The property on the corner of McLaughlin Road and Old Meridian Road in Falcon, Colo., saw a lot of activity in January. Doug and Jen Gesick, owners of Gesick Motors, which is located on a portion of the property, also own the property adjacent to the car lot. They decided to expand the parking lot to make space for additional vehicle inventory, Doug Gesick said.Part of the expansion included moving the stone monument placed by the former owners, Arthur D. and Ann Miller Van Sant. Gesick had the stone moved to a nearby concrete platform, formerly a well, and has plans to level it out, since the stone leans to the rear.ìI bought the property five years ago and have been taking care of the space around the monument since then,î he said. ìI gave the Van Sant family every opportunity to come out here and move or take the monument, and they chose not to.îGesick said he never intended to completely remove the monument; he moved it to a more convenient location to accommodate the expansion. He said community members have mistakenly thought the monument marked a city-or-county-owned park, since the stoneís plaque states, ìCentennial Park.î The park is part of the property he purchased from the Van Sants and has never really been used as anything, he said.Leslie Pfalmer, daughter of Ann Van Sant and stepdaughter of Art Van Sant (who is deceased), said the park used to have a swing-set in addition to the stone monument, a ìFalcon, Coloradoî wooden sign and trees that encompassed the site.ìThe rock was designated to stay where it was,î she said. ìMy mom kind of intimated that he (Art Van Sant) had donated that piece of property, but I do not know where the property line is.îCraig McConnell, owner of Avalar Real Estate Solutions in Falcon, handled the sale of the property between the Van Sants and Gesick. He said, ìI was concerned at first but according to the title work, if that property was ever donated, it was never recorded that way.î The park was part of the property and was not listed as belonging to any other entity, he said.Pfalmer said she was disappointed to find out that the park was gone. ìIt was not very big, but it was cute,î she said.Gesick added a vinyl fence around the perimeter of his property. He said, ìThat area has always been a shortcut for everyone, and I do not want people to keep coming through there.îIt has been rumored that Aspen Auto Clinic might be moving to the area, but no one responded to The New Falcon Heraldís attempts to contact Aspen Auto over the last six weeks.
