit www.triviewnds.com. The link can also be found at www.triviewmetro.com.

Addition to loan proposed

The district is working with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to increase an existing loan. The state-funded agency receives its revenue from oil and gas severance taxes and provides loans for water resource projects. The district received a loan from CWCB for about $4.7 million to build the first phase of the South Reservoir, but as the project is ending there are several invoiced items that arose, such as creating the bottom of the reservoir to enable good drainage, and $19,000 for additional engineering. Adding the expenditure of $419,930 to the loan at 2.05% for a combined project total of about $5.1 million is a smart solution, taking advantage of the low interest loan rather than spending district cash, he said. The proposal will be presented for approval at the Nov. 16 board meeting.

Operations report

McGrady said the following:

  • Water Attorney Chris Cummins is still working on the participate agreement with the Forest Lakes Metropolitan District’s (FLMD) attorney. Cummins is waiting on some information from JDS Hydro and the FLMD attorney and is aiming for a completed agreement by the end of December to enable the first payment at the beginning of 2024.
  • Northern Monument Creek Interceptor (NMCI) requests for proposal for the design of the pipeline were due at the end of October. The stakeholders will begin looking at designs around Nov. 6.
  • The district continues to work with D38 on the Higby Road design. Some of the developers will submit their final development plans soon, but the final right of way is still being discussed. Discussions with the Town of Monument continue regarding the final width of the widening/redesign project.
  • A flow test on the pump at the South Reservoir was conducted with the pump manufacturer, and the pump reached the maximum of 32 cubic feet per second. The pump is designed to allow 64 acre-feet of water flow into the reservoir per day.

Utilities Department update

McGrady said the following:

  • Water sales for September were a total of about 46.508 million gallons. The district hit the maximum to date at 50 million gallons in July. Production was at 1.5 million gallons per day, but it is down to less than 1 million gallons per day now that the homeowners have drained their sprinkler systems.
  • The check valve for the A4 Well, located at the bottom of a pipe 1,600 feet deep, had failed and was causing problems with the variable frequency drive, so every time it was turned on the pump had to move a full column of water to the surface. The pipe was pulled out and the valve at the bottom was replaced, and another valve was installed half way down the pipe to avoid pumping a large amount of water in the future.
  • All backflow tests and prevention checks were completed, and 100% compliance has been achieved.
  • The Vactor truck has cleaned about 1,600 feet of sewer lines since being placed into service. Monument Marketplace and the Vista Apartments are completed, and the district has saved about $48,000 so far. The process can take place only when the temperatures are above freezing. The truck is winterized daily and housed in a heated environment to protect the apparatus from any water residue freezing in the truck.

Badger water meters

McGrady said the district has about 158 Badger meters (a cellular water meter with real-time water monitoring technology) left to install out of 2,100 homes. It costs more for the district to manually read those meters from the street, and eventually the old technology will not be available to read the old meters remotely, and access to basements will be the only solution. The district may need to take steps in the future if 100% compliance cannot be achieved. Residents refusing the installation of the new meters may need to pay extra for meter reading in the future, he said.

Note: There is no cost to residents for installation of the new meter, and installation takes about 30 minutes. For more information about the cellular meter, visit https:/www.badgermeter.com.

Executive session

The board moved into an executive session at 6:45 p.m. pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute 24-6-402(4) (a), (b), (e), to discuss acquisitions and receive legal advice for negotiations relating to water supply contracts, property acquisitions, strategic planning, and change cases.

District Administrator Joyce Levad notified OCN after the meeting that no actions were taken by the Board of Directors when the regular meeting resumed.

The meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m.

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Meetings are usually held on the third Thursday every month at the district office at 16055 Old Forest Point, Suite 302. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. For meeting agendas, minutes, and updates, visit https://triviewmetro.com.

Natalie Barszcz can be reached at nataliebarszcz@ocn.me.

Other Triview Metropolitan District articles

D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Oct. 10 – Committee hears updates on Consent Task Force, D38 Education Foundation

By Harriet Halbig

The D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee (formerly District Accountability Advisory Committee) received updates from various initiatives and subcommittees at its Oct. 10 meeting at Palmer Lake Elementary School.

