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Articles from Vol 24 No. 8 - August 3, 2024

Northern El Paso County Coalition of Community Associations (NEPCO) – County park planning manager discusses new parks

By Marlene Brown

NEPCO, an association of homeowner associations, held its bi-monthly meeting July 13 at the Woodmoor Barn. With over 50 member associations in the Tri-Lakes and Black Forest, NEPCO represents over 22,000 voters. It works to inform residents of Land Use and Transportation issues as well as keeping up with the new laws that have been passed to govern homeowner associations.

One of NEPCO’s main purposes is to be able provide support for growth management in the area. Construction of homes, apartments, and new businesses continues to grow. NEPCO continues to be involved with the planning commissions, such as the Town of Monument Planning Commission and the El Paso County Planning Commission, on new projects that are being considered.

The Land Use and Transportation Committee is looking for a new chairman. Anyone whose HOA is member of NEPCO can join the committee and help keep it informed of any new projects that are being considered or have been approved. Belinda Warren is a new volunteer for NEPCO. She will be working with the El Paso County Land Development Code Support Group. For more information email, Bob Swedenburg at vicepresident@nepco.org

Guest speakers

Jason Meyer, manager of the El Paso County Park Planning Division, discussed several new parks being built around the county and the Nature Center in Fox Run Regional Park. The county Parks Master Plan is the guiding document that is coordinated with other county plans to provide outdoor recreation through parks, trails, and open space. The projects include Homestead Ranch Regional Park, Jones Park, and Ute Pass Regional Trail. The Master Plan provides a sustainable approach to allocation of resources for the next five to 10 years, according to the county website at communityservices.elpasoco.com/park-planning. For additional information, contact Meyer at jasonmeyer@elpasoco.com.

Madeline VanDenHoek, director of Parks and Community Partnerships for the Town of Monument, said the responsibilities of the Parks Department include planning of parks and recreation facilities, maintaining buildings, curbing, fences, parking facilities, structure and walkways, and protecting natural resources within the parks and open space properties. The Parks Department also repairs any vandalized facility, landscape equipment, lighting, and plumbing and irrigation systems. For more information, go to townofmonument.org/277/Park-Open-Space-Department.

VanDenHoek is also the acting town manager during the paid administrative leave of Mike Foreman since June 13. No reason is available, only that it is a “personnel issue.”

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The next meeting will be on Saturday, Sept. 14, 10 to noon at the Woodmoor Barn, 1691 Woodmoor Dr. The proposed topic will be El Paso County Planning and Roads with speakers Meggan Harrington, executive director of Planning and Community and Kevin Mastin, executive director of Public Works. For more information regarding NEPCO, go to nepco.org.

Marlene Brown can be reached at marlenebrown@ocn.me.

Other NEPCO articles

Donald Wescott Fire Protection District, July 24 – Final merger timeline announced; dissolution plan approved

By Natalie Barszcz

At the Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) meeting on July 24, the board received the final timeline for the completion of the merger process with Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District dba Monument Fire District (MFD), adopted a supplemental plan of dissolution, and approved the dissolution of the district.

Secretary Mike Forsythe attended via Zoom.

District merger dissolution plan

Attorney Emily Powell of Ireland Stapleton Pryor Pascoe PC law firm, attending via Zoom, said the merger process is “moving along as expected.” The board is requested to consider Resolution 24-06, a resolution adopting the supplemental plan of dissolution, and approving the dissolution of the DWFPD, and she said:

  • To dissolve the district, a plan of dissolution must be provided to the court stating, for example, how emergency services will be continued, whether any outstanding debt needs to be handled—those kind of questions as set forth in the statute. See wp.ocn.me/v24n7dwfpd/.
  • Many of the questions are included in the pre-inclusion intergovernmental agreement (IGA) and it will be stated in the pre-inclusion IGA that it constitutes the district’s plan of dissolution. However, some of that information is not appropriate for the pre-inclusion IGA, for example the financial statements would not be attached, so the board is requested to adopt a supplemental plan of dissolution to be combined with the pre-inclusion IGA to constitute a complete packet to be submitted to the court.
  • Then the court will take about two weeks to issue the order. A request for a dissolution hearing can then be filed, which could be any time from today until Aug. 15.
  • The court will consider the petition for dissolution, and the hearing must be scheduled within 50 days. It could take up to 48-49 days or be as few as six days.
  • At the hearing, the court will be asked to order the dissolution without an election. The district only has three eligible electors who have all signed affidavits supporting the dissolution, but if the court disagrees, a small, three-person election will occur on Dec. 3.

