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Volunteers reporting on community issues in Monument, Palmer Lake, and the surrounding Tri-Lakes area Issue #115 — Volume 10 Number 9 — Saturday, September 4, 2010
Upcoming Local Events
TLCA concert, Sep. 4 Citizen police academy, Sep. 7 TLWC open house, Sep. 9 NEPCO on water, Sept. 11 Last 2010 Art Hop, Sept. 16 Historical Society, Sep. 16 Senior Tea, Sept. 17 TLCA play, Sep. 18 Chili cook-off, Sep. 18 Blood drive, Sept. 21 PLAG craft show, Oct. 2-3
For details of these and many other local events see pages 39-43.
In this issue School District 38 News 1-6 Fire District News 7-9 Water and Sanitation Districts 9-16 Monument News 17-21 Palmer Lake News 22-23 WIA News 24 Weather 25 Letters to Our Community 26 Books, Gardening, Birds, Arts 27-30 Snapshots of Our Community 31-36 Library Events 37 Historical Society Events 38 VFW News 38 Special Events and Notices 39-40 Our Community Calendar 40-43 OCN information 28, 34, 36, 42, 43
**ECRWSS**
Postal Customer
Free D-38, Aug. 5 and 19
Bauman describes goals
Slash and Mulch season ends this month
The El Paso County Black Forest Slash and Mulch season is almost over. Slash (tree and shrub debris; no stumps) will be accepted until Sept. 12. Mulch is available, while supplies last, until Sept. 25. Hours of operation are: Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 5-7:30 p.m. The mulch loader schedule is Saturdays only, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The loader fee is $4 per bucket, approximately 2 cubic yards. The slash and mulch site is located at the southeast corner of Shoup and Herring Roads in the Black Forest area. For more information, visit www.bfslash.org or phone 520-7878 or Jeff DeWitt, 4958024.
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MONUMENT, CO PERMIT NO. 32
Having a great time at Chautauqua Aug. 6: The crowd danced the Wagon Wheel square dance. The dances were called and directed by Gregg Anderson. Photo by Bernard Minetti. See page 31 for additional coverage of the 2010 Rocky Mountain Chautauqua held in Palmer Lake Aug. 6-8.
Fox Run adventure park plan criticized at meeting By Kate Wetterer Three extra picnic tables were brought in to accommodate the crowd at the second public meeting for Chris DeCirco’s Aerial Adventure Park proposal, held on Aug. 31. About 200 people clustered beneath the same pavilion where last month’s meeting was held. The purpose of this discussion, according to Tim Wolken, El Paso County Parks and Leisure Services Department director and leader of the meeting, was to explain the park idea and further assess the public’s reaction. "Our goal here, really, is to evaluate the benefits… and the impacts of the proposal," Wolken said. An aerial adventure park normally consists of play equipment, such as zip lines, ropes to climb, or hanging bridges, strung up between trees. The current proposal would place such a park in Fox Run’s Fallen Timber area, a patch of forest dedicated to raw nature and trails. The county remains neutral toward the idea, Wolken said, though it is being viewed as a potential source of much-needed revenue for all the parks. The vast majority of attendees at the meeting were not convinced. One man asked, "How can we effectively and in the most organized way prevent this from happening?" Many spoke out against such ideas as a concession stand and the fencing off of equestrian and hiking trails. Wolken mentioned that Fox Run’s trees may not be sturdy enough for an adventure park. An arborist is expected to give a professional opinion if the plan proceeds. When Wolken commented on the increase in interested citizens, one explanation resounded throughout the crowd: Nobody knew about the last meeting. Concerns raised by those in attendance included: • Loud, buzzing zip line machinery could potentially be heard as far away as Rollercoaster Road.
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Zip lines are dangerous and sometimes deadly. Lawsuits and safety breaches are possible. • Wolken has repeatedly cited Montgomery County in Maryland (near Washington, D.C.), where a similar park has generated some financial success. Meeting participants hailing from Montgomery County described the area as crowded and remarkably wealthy, without many natural recreation areas. The demographic is nothing like that of El Paso County. • Roads and parking facilities may not be adequate for visitors to the adventure park, and so would need to be enhanced. • The change in environment may lower property values, which would in turn cause a decrease in government tax support. • More people coming to the park means more potential for crime, which is apparently a problem in Montgomery County. • There are already fancy play centers in the area, like Mr. Biggs. Fox Run is a natural, undeveloped place for children and adults. That should not necessarily be sacrificed. • Some suggested moving the aerial adventure park to Black Forest Regional Park. • There could be other, less dramatic ways to generate financial support for Fox Run and the entire park system. The planning process is still at step one, Wolken said, adding that another main goal of the county is to "balance a regional park system with still being good neighbors." Wolken said that information from the meeting will be posted on the county website including the date and time of the next discussion opportunity. He can be reached at TimWolken@elpasoco.com, or (719) 520-6981. ■
By Harriet Halbig At two August meetings, Interim Superintendent Ted Bauman addressed the Board of Education regarding its priorities and expectations. He encouraged members to attend meetings of district committees and to attend school functions to be more visible to the community and to develop a comfortable relationship with administrative and teaching staff members. In this way, he hoped that candid and informal discussions of policy and budget matters could be held as the year progresses. He also suggested that the board informally meet with the principals of the district, perhaps before a board meeting, to get acquainted. Bauman assured the board that he intends to serve as superintendent only for the 2010-11 school year and will do his best to maintain the strength of the district’s academic performance while seeking support from the community. He said that, since his retirement as superintendent in 2003, he has been active in other community groups, and he feels that these ties will enable him to reach out to those in the community with no direct ties to the schools. He has contacted the chamber of commerce, the towns of Monument and Palmer Lake and other organizations and will soon speak to Kiwanis and the Tri-Lakes Women’s Club. Bauman reported that test scores from this spring are very positive, with the district placing in the top 10 percent for CSAP, ACT and AP tests, and in some cases ranking in first place. The district has also been accredited with distinction by the state, placing it in the top 10 percent of over 150 districts.
Board opposes ballot issues 60, 61, and 101
Assistant Superintendent for Operations Cheryl Wangeman explained the potential impact on the school district of the passage of three ballot initiatives. The issues are: • Proposition 101, which would result in loss of revenue from the tax on cars, boats, and recreational vehicles. • Amendment 60, which would result in loss of one-half of property tax revenues (requiring that the state make up the loss from other sources). • Amendment 61, which forbids public entities from incurring debt. At present the board has had to take out short term non-interest loans to cover payroll expenses in January until tax revenues are received. This amendment would forbid such action as well as incurring debt to cover building of new facilities. Due to the present state of the economy, it is unlikely that the state would be able to (Continued on page 2)