School presentation

Following a tour of the Palmer Lake Elementary School, Principal Peggy Griebenow gave a brief presentation on the history and demographics of the school.

Griebenow is the third principal since 1986, leading a school with a student count of 385.

Each student has an address to receive any communication within the school. Three postmasters distribute the mail.

The school’s literacy program is based on the study of science and most of the English language learners at present are Hispanic.

The school was built in three sections over time.

Board of Education President Tiffiney Upchurch presented a detailed report on the activities of the Consent Task Force formed in December 2021 and consisting of students and recent alumni, parents, community members, counselors, high school principals, district administration, and members of the Board of Education.

Results of their collaborations have been presented to students during the 2022-23 schoolyear during freshman and sophomore study halls at Lewis-Palmer High School and PE classes at Lewis-Palmer Middle School.

The task force agreed that parents should be offered the opportunity for students to opt out of attending these sessions. If they choose not to opt out, parents will have access to the materials being taught.

The task force has developed a detailed program ranging from pre-K to high school, offering age-appropriate information regarding the definition of consent to younger children, peer pressure and boundaries for middle schoolers, and legal definitions of sexual harassment and reporting capability for older students.

At each level, titles of applicable books will also be offered.

Classes will be taught by trained teachers, counselors, and school resource officers.

The task force listed district policies which have relevance to consent and delineated ways in which district policies could be presented on the website to make it easy to find them by subject. The task force encouraged the district to word the policies in easy-to-understand ways and provide any reporting documents with the appropriate policies.

Applicable policies will be read and clarified at board meetings early in 2024.

The task force also encouraged the district to offer training to teachers twice each year on the subject.

D38 Education Foundation report

Executive Director Stephanie Palzkill reported on the reactivation of the D38 Education Foundation, originally founded in 1994.

The foundation was active until 2009 and has since been dormant, although the district has been maintaining all necessary tax and other paperwork with the state to remain official as a nonprofit organization.

Palzkill showed a list of the members of the Board of Trustees of the group, which includes representatives of the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce and the Monument Hill Kiwanis Club in addition to members with backgrounds in cybersecurity and digital strategy. Upchurch serves as a representative of the board, and Superintendent KC Somers is an ex-officio non-voting member.

All of the Board of Trustees and administrative officers serve as volunteers.

Palzkill is the executive director and Crystal Lopez serves as bookkeeper.

Palzkill explained that the foundation strives to elevate education through community connection and champion educators to strengthen district performance to remain in the top tier of schools in the state.

The foundation does not compete with other entities seeking funding for the district such as the Tri-Lakes Women’s Club and Mountain Hill Kiwanis but will seek financial support from individuals and corporations.

The foundation will administer grant funding to educators. The Inspire grant program fosters creativity among individual educators while the Advance grant program supports professional education.

With the funds remaining in the foundation budget from 2009, the Inspire grant will be awarded in early 2024. A “road show” familiarized staff with the grant, and applications are due Nov.30.

Plans will include fundraisers in 2024.

There will be a newsletter for contributors in the coming months.

For further information, please the see October Parent and Community Advisory Committee article at https://www.ocn.me/v23n10.htm#d38-pcac.

Portrait of a Graduate/Educator report

Secondary Program Coordinator Jessica McAllister presented the final graphic presentations of the Portrait of a D38 Graduate and Portrait of a D38 Educator.

This initiative, begun in summer 2022, seeks to specify the cognitive, personal, and interpersonal competencies needed for success after high school graduation. Students were asked what success would look like, and industry representatives were asked what skill sets were sought in potential employees.

The Portrait of a Graduate/Educator Committee was then asked to discuss what advice they would offer to themselves as high school students.

One response was to be made aware of the variety of careers available. It was suggested that the district have a career fair including a variety of professions in the community and to more widely promote the assistance of guidance counselors.

For more detailed information on this initiative, please see the website lewispalmer.org and the October issue under family resources, meeting content, District Accountability Advisory Committee, Sept. 18 meeting.

Board of Education update

Board liaison Upchurch reminded members of the upcoming election for board members, only one of which includes more than one candidate. Individuals may see the district website for information on the candidates. ((www.lewispalmer.org/page/november-2023-election-information).

