The Ridge at Fox Run

Voters Reject Water District

This article is from the June 9, 1999 Gazette

Voters reject plan for water district to tackle recreation

Fast-growing area north of Springs wants details

By Pam Zubeck/ The Gazette

Story editor Jeff Thomas; headline by Connie Becchio

Voters have defeated a measure that would have allowed the Donala Water and Sanitation District north of Colorado Springs to expand its mission to include parks and recreation.

Tuesday's vote - 281 to 137 - represented less than a 15 percent voter turnout in the 2,000-acre region that includes Gleneagle, the Ridge at Fox Run and Falcon's Nest subdivisions.

Opponents said the measure, proposed by the district, was too vague.

"Most people would like to see these things," said Jerry Thompson, a resident of Gleneagle. "But instead of developing a plan and presenting it to the people, they
wanted to develop a district and then present a plan, with no assurance the plan would be done."

Established in 1972, the district has seen most of its growth in the past decade. Today, the district serves about 1,450 homes, and more are being added by the week. That means there are few potential recreation spaces available.

District officials proposed to convert the agency into the Donala Metropolitan District, which could have negotiated with developers to obtain space for recreational
facilities, said district manager Dana Duthie.

The area has a regional park - 410-acre Fox Run Regional Park three miles east on Baptist Road - but it lacks neighborhood parks.

The county, which focuses on trails and large regional parks, collects fees from developers to pay for neighborhood parks. But county officials said the fees don't generate enough money to buy choice lots in today's hot real estate market.

A metropolitan district can impose taxes with voter approval, although state law bans the district from seeking a tax increase during its first year.

While residents have indicated in a survey they want a recreation center/health club, community parks and athletic fields, they want to see a detailed plan.

"We had no idea what it would cost, what they'd be able to do and what they'd be able to afford," Thompson said.

"There is very little here" in the way of land that can be used for neighborhood parks, he acknowledged. Still, he said, residents are likely to approve a plan if it
contains specifics.

That's impossible, Duthie said.

"We can't give them a market analysis," he said. "A market analysis of what? Trails that would be developed by a developer?

"How do we know how much money we can get from Great Outdoors Colorado (the state lottery fund for parks) until we apply? How do we know how much we can get from donations or from El Pomar (a local foundation) until we ask them?"

Duthie blamed the defeat on "a general distrust of government in all shapes and forms," and said the district will not propose the issue again.

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