The Department of Veterans Affairs has narrowed a pool of candidate locations for an El Paso County veteransí cemetery down to two. Falcon’s 4-Way Ranch and Fountain’s Kane Ranch locations have been eliminated from consideration. Two locations on Bradley Road, about 15 miles south of Falcon are the finalists.The final locations include Rolling Hills Ranch, which is near the intersection of Bradley and South Meridian roads, and Bradley Heights, which is about 3 miles west, near Bradley and South Marksheffel roads.The VA currently has two national cemeteries in Colorado. Fort Lyon National Cemetery in Las Animas serves the southeast portion of the state, and Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver serves the central portion of the state, according to a background document published by the VA. Both are expected to be full by 2030.A committee of local political and civic figures, along with the VA,created the Programmatic Environmental Assessment to evaluate the four proposed locations. According to the PEA document, the intended location must have the ability to provide ìfull-casket and cremains gravesites, administration and maintenance facilities and associated infrastructure such as roadways, utility systems, irrigation, signage and landscaping.î The document states that 9,000 interment sites will be built on the chosen location ñ enough to serve the needs of the region for 100 years.Residents of southern Colorado Springs and Pueblo are not pleased about the elimination of the Kane Ranch location. ìI’m disappointed in the announcement excluding Kane Ranch site as a possible location,î said Congressman Scott Tipton of Pueblo. ìThe Kane Ranch location in Fountain would be even more accessible for veterans south of Colorado Springs.îAccording to the VA document, ìFinding of No Significant Impact,î the decision will be made at the end of the year. After the location is finalized, the VA will begin a master design and planning phase, which will take about 12 to 15 months. Groundbreaking and construction will begin soon after that. The first burials will take place in late 2015.