Upchurch also reported that three of the initiatives proposed by the district for inclusion in the 2024 legislative session were approved by the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB). These include confirmation of local control of curriculum, state buying down of the budget stabilization factor (details proportional reduction of total funding of each district beginning in 2009), which deprived funding to the schools for several years, and not bringing back the budget stabilization factor.

Committee reports

Assistant Superintendent Amber Whetstine reported that the membership of the Financial Transparency Committee will be approved by the Board of Education at its Oct. 23 meeting.

Stacey Barr, director of Nutrition Services, has application forms for those wishing to serve on the Wellness Committee. The focus of the committee is to investigate state regulations as apply to the district.

Assessment and Accountability Coordinator Dr. Michael Brom reported on the activities of the Staff Collaboration Committee, saying that hiring went well during the summer and that substitute requests were filled 85% of the time. The Calendar Committee submitted a potential school calendar for four-day weeks and asked that this information be provided to all staff at each building before asking for approval. If approved overwhelmingly and staff indicates the intention to remain with the district, the committee will move forward with board approval of the calendar.

The Special Education Advisory Committee and Gifted Education Leadership Team have not yet met.

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The Parent and Community Advisory Committee meets six times a year, usually on the second Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Locations vary. Due to the Nov. 7 election, the November meeting will be held on Nov. 14 at the Monument Academy west campus, 1150 Village Ridge Pt. For information, please contact tmckee@lewispalmer.org.

Harriet Halbig may be reached at harriethalbig@ocn.me.

Other D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee articles

Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 5 and 26 – Enrollment shortfall causes budget challenges

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board met twice in October. In both sessions, they reviewed the finances, including the 2023-24 budget, and explored the challenges caused by lower than projected enrollment. The board also continued to discuss the employee handbook and leave policies. Finally, the board heard committee reports from board members and spotlighted its science teacher.

Budget challenges explored

At the Oct. 5 meeting, financial consultant Glenn Gustafson reported on the September financial statements and reviewed the fund accounts. He said the business services expenses were significantly over budget due to the conversion from the Netchex payroll system, as were the maintenance and operations expenses due to costs on the modulars. He noted that the budget anticipated 1,180 students, but the actual number was hovering around 1,100, which represented a significant decrease of $1.3 million. The good news, he said, was that MA stopped hiring as soon as they saw the drop in enrollment. He added that money budgeted to purchase the leased parking lot at West Campus might have to go. However, he noted that MA had reduced its expenditures with D38, received $350,000 in special education (SPED) revenue, and increased its interest income.

At the Oct. 26 meeting, the board heard more about the administration’s effort to amend the proposed 2023-24 budget. Gustafson noted that charter schools are funded on a per-pupil revenue (PPR) basis, so enrollment is a key driver. When a school district needs a new neighborhood school, they can run two ballot issues—a bond to pay for building the school and a mill levy override (MLO) to fund its operations. If passed, the district’s general fund is not impacted since the bond and MLO are paid out of property taxes.

In MA’s case, paying back its bonds costs 25% to 30% of operating expenses. Gustafson said he had been talking with state Sen. Paul Lundeen about how to increase charter capital funding to make it a more level playing field but that, as an employee of the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), he is not allowed to lobby. At the Oct. 5 meeting, Gustafson discussed the possibility of applying for a Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant to get money for its building.

He explained that Lewis-Palmer D38 was providing funds to MA based on enrollment but that he had been having trouble reconciling the numbers on the spreadsheet used with the numbers from the state intercept program, which takes money to pay for the bonds. It turned out that the district had been relying on a spreadsheet they got from CDE that was incorrect. When they received a corrected spreadsheet, it turned out that MA owes D38 about $189,000. He said he would ask D38 for help but that MA was overfunded. Additionally, since the intercept is tied to the bonds, West Campus will see a reduction in expenses of $100,000, and East Campus will see an increase in expenses of $300,000. He said West Campus net revenue will increase from $400,000 to $500,000, while the East Campus loss will increase from $70,000 to $350,000. Gustafson said that MA would still meet the bond covenant requirements for cash on hand.