The court hearing should take about 10 minutes or less and will require a board member representative. Attorney Dino Ross will handle the courtroom procedures with the judge, and she will attend to handle the paperwork. If an election is ordered by the judge, it will take place on Dec. 3, but it is unlikely with only three voters remaining in DWFPD, said Powell.

President Charles Fleece said he is hoping for the easy path to dissolution with the affidavits.

Powell said a similar hearing in Boulder County involved seven electors approving a dissolution. The court agreed that it would not be a good use of funds to conduct an election. If the judge agrees to order the dissolution without an election, and the order recorded at the end of December, the district will be dissolved, she said.

The two-member board unanimously approved and signed Resolution 2024-06, the legal documentation adopting a supplemental plan of dissolution and approving the dissolution of the district.

Remaining transfers

Powell said the request to exclude the two-board-member residential properties from the district and move them to TMD upon dissolution, was submitted to the court on July 26. A 30-day waiting period had to elapse before filing the exclusion after the board directors had signed the request at its June meeting. The transfer of the two contract agreements with The American Red Cross and Emergency Incident Support for the use of the Sun Hills property will be made to MFD before the end of the year.

Note: For more information, see the MFD article on page < 9 > and visit www.monumentfire.org.

Parting thoughts

Fleece thanked Powell for making the merger process seamless while juggling a million things over the past three years. The merger is wrapping up and approaching the tail end of the long process, and it is exciting to see, said Fleece.

Powell thanked the board for sticking with the long process and said she loves the merger process while having a system to make it happen. The board members and executive staff have been wonderful to work with, and all while they attend to full-time jobs, she said.

Fleece said that everyone involved remained professional and helpful throughout, working toward one goal to make the community better and safer for the employees. It has been a privilege and a better blessing to be a part of, he said.

Forsythe thanked everyone and said he is proud to do something good for the community. It was a dream at Wescott to have a merger with Monument and he was glad to have participated, he said. The merger is a dream come true for the firefighters, he said.

The meeting adjourned at 5:03 p.m.

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Meetings are usually held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25 at 4:30 p.m. at Station 1, 18650 Highway 105. For Zoom joining instructions, agendas, minutes, and updates, visit www.monumentfire.org or contact Director of Administration Jennifer Martin at 719-484-9011.

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

Other Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) articles

Monument Fire District, July 24 – Gas odor increases call volume; district recognized for supporting prescribed burn

By Natalie Barszcz

At the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District dba Monument Fire District (MFD) meeting on July 24, the board heard about an unprecedented temporary call volume increase, witnessed district recognition for its support, approved the Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) Volunteer Firefighter Pension Plan (VFPP) Affiliation Agreement, a part of the merger process, and a board meeting time change for 2025. The board also received updates on the Station 3 rebuild design, the merger process, and a mechanical CPR device.

President Mike Smaldino and Secretary Jason Buckingham were excused. Director Randall Estes did not attend.

Gas odor increases calls

Division Chief of Community Risk Reduction Jonathan Bradley said the district received an unprecedented increase in calls July 13-14 due to a Black Hills Energy (BHE) failure of the auto injecting Mercaptan (methanethiol, a harmless pungent smelling gas) that odorizes the odorless natural gas was far higher level than recommended. That led to over 70 calls from residents concerned about gas leaks in homes in Woodmoor and other communities from the evening of July 13 onward. BHE crews identified and fixed the problem, but due to low gas usage during the summer, the problem persisted.

BHE purged a gas line north of Kings Deer on the afternoon of July 14 and call volume lowered, but it did not solve the problem. After purging another line near the U.S. Forest Service on the west side of Monument on the morning of July 15, the call volume dropped immediately. The district was receiving calls every 10-15 minutes during the weekend and responding about 2.5 times per hour.

