According to an article printed in the May issue of The New Falcon Herald, the Quantum Commercial Group, represented by Jack Mason, had approached a Black Forest resident with a contract to lease property from her for a ìutility use.î Mason indicated the buyer, listed as Woodmen Hills on the ìcontract,î wanted to purchase property to install a water tank.In that article, Gene Cozzolino, water/wastewater director with Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District was quoted as saying that if any people had been offered leasing contracts, it did not come from WHMD.The confusion comes down to semantics, with the word ìcontractî as the issue.In an interview June 24, Cozzolino said the district did not have any leasing contracts out and that the district was never and is not now interested in leasing property.ìThe district sent out inquiries to see who was interested in selling a piece of property for a water storage facility,î Cozzolino said. ìIt was not a contract; it was a letter of intent not to lease but to purchase property. I did not deny knowing Jack Mason and did not deny knowing anything that he was doing.îCozzolino said he was purposefully vague when asked about the possibility of contracts being offered because no contracts had been negotiated at the time. He wanted to keep the information about the districtís interest in certain properties to a minimum so nothing could impair the district in its negotiations for prospective property purchases, Cozzolino said.ìIf people feel (that the district has) a need and realize that only one or two people are willing to talk to us about filling that need, it drives the cost up,î he said. ìIt becomes a bidding war in the opposite direction.îThat exact scenario happened with a prospective seller who learned of the districtís interest and lack of options in the area. The seller increased the price, after the district and the seller had already verbally agreed on a price, Cozzolino said.The letters of intent were sent out to specific property owners because of their location in relation to the property the district had considered for building a water tank. ìThe proximity and elevation is what drives the possibilities of the location,î Cozzolino said. ìIf we have to go farther away, the higher the cost goes.îAt this time, the district has no contracts to purchase property; negotiations are still ongoing, he said.