Gustafson also noted that he was very optimistic that MA would get an Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) refund and estimated it would be around $1 million. This is non-recurring money that should not be spent on annual operations costs, he said, suggesting that a good use of it might be to buy the modulars to get out from under onerous leasing terms. He noted that the application had just been submitted and would take six months to process and another month to receive the payment.

The board then turned to the enrollment shortfall to try to understand how to avoid this problem in the future. Gustafson noted that enrollment was 116.5 below budgeted projections but only 4.5 below last year’s enrollment, so essentially flat. Interim Chief Operating Officer Kim McClelland said while it wasn’t possible to forecast with 100% accuracy, in March MA had looked at the currently enrolled students, families who had indicated an intent to return, and seats that had been offered and accepted.

MA estimated 1,022 returning students plus 184 seat offers for a total of 1,206. By April, returning was 1,016 plus 186 seat offers for a total of 1,202. The proposed budget was submitted in April, she said, but by May 31, the returning students dropped by 23 to 992, and the number of seat offers increased by four for a total of 1,187 students. By August, the number of returning students had dropped to 930, down by 62. McClelland said that when MA noticed the drop, it decided not to hire staff. They had originally thought they’d end up with five classes in each of three grade levels. At this point, she said, the registrars stopped offering seats going over the policy on student-teacher ratio. When they opened offers again, they only got two of the 13 potential students. The board explored different ways to market the school, keep parents engaged, and change registration processes in the future.

Board President Ryan Graham noted that from March to August, elementary had the biggest drop of 55 students, with middle school down 16 and high school down 17. McClelland said the registrars sent out a survey to families of students who did not enroll. The biggest reason was that families chose to homeschool their kids; some left due to program opportunities and school environment; and a few families had moved. McClelland said she would like to see a history of returning student rates and conversion rates and timeframes. Board Vice President Lindsay Clinton said she did not see the trend of homeschooling changing and had discussed with Graham whether MA could create a homeschool program.

McClelland said it takes time to put together a homeschool program but could come together for the next fall with a dedicated person to get the program going. She would need to know where to pull from the budget and where to find the space to run the program, noting that closes off the use of that space for students who bring in full PPR. She noted that six months might be feasible but not for a full K-12 homeschool program, and it might take three years to build out fully. The board, she said, would need to decide if it needed the program to break even initially or whether it could sustain a loss due to the start-up costs. Graham noted that almost 5% of MA’s enrollment left for homeschooling.

Gustafson reiterated that MA needed to reduce its budget to match the loss in revenue. He mentioned that, due to the budgeted revenue expectations, the staff had been given a larger-than-normal pay raise and that he expected it to be lower next year. He also said he would add the SPED funding MA had received along with $220,000 in fundraising, which he had hoped not to depend on. After going through the budget line by line with the leadership team, they came up with a portion of what is needed to bring the budget into balance but are still $311,000 short. The plan is to increase revenue, cut staff and other expenses, and legally reallocate as many expenses as possible from East to West Campus. He said they would save money from staff vacancies, pursue grant opportunities, and optimize interest income. The ERTC money would save MA’s bacon this year, but it would still need to solve the budget issues for next year. Graham proposed to have the Finance Committee review the budget and asked if they could push the budget approval from the Nov. 9 meeting to the December meeting to have more time. Gustafson agreed so long as the leadership team understands they cannot spend the money shown in the current budget. McClelland said that MA is under a spending freeze. The deadline for the budget is Jan. 31, 2024.

Clinton raised the issue of the $29 million balloon payment due on the East Campus bonds in May 2026. She said that MA had been discussing for two years the goal of presenting as attractive a package as possible to refinance the bonds. Gustafson said that if MA were to refinance right now, the annual debt service would require a cut in the budget. He is looking into the interest rate outlook and noted that Cesar Chavez charter school had a similar problem. He told Lundeen that there would be a charter school crisis if the state did not provide help. The bond for East Campus was a bad deal that expected interest rates to remain low and to be refinanced every five years, he said. McClelland noted that it would be better if both schools could be covered under one bond since elementary programs help offset the high school costs.

