Representatives of 4-Way Ranch Metropolitan Districts 1 and 2 appeared before the El Paso County Board of Commissioners April 15, seeking approval for the districts’ request to increase the cap on an authorized debt to $74 million.On its south side, 4-Way Ranch is bounded by Judge Orr Road and by Eastonville Road and Highway 24 on its west and east sides, respectively.Barbara Vanderwall, legal representative for the 4-Way Ranch metropolitan districts, said market conditions have changed since the districts were created in 2005 with an authorized debt cap of $25 million.Changing the cap provides “flexibility for the district being the provider of its own central sewer,” Vanderwall said, adding that increasing the cap does not necessarily mean the districts will issue $74 million in debt.Nine single-family residences have been built at 4-Way Ranch in the Eastbrook development on Eastonville Road.The 2005 service plan for the districts caps their mill levy at 50 mills for debt service and 10 mills for operations.Vanderwall said the districts’ 30-year financial plan does not project an increase in those two caps or even an increase in the current mill levy.John McGuinn from JDS-Hydro Consultants, which is providing water engineering services for the districts, said that since more houses are now planned for 4-Way Ranch, the cost per household is actually going down.”If they develop at 140 lots per year or 14 lots per year, those [sewer] facilities are only going to go in the ground as they are needed,” McGuinn said.Any increase in the mill levy would have to be approved by voters in the district, and the actual issuance of bonds would have to be approved by the BOCC, Vanderwall said. Property owners in the district have already approved raising the debt cap, she added.The county assessor’s Web site shows that of the nine houses in the Eastbrook development, one is bank owned and four are owned by individuals, with the remainder owned by Eastbrook Development Inc.The board approved raising the districts’ authorized debt cap by a vote of 4 to 0; Commissioner Dennis Hisey wasn’t present for the vote.Craig Dossey, project manager from the El Paso County Development Services Department, said his group is also reviewing a planned-unit development plan for the commercial development of 76 acres in 4-Way Ranch along Highway 24.The plan will be heard by the planning commission May 4, he said.Another sign that Falcon’s economy could be improving occurred March 30 when the BOCC approved an intergovernmental agreement with 4-Way Ranch Metropolitan District 1.The agreement is to extend Stapleton Road from where it currently ends in the Eastbrook development to Highway 24, said Paul Danley of the county’s transportation department.Under the agreement, Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority funds will be used to extend Stapleton Road as a two-lane road to Highway 24 and the metro district will widen it to four lanes in the future when needed, Danley said.According to the county assessor’s Web site, Stapleton Road currently terminates at a parcel owned by 935 Development Inc., which is zoned for industrial manufacturing.
