Art Van Sant and Jean Woolsey are moving forward as they gather the tedious details and information necessary to develop a plan for a possible Falcon incorporation.Van Sant reiterated the primary reason for incorporating to about 25 people who attended the Jan. 20 Falcon incorporation meeting at Falcon Middle School.He said the No. 1 reason to incorporate is to self-govern, to have control in the use of the area’s land – to have a say in development. “People are feeling an intrusion, and they want to determine their own future,” Van Sant said.He also discussed how the new “city” would be financed. If Falcon incorporated, the money it would take to operate the city and the services would come from increased sales taxes – there are no plans to increase property taxes at this time. Addressing the money issues upfront is imperative to any plans to incorporate. “If we are not forthcoming, and we do not explain how we are going to finance, we’ll have a problem as to how we’ll sell this idea,” Van Sant said.Selling the idea means taking it to the voters in November 2005 or April 2006.Jean Woolsey updated everyone on what’s happening in nearby areas. Black Forest continues to research incorporation possibilities, and someone in the audience added that Black Forest is now starting to form committees and they look at boundaries. Woolsey said there is some talk in Peyton about incorporating as well. She also told the crowd that Colorado Springs can annex the area without a vote of the people.Van Sant and Woolsey have developed committees based on what is needed to educate the public and prepare for incorporation. The committees: intra government liaison (intercepting the current government entities – fire department, sheriff’s department, etc.; ways and means; boundaries; administration, maintenance and security (such as police and fire protection and staff issues); utilities; charter and constitution; building codes; inter government; communications and public relations; budget and finance; district committees for areas downtown, northeast, southwest, northwest and northeast.If interested, those who attended the meeting could volunteer for a committee. If anyone is interested, e-mail the NFH at ml@jazzwireless.net or call 683-7292 and leave a message.The next Falcon incorporation meeting will be held Thurs., Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at Falcon Middle School.PLEASE NOTE: There are rumors that the Springs is already eyeing areas east for annexation purposes. Next month, the NFH will report on a possible Springs annexation – the pros and the cons.Reader’s comments on incorporationThe following comments were sent to the NFH after we published a survey by the incorporation committee last month.**I would really love to see Falcon become a city. I am not against Falcon incorporating as a city. Falcon should incorporate as a city within two years. – AnonymousI would really like Falcon to become a city. I am NOT against Falcon incorporating as a city. Falcon should incorporate within two to four years. – AnonymousI am in favor of incorporation. I think incorporation plans should start as soon as possible and should be done within the next 2 to 3 years. I would be interested in being part of a committee. I don’t have experience with such, but I would be happy to do what I could. – Ingrid McdonaldI am interested in the concept of incorporation for our community, and will attend the next meeting on Jan. 20. I am sorry to say that the item called a survey in the New Falcon Herald is very poorly constructed to the point of it being nearly impossible to respond to it. I would be glad to assist in future construction of items for publication.I favor incorporation within the next two years and will volunteer with the committee on incorporation. That single sentence answers all the questions. – Ivan HustonI was writing in regards to the incorporation of Falcon into a city. My vote is no. The area they want to include is too large. My property is on the edge of the map. We have had livestock in this area for 35 years. We do not want to lose our way of life because a few people feel they need more government regulations. – Anonymous