Employee Handbook and leave policy

At the Oct. 26 meeting, McClelland thanked the board for adding the draft handbook leave plan to the agenda, saying that with all the feedback, including meetings at each campus, MA was now proposing a grandfathering option that was better than the original plan. McClelland noted that some changes to the handbook were required for legal compliance and that, per the strategic plan, they were looking to improve the leave policies. She noted that the Employee Handbook is a living document that can be changed anytime. She said she had reviewed the new plan with the West Campus principals but hadn’t shown it to the teachers yet pending board review.

Graham said the West Campus feedback asked why not wait until the next contract cycle. He agreed wholeheartedly that they should honor the contract and let teachers decide next year if they want to agree to these changes. McClelland and Director of People Operations Krista Pelley explained that the current handbook limits the payout to 20 days at $50 per day for anyone separating, and the changes would give them full payout for all their accrued days.

Board Director Karen Hoida said it sounded like this was an incentive for people to leave. Pelley said the payout was unavailable for those who haven’t served five years, so it also serves as a retention benefit. She said staff can continue to accrue days and, if they’ve been grandfathered, don’t have to leave now to get the payout. Hoida said they can say they are grandfathered but it won’t help if they’ve lost trust. Clinton said this wasn’t well communicated and some teachers might feel their contract doesn’t mean anything. She would love to see and attend another meeting with teachers to show their feedback was considered. Pelley said staff can continue to accrue days and, if they’ve been grandfathered, don’t have to leave now to get the payout.

Graham said that he heard that some teachers still can’t access the new SDS payroll system to see their hours and are being told the board has to approve something before they can see it. Pelley said she had given everyone a breakdown as of Aug. 1 but didn’t let them access it directly due to the need to convert from hours into days. Graham said it wasn’t right that teachers have to make an appointment to come and ask about their leave. He said from the teachers’ perspective, something was proposed in September that they didn’t see, and they felt something nefarious could be happening. When they don’t have access to see their accrued leave, it is all unsettling, he said.

McClelland said that the system switchover was not operationally planned out as well as it could have been and was not rolled out effectively. Pelley said they would have access as of Monday to payroll information. Clinton said these changes probably started with good intentions to improve policies, but it feels like signed contracts can be changed anytime. She felt that required legal changes should be implemented, but any improvements should be in the next contract.

Graham said he would prefer to have a meeting during teachers’ paid time, and he would attend. He asked that the required Employee Handbook changes be brought back for approval at the November meeting. The changes could exclude or include the leave policy changes depending on feedback from the teachers.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

  • Board member Craig Carle spotlighted Karl Brown, eighth-grade science teacher, for stepping up as a leader for his grade level team and the school, providing excellent instruction and setting high expectations.
  • Graham reported that the recirculation road around the West Campus is complete.
  • Board member Emily Belisle reported that the curriculum committee discussed new math curricula and would send the three options to West Campus teachers to solicit feedback and then to the parents and community according to the new curriculum policies. The committee hopes to bring the new math curriculum to the board in December for approval and that it could be implemented in the next academic year.
  • Graham thanked the East Campus administration team for getting the modulars up and running with a certificate of occupancy, noting that this had been a long project.
  • The board unanimously approved the list of authorized signers on the raffle bank account.
  • The board unanimously approved the board calendar for 2023-24 to continue with the second Thursday of the month.
Above: At its Oct. 5 meeting, board Director Craig Carle, right, spotlighted Science teacher Karl Brown for his excellence in teaching as well as his leadership in supporting other teachers by helping them set up the Canvas learning management system. Photo by Jackie Burhans.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at see https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, Oct. 23 – Monument Academy annual report; enrollment and financial update

By Harriet Halbig

The Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education received the annual report of Monument Academy, approved membership of the Financial Transparency Committee, learned of new financial documents, and welcomed student representatives at its Oct. 23 meeting.

Monument Academy annual report

Executive Director Kim McClelland presented the annual report of Monument Academy (MA).

She thanked the board for the positive relationship between the charter school and the district and said that all leadership positions are currently filled. The organizational chart has been updated and the board is discussing its strategic plan.

MA board President Ryan Graham also thanked the board for its partnership.