Bradley said 911 Dispatch did a nice job cueing calls, and the district adapted quickly and found some ways to do things better. BHE kept the district informed and was working as hard as they could to resolve the problem, Bradley said. BHE did not put out a statement on its website during the failure in case a real gas leak emergency occurred. The districts’ response was tested and modifications were made to allow crews to respond to the true emergency calls, he said.

Fire Chief Andy Kovacs said he was surprised to learn that a sensor to monitor the Mercaptan level is not in place. The district will set up a time for an after-action review with the BHE staff to discuss a future response plan.

District receives recognition

Fire Management Officer Tim Ross of the Pikes Peak Ranger District (PPRD), serving with the U.S. Forest Service, recognized MFD for supporting the prescribed burn and the Monument Fire Center during the burn on June 12 and 13 in the area known as “The Preserve” in Monument. See wp.ocn.me/v24n7mfd/ and the caption and photo inset of the presentation. Ross thanked the district for its continued support and said the PPRD looks forward to returning with the prescribed burn effort in the future. Ross also said the prescribed burn went well and stayed where it was supposed to, and nobody was injured.

Two-thirds of the effort was accomplished, and in hindsight the third day burn of about 300 acres could have taken place and the burn would be done, but the decision not to burn on the third day was based on the precipitation that never came. The partnerships and training aspect, the people on the ground implementing the burn, and the public education went well, Ross said. It was a successful prescribed burn that will encourage re-growth, he said. The goal was not to eliminate any one species but an attempt to return the area to its original state and restore the balance with not as much scrub oak, hence the mosaic burn pattern, said Ross.

Above: From left, Division Chief of Community Risk Reduction Jonathan Bradley receives a geographical framed map of the burn area from Fire Management Officer Tim Ross of the Pikes Peak Ranger District during the July 24 MFD board meeting. Ross said Bradley displayed superior efforts in bringing the Monument prescribed fire to fruition. Photo by Natalie Barszcz.
Above: From left, Fire Chief Andy Kovacs is presented with a watercolor rendition of Monument Rock from Fire Management Officer Ross at the MFD board meeting on July 24. The district supported the U.S. Forest Service in the preparation for the prescribed burn, and during the event on June 12 and 13 in the area known as Monument Preserve. Photo by Natalie Barszcz.

Financial report

Treasurer Tom Kelly said all funding streams look good and ambulance revenue is right on target half way through the budget year as of June 30. Overall revenue year to date is about $13.659 million, approximately 61.9% of the projected 2024 income budget set at about $22 million. Expenses are all tracking with wages coming back in line and overall expenses year to date are about $8.347 million or 51.0% of the projected expense budget set at about $16.336 million.

The board had 23 electronic transmissions over $2,500, and of note were:

  • $63,498 Liquid Structures Station 4 concrete apron
  • $20,147 NV5 Inc. Station 3 agreement
  • $216,671 Flintco LLC Station 4 remodel
  • $10,303 Wex Bank Inc. Fleet fuel
  • $104,390 PNC Equipment Finance Engine lease payment

Every transaction appeared appropriate and within the 2024 budget, and the checking and savings accounts totaled about $16.743 million (about $10.833 million in the Operations and General Fund), said Kelly.

Kovacs said the increase was due to the transfer of funds from DWFPD and additional property tax revenue, he said.

Note: District revenue increased by about $1.581 million from the May 31 financial report.

In a 4-0 vote, the board accepted the financial report as presented.

2024-25 budget update

Kovacs said the district will amend the 2025 budget after the 2024 audit presentation. A significant amount of funds is allocated to the district’s capital projects, but because of the length of the planning processes, funds have not been spent in 2024. The district will be rolling over funds into fiscal year 2025 and will be under budget in totality at the end of 2024, even though the Station 4 remodel is over budget, Kovacs said. Funds will be re-allocated from the unspent budgeted capital expenditure for the additional expenditures, he said.

Station 3 rebuild update

Executive Battalion Chief Micah Coyle said the rebuild of Station 3 on a 2-acre lot north of the YMCA on Jackson Creek Parkway is still in the discovery phase, and the district is working with the seller to get the plat and site plan approved by the Town of Monument (TOM). See wp.ocn.me/v24n7mfd/.

Vice President John Hildebrandt said the district has been waiting on the plat approval for quite a while and he questioned the delay.

