Power Politics in Castle Pines North

After the demotion of the CPN City Treasurer, which was extensively reported on in the last edition of the Castle Pines Connection, recent inquiries have revealed that the City owes over $1,500,000 to various entities, most of it in contractual obligations to consulting firms and lawyers.

In an effort to obtain desperately needed funds, the City recently requested jurisdiction over the local water provider, the CPN Metro District. The District is funded by your tax dollars. The City’s plan would divert tax revenues needed for water to other municipal uses and transfer management of our local parks to a multinational corporation.

A July 14 letter from the mayor to the District requested the “incremental integration of services and functions of the District within the City.” Much like a python eats a pig, the City plans to swallow the District whole and digest it bit by bit.

In evaluating the City’s ability to wisely manage the operations and revenues of the District, consider the following:

• Until June, the City was paying $160,629 per month for city management services from CH2M Hill. This amount was recently reduced to $79,124 per month. Taxpayers can applaud the cost reductions, but city expenditures were irrationally high from the outset and spending continues to exceed revenue.

• As reported in June issue of The Castle Pines Connection, City Council "stripped the city treasurer of virtually all power" and appointed a deputy treasurer citing “a lack of confidence in financial disclosure and transparency.”

• Four former members of the CPN Master Association, now city officials, authorized a loan of $200,000 from the public funds of the Master Homeowners Association. Those same individuals now resist paying the balance of the money back despite earlier public promises to do so.

• The City has enacted 12 ordinances which require the payment of a fee or tax. This occurred after campaign promises of “no new property taxes for any CPN resident.”

I have confidence that the CPN Metro District can responsibly manage water resources, provide renewable water for the future, and manage our parks and open space. Until the City lives up to its promise of transparency in government and demonstrates some measure of fiscal responsibility, I cannot advocate the transfer of millions of dollars of tax revenues from the District to the City.

Castle Pines North: A New Website and a New Blog

The City of Castle Pines North announced it's new website to residents via email today. The site promoted a series of "planned financial forums" that will feature a review of the City’s 2008 budget, a presentation of the 2009 budget and an opportunity for citizens to ask questions.

Alternatively, a local citizen organization, CPN Homeowners for a Solid Foundation, launched it's blog yesterday. Citing proposed higher taxes and a reallocation of funds away from water projects, the blog urges taxpayers to "vote no" on City sponsored ballot initiatives.

Links to each site can be found below.

http://www.cpngov.com

http://cpnhomeowners.blogspot.com/

City Opposes T-Mobile Cell Site

A cell tower proposed for the corner of Monarch and Daniels Gate was recently denied by the City of Castle Pines North. "The site was designed to provide vastly improved coverage to the residents and Emergency 911 needs of T-Mobile subscribers in northern Castle Pines North," said Matt Butler, Senior Project Manager for T-Mobile.

The City Attorney, relying on a 20-year old document known as the Castle Pines North Development Guide, stated in a letter to City Planner, Sam Bishop that "a cell tower is not a permitted use in the Open Space under the Castle Pines North Development Guide." The City Attorney's letter went on to explain that "facilities of a public utility" are distinct from "utilities services and facilities."

Castle Pines North Metropolitan District Manager, Jim McGrady explained the proposal at the District's monthly meeting on Monday. The cell tower, disguised as a street light, was to have been installed in the right-of-way with underground cabling to a nearby well site. T-Mobile was prepared to substantially improve the well site by adding landscaping, a stone veneer wall and paving the entry to the site. Now it appears these improvements will have to wait, along with the improved phone service.

The City Attorney's narrow reading of the Development Guide may have cost the community an opportunity to improve it's notoriously poor cell phone coverage. Instead of relying on legal nuances in outdated documents, this community would be better served by public officials who found ways to get things accomplished.

Castle Pines North at Important Crossroads (Again)

The City of Castle Pines North will face several key hurdles in the coming weeks. The newly incorporated city has been scrambling to fill a $2 million revenue shortfall. On July 21, City officials suddenly found that anticipated revenues would not be available to the City from the existing mill levy assessed by the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District. Those revenues had been previously pledged to lending institutions by the District in order to secure water storage in the Reuter-Hess Reservoir.

According to CPN Metro District manager, Jim McGrady, transferring the District's mill levy to the City would leave the District too constrained for bonding capacity.

Since then, the City has been discussing alternative financing plans with the District's financial manager and board members. Under consideration is a proposal to have the CPNMD reduce the mill levy currently used by the District to pay down debt. The City would then assess a similar tax to fund it's own operations. This approach would appease City officials who were elected on a "no new taxes" platform. However, it would postpone the defeasance of Metro District bonds. These bonds were scheduled to be retired beginning in 2013, resulting in a lower tax rate to the citizens of CPN. The tax would be picked up by the City and assessed "in perpetuity" to fund City operations. Under this plan, lower taxes for CPN seem a remote possibility.

On July 29, City officials and consultants from CH2M Hill met with members of the CPN Metro District and the Hidden Pointe Metro District, both of which operate within the boundaries of the City. Board members from both Metro Districts questioned representatives from CH2M Hill and the City Treasurer, Doug Gilbert on the accuracy of figures presented in the feasibility study used to promote the incorporation effort. Many board members were skeptical of the consultant's answers, and some viewed the City's efforts to capture Metro District revenues as detrimental to the pursuit of renewable water.

CPNMD board members may soon vote on whether or not to reduce the District's mill levy to allow the City to move forward with it's own tax assessment. In any event, voters can expect to see one or more ballot questions proposed by the City to secure tax revenues to fund City operations. City officials will be faced with the prospect of floating another tax measure with little funds in the coffer to promote it.