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

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Articles from Vol. 23 No. 6 - June 3, 2023

Woodmoor Improvement Association, May 24 – Board hears about new regulation regarding vegetable gardens

By Jackie Burhans

At its April meeting, the Woodmoor Improvement Association (WIA) board heard an update from the Northern El Paso Coalition of Community Organizations (NEPCO) meeting regarding legislation around homeowner association (HOA) rules for vegetable gardens. It also heard residents’ concerns about trashcans and email communication and heard director reports.

HOA legislation on vegetable gardens

HOA Administrator Denise Cagliaro attended the May meeting of NEPCO in Director Rick DePaiva’s stead. She reported that the state Legislature passed a bill requiring HOAs to allow vegetable gardens in the side and front yards of homes. WIA must pick three designs that are pre-approved and post them on its website. Cagliaro clarified that the rule does not cover greenhouses. The Architectural Control Committee (ACC) is working on developing the approved designs and taking into consideration the need for deer fencing, said ACC Administrator Bob Pearsall.

The legislation in question is SB23-0178, Water-wise Landscaping in Homeowners’ Associate Communities. It reiterates current regulation that allows for non-vegetative turf in backyards, hardscape in a portion of the landscaping area, 80% drought-tolerant plantings, and vegetable gardens in the front, back, or side yard of an owner’s property. The bill requires an HOA to permit three pre-approved garden designs that adhere to principles of water-wise landscaping or be part of a water conservation program operated by a local water provider. For more information, see https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb23-178.

Resident concerns

Two residents spoke at the board meeting. One of them noted that there were several neighbors leaving their trashcans out after their trash had been picked up and asked if there weren’t something that could be done. President Brian Bush, for whom this is a pet peeve, noted that WIA has stickers they can place on trashcans reminding them to take them in. Bush noted that residents could report such incidents to covenant enforcement or Woodmoor Public Safety (WPS), and they will treat it as a covenant violation.

Above: Woodmoor Public Safety stickers may be placed on residents’ trash cans if they are left out after trash pickup has occurred. The issue of trash is covered in Article IV on Covenant Maintenance Assessments, Section 11 on Refuse and Rubbish. See more on the WIA covenants at https://woodmoor.org/governance/. Courtesy WIA.

Another resident asked if WIA had fixed its email problem. Vice President Peter Bille said it had not, but WIA was looking to switch providers. The resident said she could provide a referral to her provider, and Bush suggested she send it to Cagliaro and Bille, but not via email.

Board highlights


  • Treasurer Connie Brown noted that there will still be 100 unpaid accounts and that WIA would file 56 liens before June 1, noting this was a very small percentage of property owners. Bush noted that it was more expensive to pay liens than to pay the annual dues.

  • Brown commended the staff for holding down expenses.

  • Director of Covenants Per Suhr said there were 13 covenant-related items in April and that WIA preferred to handle issues with phone calls or friendly letters. There were no covenant hearings in May, nor did he anticipate one in June. Suhr commended Covenants Administrator Justin Gates, saying he has done a tremendous job, noting that in the past, there had been meetings every month with many residents.

  • Director of Architectural Control Ed Miller reported 47 submitted projects in April; 37 were approved by Pearsall and 10 were approved by the ACC. Year to date, 138 projects have been submitted, 31.3% fewer than in 2022, Miller said. The approval rate is 99.2%.

  • Cagliaro reported on behalf of Director of Forestry Cindy Thrush that there were seven Firewise grant visits and that WIA had just been notified by the state of an additional $30,000 in grant money.

  • Chipping days are scheduled at Lewis-Palmer High School on June 10 and 11, as well as on July 29 and 30. This service is free to Woodmoor residents.

  • The board unanimously approved a $1,000 deposit and budget not to exceed $39,000 to acquire a new Toyota RAV 4 hybrid to be received sometime in July. Public Safety Director Brad Gleason noted that WPS is transitioning away from Jeeps due to maintenance issues.

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The WIA Board of Directors usually meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month in the Barn at 1691 Woodmoor Drive, Monument. The next meeting will be on June 28.

The WIA calendar can be found at www.woodmoor.org/wia-calendar/. WIA board meeting minutes can be found at www.woodmoor.org/meeting-minutes/ once approved and posted.