Bradley said the TOM moratorium on plat approvals expired last week, and even though the district’s plans were not technically subject to the hold, a lot of projects will now be submitted to the Planning Department. He attends a standing weekly meeting with the planning team to review pre-applications and plans, but it is unknown where the plan is in the process with the team of planners, he said. See MTC article on page < 1 >.

Kovacs said the developer is still making amendments, not only to subdivide the 2-acre parcel the district is purchasing adjacent to the YMCA on Jackson Creek Parkway but also the entire 11-acre property that will require subdividing into lots, he said.

Merger update

Coyle said Emily Powell of Ireland Stapleton Pryor Pascoe PC law firm is ready to file the dissolution request with the courts on July 26, and the process could take up to 50 days.

Affidavits from the three eligible voting members, two board directors and a spouse supporting the dissolution of the district will be presented, but the presiding judge could call for a three-person election on Dec. 3. See DWFPD article on page < 8 >.

Hildebrandt asked why an election might be necessary now and said it had not been part of the original plan. He said he thought the process was to just absorb the two remaining properties and the dissolution would be finalized sooner.

Kovacs said the judge could technically call for a vote of the three remaining residents, and the earliest date would be Dec. 3, but if the judge is reasonable the election process will be skipped due to the three remaining eligible voters signing affidavits approving the dissolution. Powell is confident an election will not be necessary, he said.

Director Mark Gunderman said Powell has worked many fire district mergers, and an election is a worst-case scenario. In most cases, an election has never been necessary, he said.

Powell is confident the merger will be “buttoned up” by the end of the year, said Kovacs.

Volunteer Firefighter Pension Plan

Coyle requested the board approve the DWFPD Volunteer Firefighter Pension Plan (VFPP) Affiliation Agreement. See wp.ocn.me/v24n7dwfpd/.

Kovacs said the agreement was missed during the document signing last month. This agreement allows the district to assume management of the VFPP.

Hildebrandt asked if the VFPP would have any liabilities on MFD.

Gunderman said the VFPP is solvent on its own because of how it has been run, and no other recipients will be added to the fund, and it will continue to be fully funded.

Kovacs said the VFPP is self-funded, and a healthy account and the actuarial report are used to determine increased funding. A line item will be added for the 2025 budget for the VFPP, but the district will not add funds this year because the fund is so healthy, he said.

The board approved the VFPP affiliation agreement in a 4-0 vote.

Meeting time change

Hildebrandt said the meeting time was changed a few years ago from 7 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., when the Woodmoor Fire Department and Tri-Lakes Fire Department merged. He said it would be his preference to keep the same time to allow working board members and residents to attend.

Kelly said at the June board meeting he had requested the board review the meeting time in the interest of overtime savings and fiscal responsibility. Changing the meeting times to earlier in the day would prevent overtime costs when staff must stay for meetings. The goal is to continue fiscal responsibility with the increase of capital improvements and remain prudent with the district funds, said Kelly.

Kovacs said the executive branch including himself, Bradley and Division Chief of Administration Jamey Bumgarner are exempt from receiving overtime, and it depends on the length of the meetings, but an average meeting is about two hours, so about four hours of overtime is incurred monthly for Coyle and for Director of Administration Jennifer Martin because their work day ends at 4:30 p.m.

Gunderman said he never witnessed a difference in attendance during his time on the Wescott board that typically meets at 4:30 p.m., and due to COVID-19 restrictions the regular resident attendees joined via Zoom and continued to do so, and the in-person attendees continued to show up. Working from home, he sets his own schedule and is flexible and has never seen any public push back even if the meeting is earlier than 4:30 p.m. Gunderman said he would not have a problem with an earlier meeting but suggested no earlier than 4:30 p.m.

Director Duane Garrett confirmed that whenever he had a work conflict during his tenure on the Wescott board, he joined via Zoom and rarely missed a meeting.

This reporter suggested the board consider saving half the overtime costs by meeting at 4:30 p.m., since the DWFPD meetings will no longer be held in 2025.

Kovacs said it is not uncommon for attendees to hang around between meetings, but moving the meeting to 4:30 p.m. would not entirely save on overtime costs, but it may be more convenient, and if it does not work the board can always change the time, he said.

