The Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District submitted its amended and restated service plan to the county in April.According to the new service plan, as posted at the Woodmen Hills Web site, the district needs to modify its current service plan to the following:
- Build a new wastewater treatment facility for customers in and outside the district to meet the Colorado Department of Health’s discharge standards
- Expand Recreation Center West and build a third recreation center to accommodate increased population at build-out
- Provide design review and covenant enforcement services if desired by a majority of residents in filings 1 through 10 and for any new residential filings, if not provided by the filings’ owners associations
The new plan states the district will ìpool (see editorís note) the residents in filings 1 through 10 through ballot questions in the May 2012 regular special electionî and will not provide covenant enforcement services in those filings until the outcome of the election is known.Under the new plan, the district can issue $53 million in debt and hold elections that allow voters to decide on imposing a mill levy (capped at 50 mills) to pay off debt and fund district services (capped at 10 mills).The plan estimates that Woodmen Hills is about 65 percent built out; and, in the next 20 years, the district will need to spend $10,900,000 on its water supply system, $15,200,000 on wastewater treatment and $11 million on parks and recreation.Evan Ela, the district’s attorney, said the plan is not final.County staff could request changes, as well as the planning commission and the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, based on public comment.Everyone in the district will receive direct notification about the date of the BOCC hearing, Ela said.Woodmen Hills resident Richard Fisher attended the district’s April 28 board meeting and asked why the new plan specifically exempts 72 homes in the Courtyard West subdivision from wastewater and tap fees when they are built.ìThat’s an error, and we have to change it,î said Larry Bishop, the district’s general manager.Fisher also questioned the overcapacity of the wastewater treatment plant authorized by the new service plan, given the finite number of houses that can be built in the district.ìWhy should taxpayers pay for extra capacity?î he asked.Bishop said the new facility will need to process 1 million gallons a day at build-out strictly for Woodmen Hills residents.The language in the new service plan is for other developers who want to join the district during the design phase, he said. In that case, developers would have to prove they have water for their development and deed it to the district.ìIf you don’t have the water, we’re not going to serve you,î Bishop said.A new developer would also be required to pay upfront for the cost of expanding the wastewater treatment facility, as well as other fees to cover any debt the district might incur by accepting a new developer, he said.Fisher was not satisfied.ìI’m concerned we’ll start treating sewage from all over the state and we’ll be the sewage treatment city of Colorado,î he said.Board member Robert Lovato said it only makes sense to build the plant so it’s expandable and the state could require expandability to get the permit.Jan Pizzi, board president, defended the plan, too.ìDo you want to have tunnel vision and not think of the future? We don’t want to come back next year and amend the service plan to make a bigger waste water treatment plant,î she said. ìWhy would we do that and spend the money again?îFisher was also concerned that the district is not watering greenbelt areas. Bishop said there is no system in place for watering, but Pizzi said a system was installed and vandalized years ago. She was told it would be expensive to repair.ìIf it exists and needs repair, I will start working on that immediately,î Bishop said.However, the district’s contract with Meridian Ranch requires the delivery of a certain amount of wastewater for golf course irrigation.Bishop promised to have an answer for the next board meeting.To view the plan, visit http://woodmenhills.info
Editors note: We took the exact words from the Woodmen Hills Web site regarding the new plan: ìpool the residentsî Ö