Graham said new policies on curriculum are being formulated and there will be an election in the spring for two board members. He also said that in January the school will post a full-time position of executive director beginning in June 2024.

He cautioned against non-legal name changes for students.

McClelland reported that MA is increasing its participation in sports and hopes to be admitted to the Colorado High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) soon. The school excels in track and field and has recently begun a girls’ basketball program.

Academically the schools scored 47.5 points, requiring a performance plan. The schools both had low participation in assessments.

McClelland said that a future priority will be to educate parents about the value of participation in assessments to monitor student performance.

The schools will now have a quarterly dashboard to monitor academic progress and growth. The goal is to achieve 65% growth in grades K through 5, 60% in middle school, and 65% in high school.

On the East Campus, construction on the recirculation road has been completed, and efforts continue to purchase land for additional parking. An unpaved area adjacent to the school is now being used temporarily until purchase is possible.

McClelland said MA is re-examining its investments and developing a new format for financial statements. They are investigating tax credits for employee retention, restructuring a contract for copiers, and developing a new employee handbook.

On the West Campus, Graham reported, construction of the new roundabout on Knollwood should be completed by next summer. At that time, Knollwood will offer the only ingress and egress for the school. He thanked the neighboring church for allowing families to exit through its parking lot. Upon completion of the roundabout, a barrier will prevent use of the church lot. The barrier can be opened for access by emergency vehicles.

Financial Transparency Committee and financial planning

The board approved a list of members of the Financial Transparency Committee. The charge of the committee is to ensure that all reports and charts are understandable by the community. The committee will report to the Parent and Community Advisory Committee, which in turn will report to the board.

Chief Business Officer Brett Ridgway said enrollment is down by 34 students pending finalization of the October count. He said the minor decline in enrollment is prevalent across the state and is not sufficient to require altering the budget except on an individual school level.

Board Treasurer Ron Schwarz requested that Ridgway determine whether the decline is a trend regionally and nationwide. He suggested discussing the issue with the district’s demographer.

Ridgway said there was growth in enrollment the previous year, but it was less than anticipated.

Ridgway said that funds from the Universal Prekindergarten program are more robust than the previous use of tuition and limited state funding.

He said he is working with state legislators to achieve a more consistent cash flow over the course of the year. Currently, funding from taxes is not received until spring, requiring that the district maintain sufficient cash to fund its commitments early in the year.

Ridgway introduced the board to a new graphic to monitor utility expenses and how they are affected by the Schneider Electric contract. Water, electricity, and gas will be monitored separately and expenditures back to the 2018-19 school year will be included for comparison. Actual and budget numbers will be included.

Asked whether there is a guarantee of results from Schneider Electric, Ridgway responded that there is a guaranteed recovery in the agreement.

The board approved revisions to a policy regarding support staff vacations and holidays.

Board President Tiffiney Upchurch asked about an item in the consent agenda regarding a contract with Schmidt Construction at the middle school.

Executive Director of Operations and Development Chris Coulter responded that the construction at the middle school is in response to the dangerous traffic pattern resulting from buses, cars, and pedestrians accessing the same area of the lower parking lot. This construction will involve repaving and developing the upper level lot for buses only.

The board approved the consent agenda.

One student and one community member made public comments regarding the district’s treatment of transgender students. They stressed that all students should be treated with equal regard and respect and that the current situation results in unnecessary stress and sometimes results in suicide.

Student representatives

The board welcomed two student representatives from Palmer Ridge High School. Senior Kaya Kimmey and sophomore David Gallaga were seated with the board and encouraged to enter discussions on reports and initiatives. The students are non-voting members and are responsible for sharing information with their student bodies.

Students from the two high schools will alternate attendance monthly to see how local government works.

American Legion recognition

The board recognized American Legion Tri-Lakes Post 9-11 for its efforts to educate students about the Constitution. Veterans visited classrooms, discussed the Constitution, and answered students’ questions.