Hildebrandt said it would have been difficult when he worked full time to attend at 4:30 p.m.

Kelly made a motion to change the meeting time to 4:30 p.m.; it was seconded by Garrett.

The board approved the time change, with meetings held on the fourth Wednesday, beginning in 2025, in a 4-1 vote; Hildebrandt dissented.

EMS calls

Coyle said the district purchased a LUCAS device that administers mechanical CPR, all crews have trained on the unit, and it is in service on Squad 575 at Station 5. It will be used during all district cardiac arrest calls.

Hildebrandt asked if the device would be better located at Station 4.

Kovacs said the district hopes to purchase a device per year, if finances are available, to have three total for each ambulance. Squad 575 with a lieutenant and engineer is the support for the first responding unit to cardiac arrest calls.

Hildebrandt said a potentially life-saving piece of equipment could not be farther away from a good portion of the district as you can get and Station 1 is a prime example.

Bradley said the device is not necessarily a first-response device, and it does not matter where the device goes. The decision to place the device on Squad 575, a non-transport vehicle, was made to ensure it is always available in district until enough devices are available for the ambulances, he said.

Note: The chief’s report and the financial report can be found at www.monumentfire.org.

The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.

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Meetings are usually held on the fourth Wednesday every month. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Station 1, 18650 Highway 105. For Microsoft Teams virtual joining instructions, agendas, minutes, and updates, visit www.monumentfire.org or contact Director of Administration Jennifer Martin at 719-484-9011.

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

Other Monument Fire District (MFD) articles

Palmer Lake Board of Trustees Workshop, July 10 – Advisory committee presents Elephant Rock analysis

By James Howald and Jackie Burhans

On July 10, the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees held a workshop at which the Elephant Rock Property Citizen Advisory Committee presented the results of its work to organize and analyze the suggestions from residents for development of the 28-acre property. Mayor Glant Havenar and Trustees Shana Ball, Kevin Dreher, Nick Ehrhardt, and Dennis Stern attended the workshop; Trustees Jessica Farr and Samantha Padget were absent.

The 10-member committee included Co-Chairs Susan Miner and Bill Fisher, Jina Brenneman and Jennifer Rausch representing the Palmer Lakes Arts Council, Cindy Power and John Tool representing the Palmer Lake Parks Commission, Atis Jurka and Karen Stuth representing the Palmer Lake Economic Development Group, and Larry Bobo and Cathy Wilcox serving as citizens at large.

The committee organized all the suggestions it considered viable and its comments on those suggestions into a binder presented to the board and available on the town’s website here: www.townofpalmerlake.com/media/15291.

Committee vision and mission

Miner told the board the committee’s vision was to create parkland and open space for the benefit and enjoyment of citizen owners that celebrates community, culture, history, the arts, and the natural environment in the spirit of the Chautauqua movement. The committee’s mission was to acknowledge that the property is beautiful and diverse and must be self-sustaining while maintaining harmony between economic development and land use regulations.

Miner said the committee thought of the property as belonging to the whole town, and the committee’s work was based on the town’s master plan. She said that Richard and Lindsay Willan’s Eco Spa and a potential public safety building had not been considered in the committee’s efforts.

The committee is made up of five subcommittees: site planning, income capacity, funding sources, culture and arts, and parks, Miner said. (The parks subcommittee did not make a presentation at the workshop.) The overall committee considered preserving the landscape and views, fire mitigation, reducing the potential for noise and light pollution, and promoting opportunities to improve quality of life for residents. The status of the cabins, the need for asbestos mitigation, lack of funding, and public safety were “elephants in the room,” Miner said.

Site planning

Fisher told the board the site plan focused on documenting existing conditions. He said the site planning subcommittee had settled on consistent names for the buildings at the site: the Lodge, the Chapel, the Pavilion, the Long Building, the Cabins, the Annex, and the Utility Barn. Fisher said the site planning subcommittee did not favor using the site for a shopping center, but he acknowledged the need for revenue from the site.

Fisher said the Lodge could be developed into a boutique hotel, and he presented a slide that showed a hotel, an open space on the eastern side of the property, the Willans’ spa, and a park on the western side of the property adjacent to the creek.

