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September 10, 2014 VOLU M E 53 | I S S UE 36 | 7 5 ¢
PikesPeakCourier.net T E L L E R C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Residents form coalition seeking relief from flooding By Pat Hill
phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com Editor’s note: This article is another in a series about flooding in the Ute Pass area. Larry Small, executive director of Fountain Creek Watershed district, and Leon Kot, conservationist with Natural Resources Conservation Service, talk about the issues. When the skies open up and rain pours down on Ute Pass, Fountain Creek is the recipient as well as the carrier from Woodland Park on down through Crystola to Green Mountain Falls, Chipita Park and Cascade. This summer, several residents of Crystola have formed a coalition to seek solutions to the flooding. The issue gets sticky, as officials from Woodland Park and Teller County emphasize the efficacy of their detention facilities while those downstream aren’t buying it. Crystola people are steamed, their opinions relayed in the first article in the series Aug. 20. They may or may not be helped by the current Matrix study, a watershed-restoration management plan, initiated by the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District. “We are looking at project sites and design and setting priorities,” said Larry Small, executive director of the district. The $462,000 study is a project of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, with multiple partners, including El Paso County, the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs Utilities, Coalition for the Upper
The photo was taken of Fountain Creek during the last week of August. Courtesy photo South Platte and Regional Building Department. Because Crystola is in Teller County, the study will identify but not fund flood-control projects. “We can do projects in Green Mountain Falls and Cascade,” Small said. A hot-button issue on the flooding story is development in Woodland Park. “It’s true that development does contribute to runoff because it increases the impervious surface,” Small said. However, Small highlights the weather patterns, the storms, of the last three years. “Even if there was no development
in Woodland Park, the storms would still have had an impact,” Small said. “The soil is saturated, can’t accept more water.” As well, homes in Green Mountain Falls, Chipita Park and Cascade are a target for flooding due to the lack of adequate vegetation in the burn area, a result of the Waldo Canyon Fire, he added. Since the death of John Collins on U.S. Highway 24 in the flood of Aug. 9, 2013, the fear factor runs high for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Since May 2014, CDOT has closed the highway nine times, according to a report issued by the
agency. In 2013, the highway was closed 17 times. Leon Kot, conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, is the go-to guy, along with the Coalition for the Upper South Platte, for residents along Fountain Creek. This summer, Kot visited most of the neighbors in Crystola and Green Mountain Falls. “Anything you do down below is influenced by what’s happening upstream,” he said. “Parts of the area around the Walmart rip rap channel and retaining wall have reportedly failed several times. People have seen it clogging their culverts.” While the city of Woodland Park has a series of detention ponds, the impervious surfaces have increased, parking lots, roads and shopping centers, for instance. “The creek from Safeway on down contains construction materials, asphalt, concrete and woody material - a lot of it is man-made material that wasn’t supposed to be waterborne in storms,” Kot said. “The Corps of Engineers says you can’t put that kind of fill in the creeks — you’ve got to anchor it. But with the unprecedented storms, they weren’t anchored properly.” The watershed is in jeopardy, Kot said. “All that debris in the creek is clogging culverts and taking out the banks. The affected parties need to fix it,” he said. One of the solutions, he said, would be the addition of detention dams along the creek; however, that solution is impeded by the narrow streambeds in some places. Flooding continues on Page 18
Sign of the times Candidate’s advertisement may need a permit POSTAL ADDRESS
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OFFICE: 1200 E. Highway 24 Woodland Park, CO 80863 PHONE: 719-687-3006 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Teller County, Colorado, the Pikes Peak Courier is published weekly on Wednesday by Colorado Community Media, 1200 E. Highway 24, Woodland Park, CO 80863. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WOODLAND PARK, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal: Thurs. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 10 a.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
By Pat Hill
phill@colorado communitymedia.com As the campaign for the office of Teller County sheriff heats up, a 32-square foot sign becomes a source of contention. A public scolding of Sheriff Mike Ensminger by Jineen McWherter last month over the sign brought attention, but county officials say that they think the sign needs a permit. At issue is the campaign sign for Mark Manriquez, who is running against the incumbent Ensminger. The sign was on the large billboard in the Florissant Canyon, which is visible from U.S. Highway 24. “I don’t own the property but I own the billboard and have an easement to it,” McWherter said, speaking to commissioners Marc Dettenrieder, Dave Paul and Norm Steen Aug. 28. McWherter is steamed that Teller County officials sent orders that the sign be taken down. “Ensminger is pushing his weight around and got the county sending a letter saying they’re going to file a lawsuit because the big red billboard needs a building permit,” she said. “I’m just appealing to the sheriff’s sense of fair play.” In addition to the billboard citation, McWherter believes the county considers the sign a violation of regulations dealing with the length of time a candidate’s sign can be up. “If you cite regulations that don’t apply; if you’re using the 32 square feet, then why hasn’t the county sent notices to various people who leave signs up over 60 days?” she said. “Mike Ensminger signs were up in April and should have come down after the June primary.” Dettenrieder replied. “As far as
campaign signs go, it’s my understanding that there are no longer restrictions on when you have to put them up and when you have to take them down,” he said. McWherter said, “It’s still written in the regulations; they haven’t been amended.” Dettenrieder countered. “I was under the impression that there are federal cases that support keeping signs up,” he said. McWherter got the last word. “Well, I wasn’t trying to make a federal case out of it,” she said. According to county administrator Sheryl Decker, that particular 32-foot sign has been a problem. “We believe it needs a building permit — we told the owner that and sent a letter to the property owner and Manriquez asking him to pull a building permit,” Decker said. “We got a complaint from somebody else, not the sheriff.” Reached by phone, Ensminger said, “I had no involvement in that sign; I have more important things to do. I’m not the complainant.” On another issue, the county’s attorney, Chris Brandt, announced that a settlement had been reached with Kim Dodge, former employee of the assessor’s office. Dodge sued the county because of allegations that she didn’t receive all the notices that were required under the Family and Medical Leave Act while she was an employee of the county. “The assessor (Betty Clark Wine) has been dismissed from the lawsuit,” Brandt said. “Under the FLMA claim, the plaintiff can claim not only back wages but liquidated damages.” Because a portion of the claims were covered, the county’s insurer, Colorado Technical Services, Inc., provided counsel for the lawsuit. “There is a proposed settlement to resolve the matter and avoid further expense in attorney’s fees,” he
Diane Wetzel, administrative assistant with the Department of Social Services, was honored by the commissioners and her boss, Kim Mauthe, Aug. 28 with a five-year employee service award. Photos by Pat Hill
Teller County Deputy Robert Luce was honored by the commissioners for his role in facilitating and coordinating agency responses to the catastrophic fire July 28 that caused destructive damage to the Miners Union Hall in Victor. said. At the recommendation of Brandt as well as the CTSI counsel, the commissioners approved settlement and release agreements. Part of the settlement funds are provided by the county. To a question from Deborah McKown, from the audience, Brandt said the settlement figure was $30,000.
On another legal issue, Brandt announced that the city of Woodland Park’s motion to be awarded attorney’s fees in the county’s annexation lawsuit was denied by the district court. While the county lost the decision in its suit against the city relating to Jay Baker’s recycling center, the court’s denial was a small victory.