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The Cimarron Hills Fire Protection District Board of Directors voted 4-1 tonight to place a question on the November ballot seeking a mill levy rate of 12.2. The current rate is 11.11. If passed, the average homeowner would pay about $1 a month more in taxes.

Both pilot and passenger perished when a small Cessna plane crashed in an open field Monday morning, Aug. 23. The accident happened on property located about five miles south of Calhan on Washington Road. The property owner called the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at 11:47 a.m. to report a plane down in her field. She was not home at the time of the crash. The plane missed her residence by about 500 yards. Six of her horses were in the pasture, but none were injured.

The victims have not yet been identified pending investigation by the coroner and notification of next of kin. No details regarding the pilot’s flight plan was available at this writing. Lt. Lari Sevene with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said it appeared that the plane just dropped out of the air, landing on its belly. There was no fire. Sevene said the debris field around the plane was only about 30 feet. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate further.

Falcon Fire Chief Trent Harwig announced the results of the recent Insurance Service Office (ISO) evaluation of the department. Property insurance companies base their rates on the  ISO rating for the responding fire department.

An ISO review is extensive, and evaluators look at three major sections: fire alarm/dispatch; equipment and personnel; and water supply. Each element gets a point value and the total number of points determines the level of service a fire district offers its residents. In the past, points were averaged throughout a fire district, so that everyone in that district received the same rate.

The averaging process no longer applies. Some residents will see their rating reduced, while others will be increased. The ISO set Falcon’s previous rate at Class 6 in 1999. The new schedule determined Falcon to be a Class 5/7/10 fire department. This new category separates properties into Class 5, 7 or 10 based on distance from a fire hydrant and fire station. Class 5 rating applies to all residential properties within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant and within five miles of a Falcon Fire station or any station in which Falcon has an automatic aid agreement, such as Cimarron Hills or Black Forest.

Class 7 rates apply to residential properties beyond 1000 feet of a hydrant but still within five miles of a fire station. Properties that are more than five miles from a station receive a Class 10 rating, regardless of the location of a fire hydrant. Class 10 is the lowest protection level and the highest insurance premium rate. Harwig said there are only about 100 properties in the Class 10 area.

To identify the ISO rate for your property, visit the El Paso County Assessor’s website at http://land.elpasoco.com and verify that your property is located within the Falcon Fire Protection District. Then visit the Falcon Fire Department webpage (www.falconfirepd.org) to locate the station nearest you. Next log on to an internet map such as Google Maps to determine the driving distance from your property to closest Falcon, Black Forest or Cimarron Hills fire station.

These rates become effective in September. Insurance agents interviewed for this story were unable to provide a range of how a property insurance premium might change. Most said there would not be a significant difference. Many companies already determine rates based on how close the property is to a fire hydrant and fire station. They also consider a homeowner’s claim history and credit rating when setting premiums.

On legal advice, the Woodmen Hills board of directors voted to discontinue funding covenant enforcement for filings 1-10. The issue of covenants has caused considerable discontent within the district with strong emotions on both sides.

The issue would never have gotten to this point were it not for a few persistent residents who believed that covenant enforcement process was not done legally.

“I’m shocked and dismayed that it took this long for people to take a reasonable look at this situation. Even I, as a lay person, could see this is wrong,” said Chuck Warne, one of the residents who brought the suit against the district.

Problems began in late 2007 when a few property owners formed the Woodmen Hills Covenant Management Board to enforce covenants in Filings 1-10, except 7 (the commercial area). The district began collecting $6.50 per month from residents to pay a management company to drive around the district and note violations.

That didn’t sit right with five property owners in Filing 8. In reading covenant documents, they believed that it was illegal for Woodmen Hills to collect fees and enforce covenants. They filed suit in 2009 and won their case. In July, the WHMD board ruled to exempt Filing 8 from covenant enforcement. About that time, the board hired new legal counsel and tasked them with a review of covenants.

That review prompted the board to end funding for covenant enforcement in Filings 1-10, except 7. Several areas of Woodmen Hills have separate homeowners’ associations. Courtyards, Metro Club, Parkside, and Filing 11 were each established with separate homeowner associations to handle, among other things, covenant enforcement. Those areas are not affected by the decision.

Falcon School District D-49 voters will be asked in November to approve a bond to finance $125 million in school expansion projects. In spite of the slowing economy, growth in that district grew by 3 percent last year. A 14 percent growth rate in previous years has contributed to the current deficiency of classroom space. Growth projections show that if the district grows 4 percent a year, every school in the district will be at total capacity by the 2014-2015 school year. Five of their nine elementary schools will reach 170 percent or more.

“Alleviating overcrowding helps us maintain small class sizes and attract quality teachers,” says Board Treasurer Andy Holloman. “It will also help us keep up with building maintenance and create a learning environment in which students can succeed.”

If passed, the bond would fund 3,500 additional seats throughout the district. Recently completed Falcon High School and Vista Ridge High School would each get a 400-student wing. An auxiliary gym and athletic fields would also be added to Vista.

At the middle school level, a new 900-student Horizon Middle School would be built on grounds of the current school, which accommodates only 600 students. That will alleviate overcrowding at Skyview.

A new 300-student middle school would be built in Falcon near Woodmen Hills Elementary School to relieve the overcrowding at Falcon Middle School.