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

Other Woodmoor Improvement Association articles

May Weather Wrap

By Bill Kappel

Near record monthly precipitation occurred during May with total precipitation exceeding 5 inches for all of us and some areas receiving nearly 10 inches. This was the wettest May since 2015. Unlike that year, almost everything fell as rainfall this month, with just a little snow on the Palmer Divide. This was a different story up in the mountains and shows how important just a few hundred feet of elevation difference can be this time of the year between snow and rain.

All the moisture and clouds kept high temperatures relatively cool. Conversely, the excess moisture kept overnight low temperatures relatively mild. This meant overall temperatures were normal for the month. Another interesting aspect of the weather during May was that several days had a good amount of smoke in the air. This wasn’t from any fires in Colorado, but instead was drawn into the region from the numerous fires burning well to our north in Alberta, Canada. This was the result of a very unusual pattern where a strong ridge of high pressure was present in the Pacific Northwest, with a strong low pressure over the Rockies and upper Midwest and another high pressure over the eastern U.S. This blocked the flow and allowed the smoke to get pulled in low over the Rockies and brought into the Front Range of Colorado.

Weather was quiet and relatively dry during two periods, the first week of the month and the last week of the month. Between these two periods most days received rainfall, sometimes heavy. Most days saw the typical late spring weather pattern with quiet weather in the morning, then building into cumulus clouds by late morning and early afternoon. These would then continue to build into thunderstorms that moved generally west to east and produce an hour or so of rainfall. This type of storm pattern results in variable rainfall accumulation amounts depending on whether a given storm moved over your neighborhood or not.

The strongest storm of the month moved through the region from the 9th through the 12th. This storm moved on the West Coast then into our region and strengthened significantly, producing widespread heavy rain and heavy snow in the higher elevations. Ahead of this storm, southwesterly winds produced our warmest temperatures of the month, with upper 70s on the afternoon of the 9th. The next morning, we woke up to low clouds and a very moist air mass. Then the initial thunderstorms associated with this system formed early in the afternoon. This included severe storms and a few tornadoes just to our north and east. The next round of thunderstorms developed around 4 p.m. that afternoon and produced heavy rain and hail.

As this storm continued to intensify, it stalled out to our south and transitioned from a convective event to produce clouds and steady rainfall. Cooler air also moved in, dropping snow levels. Heavy rainfall continued that evening and into the 11th. Temperatures dropped just enough on the morning of the 11th to produce some measurable snow between 8-10 a.m. over the higher elevations of the Palmer Divide. Snow levels then rose just enough to keep us in rain the rest of the day while at the same time producing heavy snow along the Rampart Range and into Teller County.

The storm continued to produce rainfall and cool temperatures through the next morning. By the time the storm was done, we had received 4-8 inches of rainfall, which produced some flooding in low-lying areas and along I-25. The other unusual aspect of this storm was the nearly continuous rainfall for almost the entire period.

A look ahead

By June we can usually say goodbye to our chance of snowfall but hello to frequent afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Most of the time we can expect warm, sunny days with afternoon and evening thunderstorms.

May 2023 Weather Statistics

Average High: 65.0° (-0.7°)

100-year return frequency value max 75.7° min 57.9°

Average Low: 39.4° (+0.5°)

100-year return frequency value max 43.2° min 32.5°

Highest Temperature: 77°F on the 9th

Lowest Temperature: 31°F on the 1st, 6th

Monthly Precipitation: 5.91” (+3.27” 200% above normal)

100-year return frequency value max 6.94” min 0.15”

Monthly Snowfall: 0.5” (-5.2” 91% below normal)

Season to Date Snow: 71.6” (-50.8” 42% below normal) (the snow season is from July 1 to June 30)

Season to Date Precip: 10.38” (+1.54” 15% above normal) (the precip season is from July 1 to June 30)

Heating Degree Days: 398 (+80)

Cooling Degree Days: 0

Bill Kappel is a meteorologist and Tri-Lakes resident. He can be reached at billkappel@ocn.me.

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Letters to Our Community – More demonstrable lies from D38

While you’re looking at your exploding tax bill, take a few minutes to think about the additional taxes District 38 wanted you to have to pay on top of what your new tax bill has become. Last year, they put a 7.45-mill increase on the ballot. They claimed they needed the $5.5 million for teacher salaries and that it would have only raised taxes for the average house by $260.

That was never the real amount because the average house here costs closer to $800,000 not the $500,000 they claimed. If you doubt that, just look at your new tax bill with the updated property value assessment. If their “ask” had passed, your high tax bill would probably be at least $500 higher right now. And they would have hustled taxpayers out of $8 million, not $5.5 million as advertised.

