The Castle Pnes Connection OCT 2008

www.cpnhoa.org
October/November, 2008 Volume 1 l Number 30
City Asks Voters to Consider Re-worded Ballot Questions
by Lisa Crockett
Inside This Issue -
Fire Station Survey Underway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . School Overcrowding in CPN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Development Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... New Sidewalk in CPN . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... CPN Neighborhood News . . . . . . . . . .......... Ballot Questions Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Castle Pines Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . CPNCommunicationSurveyResults...................22 SnowRemovalinCPN...................................25 NeighborhoodHOANews.........................30
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Voters to Decide on
New Library for CPN by Anthonette Klinkerman
Therereallyisanorganizationthatexperiencesgrowing pains during economically stressful times. Families routinelyturntolocallibrarieswhenwatchingexpenses.
“ When the economy goes down, public librar y use goes up,” said John Moorman, director of the Williamsburg Regional Library in Virginia, as noted in The Wall Street Journal, September 2.
Movie rentals, book loans, Internet access, research materials, historical archives, and a quiet place to read are all included in the price of a library card - technically free as local taxes absorb the cost of the service.
Yet, most people prefer to drink down in one sitting (Continued on page 27)
TheDouglasCountyLibraryDistricthostedthe rststorytime inCPNonSeptember8attheCommunityCenter.Spellbinder masterstorytellerPriscillaQueen(farleft),literacycoordinator fortheLibraryDistrict,presentedstoriestoCPNchildren.The outcomeoftheLibraryDistrict’sonemillbondinitiativein NovemberwilldetermineifCPNgetsanewlibrary.(photoby Tim Gamble)
When residents of Castle Pines North (CPN) voted lastNovembertoincorporate,theyalsooverwhelm- ingly passed three tax questions – one sales tax and two property taxes. Each of the property tax ques- tions on the ballot last year simply transferred exist- ing taxes to the new city. As a result, CPN became a city and there was no increase in property tax.
Now, the City of CPN is asking voters to approve a change to correct some technical issues in the original ballot question from November 2007. According to the city, the re-wording of Question 2E from last year will not increase taxes to CPN homeowners. City officials say it involves two tech- nical corrections to the previous tax question related to the transfer of up to 19 mills from the CPN Metro District to the city.
“As the new city has come to life, elected city offi- cials have worked to implement the tax questions under the Colorado taxation system,” said CPN Treasurer Doug Gilbert. “Through the implemen- tation process, several issues with the wording of Question 2E – which appeared on the last election’s
ballot – as passed by the voters have come to light. As originally approved, Question 2E allows transfer of up to 19 mills from the CPN Metro District operating fund to the city to be used only for water and sanitation.”
The original text of Question 2E was drafted by the CPN Election Commission in 2007 with the help of attorneys for the incorporation effort.
During the past few months, representatives of the city and the two Metro Districts (CPN Metro District and the Hidden Pointe Metro District) have been in discussions regarding the mechanics of sharing all or part of the 19 mills that was part of the original ballot Question 2E from 2007. According to Gilbert, sharing of funds between the city and the Metro District would allow for lower cost of government through integrated public services with no increase in property taxes.
“Through the better understanding provided by the collaboration of the city and the Metro Districts, it has become apparent that the original Question 2E from last year was too narrowly written,” said Gilbert.
(Continued on page 17)
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Check Out the City’s New Web Site:
www.cpngov.com
CPN Metro District Celebrates Ground Breaking of Rueter-Hess Reservoir Expansion
by Terri Wiebold
Friday, September 5, 2008 marked a historic event for the Castle Pines North (CPN) Metropolitan District. While some are calling this a drop in the proverbial bucket toward the quest for securing renewable water, others are equating this to the purchase of the bucket itself.
The Metro District finalized its agreement to purchase 1,500 acre-feet of storage space (nearly 489 million gallons) in the Rueter-Hess Reservoir in August, and representatives joined with partners from the Parker Water and Sanitation District,
the town of Castle Rock, and the Stonegate Metropolitan District for the groundbreaking of the reservoir expansion on September 5.
Rueter-Hess is the first major step in providing renewable water to the Castle Pines North community. The reservoir, located in southwest Parker, has a diversion structure on Chery Creek to capture available water flows, and it will supply excess water storage in the event of a water delivery interruption or drought.
MetroDistrictManagerJamesMcGrady(farleft)joinsDistrict boardmembersBillSantos,TedLohrandBruceThompson(left toright)attheRueter-HessReservoirexpansiongroundbreaking ceremonyonSeptember5,2008.(photobyTerriWiebold)
Visit www.castlepineschamber.com for details.
Saturday, October 4
(Continued on page 6) 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Village Square Shopping Center
Gearing Up for Election Day- Important Voter Information
See page 2 for details
Castle Pines North Master Association, Inc. 7402 Yorkshire Drive
Castle Rock, CO 80108
www.cpnhoa.org
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