Culture and arts

Miner said the idea of using the site as a cultural district, where cultural facilities and programs serve as anchors, came up in a couple ways. Cultural districts attract funding, she said.

Brenneman, representing the culture and arts subcommittee, recalled Palmer Lake in the 1970s, when it was more a village than a town and summer classes and ballet classes were available. She presented information from a 2022 study by the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region that showed the arts supported nearly 3,000 jobs and generated $184 million in economic activity.

Brenneman discussed the use of the kitchen in the Lodge as a fine dining restaurant. The site could accommodate a history museum, artists in residence, a sculpture park, and a nature center, she said. She encouraged the board to take the long view and to protect the property.

Income capacity

Jurka, representing the subcommittee focused on revenue generation, said the main question relative to revenue was who would manage the property. He pointed out there are insurance and maintenance costs, but no revenue is coming in at present. He suggested three things to generate revenue in the short term: an athletic field that could be rented, the Pavilion could be rented, and picnic tables could be installed and rented. He also suggested the Lodge could be rented.

Sources of funding

Cathy Wilcox listed several ways to fund the development of the property:

  • Federal, state and local grants.
  • Municipal bonds.
  • Mill levy overrides.
  • Crowd funding.
  • Revenue from parking.
  • Fees.
  • Sales taxes.
  • Sponsorships.
  • Endowments with naming rights.

She said she had contacted Panorama Property Management.

Next steps

Miner suggested the board hold an open house at the property. She recommended the formation of a new committee to further analyze suggestions and possibly hire a property manager. Miner said a grant was available to hire a property manager. She said the buildings needed to be secured.

Mayor Havenar asked the board how much time they needed to digest the information presented by the committee. The consensus was two weeks, and the board would send questions to the committee by July 18. Another workshop was scheduled before the July 25 board meeting.

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All meetings will be held at the Town Hall. See the town’s website at www.townofpalmerlake.com to confirm times and dates of board meetings and workshops. Meetings are typically held on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at the Town Hall. Information: 719-481-2953.

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

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

Other Palmer Lake Board of Trustees articles

Palmer Lake Board of Trustees, July 11 and 25 – Elephant Rock discussion becomes contentious

By James Howald and Jackie Burhans

The future of the Elephant Rock property was the focus of the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees (PLBOT) at its board meetings in July. The board also held two workshops devoted to the question. For coverage of the first workshop, held on July 10, see article on page < 11 >. The Elephant Rock Property Citizen Advisory Committee (ERPCA) delivered to the board the results of its months-long analysis of the suggestions for the property submitted by residents. The second workshop preceded the July 25 board meeting. The board passed a resolution to establish a fee for farmers markets, amended the ordinance regulating peddler’s permits, and updated the regulation governing business licenses. The board held a public hearing and took a vote on a conditional use permit for a landscaping business moving into Illumination Point. The board updated its code governing subdivisions.

Consensus on Elephant Rock emerges from angry discussion

Asbestos removal at the Elephant Rock property was on the agenda at the July 11 board meeting, but the topic was tabled until the July 25 board meeting.

At the workshop preceding the July 25 board meeting. Mayor Glant Havener said the purpose of the workshop was to address any unanswered questions about the ERPCA’s work and to set a direction for the property.

Trustee Kevin Dreher said the first decision was whether to use the property as a park or as a cultural district. He said he leaned toward using it as a park.

Trustee Shana Ball argued that the next step should be the formation of a new committee to do a financial analysis, as suggested by the ERPCA. Havenar questioned the role of a new committee.

Susan Miner, one of the co-chairs of the ERPCA, pointed out that every square foot of the Elephant Rock property that is not generating revenue is costing the town money. She said the property could be a combination of park and cultural district. The purpose of the new committee was to ensure there would be enough revenue to make the property self-sustaining.

Havenar pointed out that the board had already voted to demolish the cabins. She asked if Miner would lead the new committee; Miner said she would not.

Havenar argued the problem with the suggestion that groups adopt a cabin is that it would take five to seven years before the town would receive any revenue. Miner said she thought revenue could be produced sooner than Havenar’s estimate.

Trustee Dennis Stern said he did not oppose the creation of a new committee but thought the board should choose a direction before the committee was launched.

