As reported in the December issue of The New Falcon Herald, a group of Falcon residents has registered “Citizens for a Better Falcon” as an issue committee with Colorado’s secretary of state.Their goal is to educate Falcon-area voters about the benefits of incorporating as a city.The committee consists of Mike Hurd, Brian Swanson, Frank Gonzalez, Lynne Bliss, Jason Gray, Domenic Zambrano and Chris Wright.”People are concerned about local control and the way Falcon has developed,” Hurd said.The committee has already received several e-mails from Falcon residents, he said.One e-mail decried the number of auto parts and liquor stores in Falcon, and another described the 300 units of multi-family housing planned across from Falcon High School as “a ghetto waiting to be born.”If Falcon was incorporated, people would have a substantial voice regarding development, Hurd said.Sarah Cutting supports the incorporation effort and said she is concerned about the number of fast food restaurants in Falcon. “I don’t want Falcon to be the fast food stop between Peyton and Colorado Springs,” she said.Chain stores aren’t necessarily bad if they’re locally owned, like Culver’s restaurant, Hurd said.One dollar spent at a locally owned business multiplies to $4.30 as it spreads through the local economy, he said.As a city, Falcon could use zoning to control local development. Permits would probably be approved more quickly and prove less costly than the county’s rates, Hurd said.The committee has been gathering and analyzing data on how to fund the city of Falcon and the potential services.The city wouldn’t need its own fire or police departments. The Falcon Fire Protection District would continue to operate as is, Lynne Bliss said. The city could contract for urban level service from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and for snow removal from the El Paso County transportation department or a private company, she said.The committee is considering a roughly rectangular boundary with Rex Road to the north (but jogging north to include all of the houses in Meridian Ranch), Curtis Road to the east, Falcon Highway to the south and an irregular western boundary reaching as far as Mustang Road and Vollmer Road.The area includes 6,600 property owners who are currently paying about $750,000 in property taxes to El Paso County and the El Paso County road and bridge fund, Hurd said.If Falcon incorporated, the $750,000 would be diverted to city coffers.Hurd estimated the city would need a budget of $3.5 to $6 million a year, which means that property tax revenue would not be enough to fund the city.Sales tax is another source of revenue. There are 278 businesses, including Wal-Mart, which generates plenty of sales tax revenue; within the proposed city boundary, Hurd said.The committee has been studying budgets from Monument and Woodland Park, and Hurd has been working with the Colorado Department of Revenue to get precise sales tax data.”County commissioner Amy Lathen has been very responsive to our requests, but we could really use some help from Amy Stephens and Mark Waller (House District representatives),” Hurd said.He said the committee is considering opting out of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, which would subtract 1 percent from the local sales tax rate. The city could then have a 1.5 percent city sales tax, which wouldn’t be a huge rate increase, Hurd said.However, opting out of the PPRTA could jeopardize several road projects within the proposed city or surrounding its boundary. The Briargate/Stapleton extension to connect Black Forest Road to Meridian Road, the connection of Curtis Road to Highway 24 and Curtis Road improvements from Judge Orr Road to Highway 94 are some of the projects listed at http://pprta.org.The committee is working toward a vote for November.”Our goal is to have a very clear proposition that defines the proposed city’s budget, taxes, boundaries and structure of government,” Hurd said.If the voters approve incorporation, there must be another election within 100 days to vote on city council members and the city’s charter, he said.The elected city council will form departments and set up intergovernmental agreements, Hurd said.The committee is currently looking for volunteers for a steering committee to put together a vision of the proposed city and another steering committee to plan its implementation.”I’m really looking for a good representation of people to make this a city we all want to be part of,” Cutting said.”One of the things that shot down the previous incorporation effort was that the voters did not know the people backing incorporation,” Hurd said.”We want to be different. We want the voters to know us.”Town hall meetingThe committee will hold a town hall meeting from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Grace Community Church.”We would like to see hundreds of people at the town hall meeting,” Hurd said.The committee has a Web site – http://CityOfFalcon.net – where information about the committee members is posted. The Web site also will provide incorporation information.To volunteer for a steering committee or to send a comment to the committee, e-mail City_of_Falcon@yahoo.com.Grace Community Church is located at 9475 Grace Church View. From Woodmen Road, take Meridian Road north, turn left on Londonderry Drive, turn right on Rockingham Drive, and then right on Grace Church View.