Two new elementary schools are also in the plans. Indigo Ranch would receive a new 900-student K-8 school, and Falcon would get another 600-student school near Falcon Middle School.

A total of 25 classrooms across the district would be added where they are needed most.

School officials say the cost of the requested bond amounts to less than $3.25 per month per $100,000 in property value.

Three builders in Meridian Ranch will feature homes in this year’s 56^th Annual Parade of Homes. Sponsored by the Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs, the event will run Aug. 5 – Aug. 22, from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. each day.

Classic Homes will display their home at 10322 Capital Peak Way, Vantage Homes at 10312 Capital Peak Way, and Richmond Homes at 9706 Fleece Flower Way.

Tickets are available at Safeway stores and are priced at $10 for adults, 18-64, and $5 for age 65 and older. Tickets are good for all days of the show. Part of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Care and Share food bank.

If anyone has comments about the Falcon Festival, please feel free to post them here. I attended the Eastern Plains Chamber meeting this morning and received several which I will share with the Festival committee when we meet in a couple of weeks.

When I was asked to leave the Woodmen Hills Covenant Management Board meeting tonight (July 6), I suspected that WHCMB decided to exclude Filing 8 (of which I am a resident) and part of 9. I was right. This area was the subject of a recent lawsuit in which Filing 8 resident Chuck Warne prevailed. The appeals court upheld his belief that the District did not have the legal authority to collect fees for covenants in those filings. Since that ruling and until tonight, it wasn’t clear whether WHCMB and the Woodmen Hills Metro Board would apply the ruling only to the five named in the suit or to all residents. Common sense would tell us that if five received such a ruling, so would any other resident in those filings if they also filed suit. To attempt to enforce covenants or collect fees would risk another legal battle that the District would likely lose.

Although WHCMB would not comment on whether the Metro District would pursue other avenues of enforcement, both Director Robert Lovato and Keith Moulton publicly said that the Metro District shouldn’t be in the business of enforcing covenants.

What’s next?

The alternative is for residents in Filing 8/9 to get together to decide on a course of action for fee collection and enforcement. Someone would have to spearhead that effort. I don’t see that happening.

So what’s next? More than likely, Filing 8 and part of 9 will fill up with RVs, boats, and trailers. Garbage cans will be left next to the garage, and weeds will linger in rock landscaping for longer than they should. Our neighborhood will look “lived in.” And maybe that’s OK. I’m not a “House Beautiful” person nor are most of my neighbors.

That may not be to the liking of the rest of Woodmen Hills, but as the old saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” There are still county regulations for rubbish and weeds.

The end result is that the District will not collect fees nor enforce covenants in Filing 8/9 as named in the Warne lawsuit. Colorado Management will also reduce their fee because they will have fewer properties to monitor. They charge $3.25 per house plus expenses.

Throughout Saturday, July 3, more than 500 people attended the Falcon Freedom Days and Festival, the mostly annual event held to commemorate Independence Day. The corner of Meridian Ranch Blvd and Stapleton Drive became the place to bring your family for an hour or two of games, food and music.

The celebration provided a continuous supply of entertainment throughout the day. It began with a pancake breakfast and Rodders Car Show at Woodmen Hills Rec Center East. At 9, kids decorated their bikes then set off on a parade from the rec center to the festival grounds at Stapleton Drive and Meridian Ranch Blvd. At the edge of the festival grounds, runners competed in 1K and 5K runs.

Kids decorated their bikes for the bike parade

By 9 a.m., nearly 70 vendor booths were open for business and offered a variety of products and services such as construction, roofing, auto repair, real estate, makeup, candles and jewelry. Many offered giveaways and door prizes. Games and competitions during the event included a speed stacker competition, watermelon eating, chicken dance, Macarena, and Hokey Pokey contests. Prizes were awarded to who had the longest hair and who had the shortest hair.

The Women’s Council of Realtors-sponsored dunking booth brought out competitors with a strong arm. Businesses gave away door prizes such as a 50” plasma TV, a stainless steel dishwasher, pizzas, haircuts, Skysox tickets and gift cards.

Kids could jump around in four inflatable bounce houses. The American Cancer Society received the proceeds. Both children and adults found the “Hamster Ball” a fun ride.

"Hamster ball" ride

The Falcon Fire Department offered tours through a smoke house to teach children what to do during a fire emergency. Kids swarmed through the Sheriff’s Office SWAT team armored vehicle and sat in an old 1968 patrol car.

Firefighter Matt Gibbs helps a child climb down the ladder

Pikes Peak Community College and Falcon Virtual Academy both offered information about their educational services. The Pikes Peak Library District sold books. The funds will go toward the new High Prairie Library to be completed in Falcon sometime in early September.

Local businessman, Brian Swanson, volunteered his emcee services throughout the day while the band Velvet Rut provided a variety of music.

As a fitting end to the day, Boy Scout Troop 149 performed a flag retirement ceremony at 4 p.m.

Boy Scout Flag retirement ceremony

Meridian Ranch District Manager Tim Hunker took the lead in organizing the committee that planned this festival. Sponsors included Meridian Ranch Metropolitan District, State Bank, Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District, Integrity First Financial, Avalar Real Estate, Falcon SD 49, Falcon Collision Center, Falcon Auto, Town and Country Pre-school, Ranchland News, New Falcon Herald, Falcon Fire Dept and Antler Creek Golf Course.