Above: At the Oct 23 school board meeting, the D38 recognized American Legion Tri-Lakes Post 9-11 for their work educating the next generation on the United States Constitution, American democracy, and patriotism by having veterans in the classroom. The American Legion also raises funds for high school student scholarships and sponsors high school juniors to attend the American League Auxiliary summer leadership programs. From left are board member Kris Norris, student representative Kaia of Palmer Ridge High School (PRHS), board vice president Theres Phillips, student representative David of PRHS, John Russell, Mike Christensen, Terry Carver, and Randy Fritz of the American Legion, and board president Tiffiney Upchurch, board member Matt Clawson, Assistant Superintendent Amber Whetstine and board member Ron Schwarz. Photo by Jackie Burhans

Vice Commander Terri Carver said it was encouraging that students got involved in the instruction and that the post has obtained 500 pocket Constitutions for distribution.

The American Legion also encourages high school juniors to apply to attend Boys State and Girls State during the summer.

Post member John Russell, action officer for Boys State, asked to meet with guidance counselors to promote attendance at Boys State and Girls State.

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The Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education usually meets at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of the month. Due the school closures for Thanksgiving break, the November meeting will be on Nov. 27 at the district’s learning center, 146 Jefferson St. in Monument. For further information, contact vwood@lewispalmer.org.

Harriet Halbig may be reached at harriethalbig@ocn.me.

Other Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education articles

Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, Oct. 9 – Draft 2024 budget presented; tap fee discussion continues

By James Howald

District Manager Jessie Shaffer presented a draft of the 2024 budget to the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District (WWSD) board at its October meeting. The board continued its effort to set water and tap fees and voted on a change to its employee benefits policy. Two class action lawsuits related to Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) were discussed, and Shaffer updated the board on the district’s cybersecurity strategy. The board also heard operational reports.

Budget presented; workshop and hearing scheduled

Shaffer distributed copies of a proposed 2024 budget to the board and asked it to schedule a workshop for further discussion. The board scheduled the workshop for Oct. 24.

Shaffer pointed out that a change to rates or fees required an announcement to the public 30 days in advance of a vote on that change and said that if changes were decided on at the November meeting there would not be adequate time to announce the change before the December meeting. He suggested that the December board meeting be changed from Dec. 11 to Dec. 18 to provide adequate notice. The board approved his suggestion to reschedule the December meeting.

Attorney Erin Smith suggested opening the Nov. 13 board meeting with a public hearing on the budget and continuing the hearing until the Dec. 18 board meeting. Votes on any rate changes and on budget approval could be held at the December meeting, she said.

The board decided to follow Smith’s schedule.

Water and sewer tap fees debate continues

Following up on his presentations at the two previous board meetings, Andrew Rheem of Raftelis, the company that advises WWSD on rates and fees, presented another round of analysis intended to help the board decide how to set water and tap fees to balance the interests of current residents with those of future residents and developers. Rheem addressed the questions raised by the board following his previous presentations. He said he had corrected an error in his calculations and had reconsidered the role of the district’s Renewable Water Infrastructure Fee (RWIF), the monthly charge that covers debt service on the district’s purchase of Woodmoor Ranch and its water rights, in his analysis.

Rheem explained the guiding principles and the case law regarding the setting of tap fees. He said first there must be a link between the impact new development has on the system and the fees that fund that development. Secondly, there must be a rough proportionality between the fees and the impact of new development. Finally, the fees can’t discriminate between types of new development.

Funding the El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority (EPCRLWA) water re-use project, in which WWSD is a participant, is an important factor in how WWSD should set its tap fees, Rheem said. He discussed three methods to fund the project:

  • Revenue bonds, backed up by rate increases, for $85 million in debt, with a 20-year loan term and 4.5% interest rate. This scenario assumes the other three participating districts will also assume their share of the costs.
  • General Obligation bonds, which would need to be approved by voters.
  • A “Go it alone” scenario where WWSD pays for the entire project, expected to cost $181 million with revenue bonds.

Rheem said he had re-calculated the replacement cost of WWSD’s entire system in light of the board’s comments at the previous meeting and the Replacement Cost New (RCN) of the system stood at $137 million, about $3 million more than he previously calculated.

Rheem said he had changed his approach to distributing the outstanding debt from the purchase of the Woodmoor Ranch based on last month’s discussion. WWSD has $12.5 million of unretired debt for that purchase. Dividing that debt by the number of residences when Woodmoor reaches complete buildout means each resident would be responsible for just under $2,400 of that debt, Rheem said.

