Southface Community Association

President's Message

Sep 30, 1999

The northwest quadrant of the city continues to explore ways
to fund our new recreation center. The plan which has $2.8
million allocated from the SCIP bond issue will only cover
the construction of the outdoor pool. It would require
approximately an additional $8 million for us to have a full
service rec center which would include an indoor pool, gym,
fitness rooms, lockers, etc.

Leaders of many of the NW homeowners' associations met with
representatives from the City Attorney's Office and the
Budget Office. There was lengthy discussion on the value
and feasibility of establishing a General Improvement
District (GID). The purpose of the GID would be to provide
the funds upfront to construct the rec center and pay off
the bonds over 20 years with money collected from our
property taxes. It is estimated that property taxes on a
$200,000 home would increase by approximately $31 per year.
It was the consensus of those at the meeting that having a
full service rec center in our area would increase each of
our property values far more than the tax increase per
household.

We discussed the procedure required to create the GID. We
would need to have a majority of all homeowners, who are
registered voters in the GID (within the boundaries of
Garden of the Gods Road, Air Force Academy, I-25 and the
mountains), sign a petition approving the creation of the
GID. Then, assuming a successful petition drive, all
homeowners who are registered voters would be sent a ballot
to approve funding, in the form of bonds, for the project.

It was decided that before we undertook the petition drive,
a sample of homeowners in the area would be asked if they
would support the project. The question of whether you
would support this effort and sign an upcoming petition will
be included with your notice of our annual meeting. Please
send your reply card, along with your proxy, to
Bennett-Shellenberger. It is important that we hear from as
many households as possible to get a feel for the desires of
the community. We can get the volunteers to collect
petition signatures, but we want to know if you want us to
proceed to the next step.

Any questions, please feel free to call me at 535-2673.

Georgeann Duberstein