Ball said she would like to understand the revenue that would be generated from the cabins and argued that most of the community wanted to keep them. Havenar disagreed that was the desire of most residents. Ball asked for another survey of the community. Trustee Jessica Farr felt the community had been surveyed many times and the board should decide between parks and a cultural district.

Dreher said he favored turning the big building into a restaurant or event center that would generate revenue. Farr pointed out no one would invest the money needed without owning the building.

Havenar said she would like to see the Pavilion used for park rentals and the Chapel used by the Forest School. Miner said the next step should be to hire a property manager funded by a grant. Havenar pointed out the town did not yet have such a grant.

Town Administrator Dawn Collins pointed out that any new use would require all aspects of the property—drainage and roads, for example—to be brought up to current code requirements. She said the buildings were continuing to deteriorate and there was a cost to doing nothing. She estimated the town had spent $5,000 on the property in the first half of 2024.

Havenar argued the asbestos would need to be remediated in all cases. She repeated her point that the board had already voted to demolish the cabins.

Ball repeated her desire for more input from citizens. Ehrhardt and Farr said there was already plenty of input from citizens. During Tim Cave’s remarks to the board, Havenar became angry with Ball, implied Ball was keeping information secret from the board, and demanded that Ball stop talking and shut her mouth.

Reid Wiecks, who is on the Parks and Trails Commission, suggested that the large buildings could accommodate any uses the cabins could be put to, and said he favored demolishing the cabins.

Following Wiecks’s remarks, the workshop was closed.

During the board meeting following the workshop, Farr moved to demolish seven buildings, remediate the asbestos as needed, and form a new committee to develop a financial plan in six months. Trustees Ball and Ehrhardt voted no; Trustees Dreher, Farr, Padgett and Stern, along with Havenar, voted yes.

Farmers markets, peddler’s permits and business licenses

At its July 11 meeting, the board voted in favor of Resolution 38-2024, which requires a fee to be paid by applicants organizing farmers markets. Staff recommended a fee of $100. It also amended Ordinance 7-2024 so that a peddler’s permit, which would be required to sell items at a farmers market, would be valid for a calendar year at a cost of $25. A simple background check would be included in the process to grant a peddler’s permit.

At its July 25 meeting, at the request of Farr, the board took up the issue of business licenses. At present, Farr said, subcontractors were required to obtain a business license from Palmer Lake. She thought this was unenforceable and a waste of time. Stern said he thought most towns did not require subcontractors to maintain a business license but did require home-based businesses in the town to be licensed. Collins said the code currently does require subcontractors to have a business license, even if they will be performing a single job, but that was enforced only when a subcontractor submits a land use application.

Town Attorney Scott Krob said the board could decide how broad they wanted the requirement for a license to be. Local builder Kurt Ehrhardt told the board he thought the requirement would mean excessive work for town staff. Krob said he would draft language for the board to consider at a future meeting.

Public hearing on conditional use permit

Jared Whiteley, representing Greater Grounds, requested a conditional use permit to use his property at Illumination Point to park trucks and equipment for a landscaping business. Illumination Point is zoned C2 General Business and Commercial. He said an 8-foot privacy fence would be built to shield the equipment from Highway 105.

Whiteley said if the Colorado Department of Transportation required a turn lane on Highway 105, he could use Cloven Hoof Road to access the parking lot.

The board voted unanimously in favor of Resolution 40-2024, which grants the permit.

Subdivision ordinance rewritten

Collins told the board that the municipal code governing the subdivision process had been rewritten by the town’s Planning Commission and the Community Matter Institute to address gaps in the process. Krob said the old code was 50 years old and due for updating.

The board voted in favor of Ordinance 8-2024, which repeals and replaces Chapter 16 of the Subdivision Code. Farr voted no; all others voted in favor.

Executive session

The July 11 and 25 meetings ended with executive sessions to discuss a possible annexation request.

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The next regular board meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 8 and 22. All meetings will be held at the Town Hall. See the town’s website at www.townofpalmerlake.com to confirm times and dates of board meetings and workshops. Meetings are typically held on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at the Town Hall. Information: 719-481-2953.

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

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

Other Palmer Lake Board of Trustees (PLBOT) articles