Board President Brian Bush questioned this approach, asking Rheem why the unretired debt should not be divided by the current number of residents rather than by the future number of residents at buildout. Rheem argued using future residents was necessary to abide by the principle of proportional impact of development. Bush also questioned whether the Woodmoor Ranch and its water rights should be considered as outstanding debt or as an asset.

Rheem said the current water tap fee was $29,788 and proposed three potential water tap fees, each assuming a different approach to funding the EPCRLWA project:

  • A water tap fee of $44,791 if the project is funded with revenue bonds.
  • A water tap fee of $27,195 if the project is funded with general obligation bonds. In this scenario the project cost would be paid via property taxes, not tap fees. This fee would be $2,553 less than the current fee.
  • A water tap fee of $64,370, if the cost of the project is paid entirely by WWSD. This is the “Go it alone” scenario.

Director Tom Roddam asked Rheem to estimate the maximum tap fee WWSD could charge without being challenged in court. Shaffer said he thought a case could be made for a water tap fee around $54,000 if the EPCRLWA project were funded with revenue bonds and the costs were shared among the four participating districts.

Directors Dan Beley and Bill Clewe supported setting the water tap fee at $44,791, arguing that Woodmoor was a desirable community and new residents should be prepared to pay the price to live here.

Bush reiterated his concerns about how the RCN was being calculated, about whether Woodmoor Ranch should be thought of as an asset or an outstanding debt and about inconsistencies in how the EPCRLWA costs were factored in.

The board asked Rheem to update his analysis in time for its budget workshop on Oct. 24.

Hospital reimbursement option dropped

Shaffer asked the board to authorize removing the Hospital Reimbursement Plan (HRP) from the district’s employee benefit package. The option doesn’t pay for a lot, he said, and the Colorado Employer Benefit Trust (CEBT), which provides WWSD’s health plans, wants to remove it from its offerings. CEBT included the HRP in its portfolio to provide a low-cost, low-benefit choice so that districts could reach 100% participation. CEBT has dropped the requirement for 100% participation, Shaffer said.

The board authorized Shaffer to draft a resolution removing the option if CEBT accepts the possibility WWSD may not reach 100% participation by employees.

“Forever chemical” class action lawsuits

Shaffer told the board that class action lawsuits have been filed against 3M and DuPont regarding their production of PFAS chemicals, sometimes called “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment. They have been linked to many health issues, including cancer. Shaffer said the lawsuits had been filed on behalf of every public utility in the country.

Shaffer said WWSD had tested for these chemicals in the past and they were not present in WWSD’s groundwater in detectable levels. Bush said the district could join the lawsuits if it had spent money on PFAS removal or testing. The lawsuits are asking for $11 billion in settlements. He asked Smith to file a claim on the WWSD’s behalf.

Cybersecurity strategy recommendations

At the previous board meeting, Shaffer was asked to review WWSD’s approach to cybersecurity. The district will add a technology called “endpoint detection and response,” which involves continuous monitoring of the WWSD’s IT assets. Shaffer said the staff would be trained on cybersecurity threats.

Highlights of the operational reports

  • In his financial report, board Treasurer Roy Martinez said that revenue from water sales was at 67% of the budgeted amount. Given the time of year, he would expect water sales to be closer to 75%, he said. Martinez attributed the lower sales to the year’s rainier weather.
  • Operations Superintendent Dan LaFontaine reported two main breaks, which together led to 2 million gallons of lost water.
  • District Engineer Ariel Hacker reported that the county’s project to expand Highway 105 between Jackson Creek Parkway and Knollwood Drive was uncovering unknown utility lines.
  • Hacker said WWSD had sold 58 water and sewer taps to Classic Homes for residences in the Monument Junction East development and 30 taps to the Cloverleaf development east of Lewis-Palmer High School.

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The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. Meetings are usually held on the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. at the district office at 1845 Woodmoor Drive; please see www.woodmoorwater.com or call 719-488-2525 to verify meeting times and locations.

James Howald can be reached at jameshowald@ocn.me.

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