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OCN > 2303 > Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, Feb. 13 – Board permits Monument Academy to build road to ease traffic

Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, Feb. 13 – Board permits Monument Academy to build road to ease traffic

Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, Feb. 13 – Board permits Monument Academy to build road to ease traffic

By James Howald

At its Feb. 13 meeting, the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District (WWSD) board granted Monument Academy (MA) permission to build a road on MA’s property that crosses a WWSD easement. The board considered an amendment to its supplemental water agreement with the developer of Monument Junction. It also awarded a contract for a sewer saddle replacement project and discussed three other projects. The board heard highlights of operational reports, and the meeting ended with an executive session.

MA gets permission to build buffer road over sewer line

District Manager Jessie Shaffer explained to the board that MA, with El Paso County’s assistance, is building a road looping around the MA West campus, on land belonging to MA, that will alleviate traffic congestion on Highway 105. Shaffer described the purpose of the road as “traffic storage.” MA families had been using the driveway of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Shaffer said, but that access would be going away. The planned road would be built through a Preble’s meadow jumping mouse conservation easement belonging to WWSD and over a WWSD sewer line.

Shaffer told the board the conservation easement has been in place since 2002. He added the land in question was no longer considered to be mouse habitat, but the conservation easement was still in place. MA has the required permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Forest Service to build the road, Shaffer said.

Shaffer presented to the board an agreement that would give MA permission to build the road and would indemnify WWSD against claims or liability resulting from the road’s construction.

The board voted unanimously to authorize Shaffer to sign the agreement with MA.

Monument Junction to transfer supplemental water

District Engineer Ariel Hacker explained the background information regarding Classic Homes’ request to transfer supplemental water from one part of its development to another. The Town of Monument required Classic Homes to reduce the number of apartments in the Monument Junction West development from 250 to 240, Hacker said. Classic Homes intends to increase the number of single-family residences in another part of the development from 120 to 129, and has asked WWSD to allow them to transfer the supplemental water they purchased for the apartments to the single-family residences.

Shaffer explained that supplemental water is supplied to a specific plot of land, so the request to transfer it requires consent from the board. He went on to explain the district’s policy on supplemental water. WWSD provides ½ acre-foot of water per year for each acre of land at the district’s standard rates, which is adequate for a single-family residence on a ¾-acre lot. When a developer wants to build anything that requires more water, they must contract with WWSD to purchase supplemental water, which is much more expensive than the standard allotment, starting at $29,000 for an additional acre-foot and rising to $43,000 for larger allotments. In addition to the one-time charge, there is a monthly charge for water used, Shaffer said.

Following a brief discussion, the board voted unanimously to allow Classic Homes to transfer the supplemental water as requested.

Sewer saddle replacement contract awarded; other projects discussed

Hacker told the board she had received several bids from contractors to replace sewer saddles in the Forest subdivision, with Caraveo Construction Inc. submitting the low bid of $303,593. Sewer saddles are vertical connectors that join residential sewer lines to sewer mains. She said Caraveo had done a similar project for WWSD last year with good results and she recommended that the contract be awarded to them.

The board voted unanimously to award the contract to Caraveo.

Hacker said another project to replace 30 saddles, five valves and three hydrants adjacent to Fairplay Drive had been put out to bid. She also told the board that a total of five pressure reducing valves would need to be installed for the Monument Junction developments. She anticipated that work would cost $250,000. Shaffer said a portion of that cost would be reimbursed by Classic Homes.

Hacker also discussed how the El Paso County-led project to widen Highway 105 might impact WWSD. First, a traffic roundabout would be installed on Knollwood Boulevard at the new west entrance to MA. The county is putting that work out to bid in February. Next, some WWSD water lines would be abandoned and many water and sewer lines would be rerouted. Hacker said she anticipated those changes would be “a big long project,” starting with the portion of Highway 105 between Jackson Creek Parkway and Lake Woodmoor Drive, and then moving on to Highway 105 between Lake Woodmoor Drive and Furrow Road. A third phase would lie outside the WWSD service area, she said. Hacker added that the first two phases would take more than a year to complete.

Highlights of operational reports

  • Operations Supervisor Dan LaFontaine said two bald eagles are nesting near Woodmoor Lake. The eagles are killing Canada geese, and a large bobcat or small cougar are cleaning up remains. The district is doing any further cleanup needed.
  • The Cloverleaf development (previously known as the Walters family open space), is close to conditional acceptance and WWSD plans to provide three water taps a month until the end of 2023.
  • Construction of a new well, Well 22, is slated to begin in spring of 2023.
  • The Monument Ridge West development, in the northwest corner of the WWSD service area, has resumed its discussion about annexation with the Town of Monument.
  • The Whataburger planned for the Monument Junction West development could be complete by summer of 2023, and the apartments in that development are not expected to be complete before 2024.
  • The plan for the North Bay development, adjacent to the north side Woodmoor Lake, now specifies 30 single-family homes.
  • A design for 52 units, some duplexes, some fourplexes, has been submitted for the Waterside development on the east side of Woodmoor Drive north of The Barn community center.

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The next meeting is scheduled for March 13, 2023 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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