By Jon Huang
On April 13, the nonprofit advocacy group, Friends of Falcon, held its second community meeting at JAKs Brewing at 11860 Stapleton Drive at the corner of Meridian and Stapleton. The board of the Friends of Falcon organized the event: Kevin Curry, Tonni Sultana, Yvonne Shell and Janet McMonigal.
Popcorn chicken and fried cheese curds were provided by JAKs. In addition to the FoF’s board of directors, Sgt. Jason Haag and Lt. Josh Seiter with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and Carrie Geitner, representing District 2 on the El Paso County Board of Commissioners, also attended.
The officers discussed the anticipated opening of the new sheriff’s substation, which will cost upward of $15million.
Geitner said the substation will be funded primarily through the public safety sales tax. Haag reported that the substation is scheduled to break ground this summer with plans to finish the project in the summer 2025. Haag, who works in traffic enforcement, discussed concerns over car and motorcycle speeding on major roads, working with county engineers on improving troublesome intersections and how the department is working to address staffing issues. As far as staffing, EPSO is close to being fully staffed with a sizable number of people who still need training.
In the last three years, El Paso County has led the state in traffic fatalities. Since 2023, the top three intersections for accidents have been at Stapleton and Meridian, Meridian and Woodmen, and Woodmen and Highway 24. Haag encouraged drivers to slow down, use their seatbelts and not drive distracted or intoxicated.
As this was being a discussed, a motorcycle was seen speeding down Stapleton.
“He’s got to be doing 70,” remarked one resident.
Geitner spoke on how speeding has increased with the expansion of roads. She also addressed residents’ concerns about Colorado Springs potentially annexing Falcon. She said it was highly unlikely for this to happen given the costs the city would have to incur and infrastructure considerations such as road maintenance.
FoF’s chairman, Kevin Curry, mentioned that he is currently working on gathering demographic information on the area that will help attract future businesses and services. He also mentioned potentially developing a mailer about local issues once they receive adequate donations. In the meantime, he and his fellow board members continue to welcome suggestions about future community events and concerns related to local land and development issues as the town continues to grow.