That’s because, unlike the flat-rate, $4 million/year MLO passed in 1999, an increase of 7.45 mills increases with home values. D38 deliberately used outdated values to advertise lower dollar amounts in their campaign. Anyone who checked real estate listings would have seen this. Thankfully, enough people had the sense to vote No.

But D38 is at it again this year, hoping fewer No voters will bother to mail back ballots. They’re still repeating another favorite lie—that teachers are leaving to go work in other districts who offer higher pay.

How do we know it’s a lie? D38’s own employee termination reports from 2018 to 2020 list only two or three “Not satisfied with position/pay” exits each year (out of an average of 62 resignations annually). Not one left for pay in 2019. When I complained that their own reports prove that teachers aren’t running to neighboring districts for higher pay, they didn’t apologize. They just stopped producing the report.

Vote, and vote no.

Derek Araje/#JustAskDerek

Other Letters to Our Community

Letters to Our Community – LPHS After Prom thanks

Thanks to our great community of parents, Lewis-Palmer High School staff, and students, After Prom 2023 was a huge success! We had approximately 430 students attend the event.

Many school districts do not offer an After Prom, as the planning and coordination involved take a substantial amount of parent involvement and resources. District 38 high schools have a dedicated group of staff, parents, and community supporters which allows us to make After Prom a yearly tradition!

LPHS After Prom photo provided by Michelle Oliger

Much of the financial support comes from local businesses and many families’ personal donations. We would like to recognize the following community supporters: Tri-Lakes Printing, Ellie Mental Health, Something New Boutique, Arlene’s Beans, Chick-fil-A, Horseshoe Donuts, Top Golf, The Summit, Target, Scheels, Overdrive Raceway, Glow Golf, Parry’s Pizza, Mod Pizza, City Rock, Lolley’s, Freedom Car Wash, Black Forest Deli, Legends Mini Golf & Batting, Pies & Grinders, In-N-Out, Bad Daddy’s Burgers, Texas Roadhouse, Costa Vida, Burger King, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle, World Arena, Whataburger, Vibes, The Edge Zipline, Snarf’s, Red Robin, Qdoba, PF Chang, Nothing Bundt Cakes, IHOP, I Fly, Freedom Car Wash, Freddy’s, Elitch, Denver Zoo, Crumble Cookie, Canes, Fuzzy’s, Hamula Orthodontics, Taco Bell, Torchy’s, and Wendy’s.

We had over 100 volunteers who helped with purchasing prizes, organizing food, selling tickets, decorating, working on the night of the event, and cleaning up the day after, and so much more.

A very special thank you goes to Angie Ivall, Jenn Clinard, Dyann Wenckus, Liz and Chris Scott, Laurie Devine, Julie Hart, Nicole Pritchard, Liz Meggett, Coach Tupper, and Bridget O’Connor (principal).

Michelle Oliger
After Prom Chair
LPHS After Prom photo provided by Michelle Oliger

Other Letters to Our Community

Letters to Our Community – No Mafia in Monument

Through an open-record request to the Town of Monument, it was discovered that the town illegally engaged in electioneering with taxpayer dollars to promote passing the Town Charter. Fearing if voters found out about this illegal activity, they might potentially lose, the town manager and most on the Charter commission hid the illegal activity from the voters until after the election. Some engaged in this illegal activity are now, as of January 2023, your Monument Council.

The outgoing trustees called for a legitimate investigation into how and why taxpayer dollars were used illegally, but these newly elected corrupt politicians didn’t want you to know the results. They went to great lengths to try sabotaging the investigation, and the reporting of its findings. The town attorney wrote a laughable “report” to try to justify what was discovered. Thinking you can simply vote to bury a report and its evidence of corruption in order to “go away” is something the Mafia does.

On top of illegal electioneering, and only under pressure of an open records request, you, the taxpayers, are going to pick up the tab for the mayor’s personal attorney fees over $21,000. The personal attorney was hired to protect the mayor during the electioneering investigation, which uncovered, among other things, an inappropriate sexual comment made by the mayor toward another trustee.

The taxpayers should never be paying for an elected official’s legal counsel for inappropriate behavior. Shouldn’t our tax dollars be put toward better use, such as fixing the numerous potholes between LPHS and YMCA that would benefit our citizens? Lack of transparency and excusing bad behavior by this Town Council is not in the best interest of Monument citizens. Not now, not ever.

Amy Stephens

Other Letters to Our Community