Last spring, Black Forest resident, Leif Garrison, had an idea to create a community park at the intersection of Shoup Road and Black Forest Road, site of the old Black Forest fire station.It was like a light bulb went on, said Leif Garrison, who presented his idea to the fire district’s board in February.Peter Burleson, chairman of the board, said they were happy to find a use for the site that would benefit all residents of Black Forest.The proposed park would be near the Black Forest Log School and the Black Forest Community Club and across the street from the general store, Garrison said. “The location is right in the heart of Black Forest. It’s an idea everybody can get behind,” he said.The district is currently using the old station to store equipment that could be stored elsewhere, said Dave Ury, fire chief. It’s also used for storing equipment for the Pikes Peak Firefighters Association’s rehab team, Ury said.The rehab team is a group of volunteers that provides first aid, health checks and food for firefighters working fires and hazmat incidents that require them to be on the scene for long periods of time.”They’re going to be very much out of a home if we tear that station down,” Ury said. “There’s no place for them to go.”Ury said his district might be able to provide outdoor storage for some of the rehab team’s equipment, but there are few fire departments that have spare, heated space available.While the old station is used for storage, the district is still paying for its maintenance and utilities, which is something they would like to discontinue.”We really are looking to rid ourselves of that building,” Ury said.Until reality struck in the form of 2011 zoning requirements, the district had planned to sell the property and put the proceeds in the district’s operating budget, he said.As the property is zoned today, it can only be used for religious, library or emergency services, Burleson said. To be rezoned for other purposes, the parcel would have to meet all the county’s current zoning requirements. The result would be a footprint so small it would make the property impossible to sell, he said.Another problem: The property is on a well and has its own septic system. Any future owner would have to get variances to do anything with the utilities, Ury said.A potential buyer would also have to deal with the Black Forest Log School, which sits on the parcel’s southwest corner.Since Garrison proposed the idea of the community buying the old fire station, the Black Forest Community Foundation Inc. has been formed as a tax-deductible, nonprofit organization.Garrison is chairman of the foundation’s board and a Black Forest resident; Ron Brown is the foundation’s president.The Internal Revenue Service has not yet certified the foundation as a 501(c)3, but Garrison said they’re close to receiving the status.A park committee has also been formed. Members include Burleson, Carrie Robertson from the Friends of the Log School, and Carolyn Brown, chairwoman of the Black Forest Community Club, as well as other members of the latter two groups.There’s always room on the committee for more volunteers because there’s plenty of work to do, Garrison said.The Black Forest Community Club has been supportive, agreeing to match the first $5,000 the foundation raises toward the purchase of the property, Garrison said.”I really am thinking that a very big milestone will be when we have that first $10,000 in the bank,” he said, adding that by then they should have an idea of how long it will take to reach the $25,000 mark.With $25,000, the foundation can request a $25,000 matching grant from the El Paso County Urban Park Grant program, Garrison said.The foundation and fire district have not yet agreed on a purchase price.”We’re going to be fair to them, and they’re going to be fair to us, but it depends a lot on how much it’s going to cost to remove the old building, grade it and make initial preparations for the park,” Garrison said.For 2011, the county assessor values the nearly quarter of an acre parcel at $45,727 and the improvements at $357,073.Garrison said he hopes that $50,000 will be enough to purchase the property and remove the building.The foundation could also apply for an additional $10,000 or $15,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado to plan and build the park itself, he said.Planning for the park itself has barely begun.”We want the community’s input,” Garrison said.The Black Forest Community Club will host at least two public meetings to discuss park design.The old fire station was built soon after World War II on land the community had used as open space for years.”In the pre-war days, especially the days when the log school itself was functioning, that piece of property was open, apparently used by the community,” Garrison said. He said students probably skated on a small pond that froze in the winter and tied their horses to the hitching posts next to the school.It was used by the community for all these years, and now the land can be a community asset again in the form of a park, he said.Fundraising starts Aug. 13 – the same day as the Black Forest Festival.Donations can be mailed to 6770 Shoup Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80908
