Sallie Clark, El Paso County Commissioner , Colorado Springs, Colorado
719-520-6413 sallieclark@elpasoco.com
Ten or twenty years from now when we look back on the events that made news in 2009, I suspect we’ll find that an event in Denver on April 30 should have made bigger headlines. The signing of State SB141 was barely mentioned by most of our local media. It’s not surprising; the legislature passes and the Governor signs many bills and only a handful make the front page. But I’m convinced that ten or twenty years from now, when we look back, we’ll view the signing of SB141 as a major milestone.
SB141 created the Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control and Greenway District. It marks an important turning point in local history – the day we all took joint responsibility for Fountain Creek. The District is a legal entity that stretches across both El Paso County and Pueblo County lines. It provides elected representatives in both counties a way to solve the long standing and complex problems that result when more and more homes and businesses use water in El Paso County and then release that water down Fountain Creek to be re-used in the Arkansas Valley.
In signing the bill, the Governor noted, “This represents an incredible collaborative accomplishment between two counties, over an extremely contentious issue.” In truth, it took years of negotiations. The sixty-page legislation signed into law last month was painstakingly written and rewritten. With legal assistance from Pueblo County and Colorado Springs Utilities, El Paso County’s own Assistant County Attorney Cole Emmons and Water Authority Manager Gary Barber worked many long days; attended many late night and early morning meetings and spent hours in consultation with lawyers and elected representatives throughout the Watershed area to come up with the final legislation.
No one said it would be easy, but when we see Fountain Creek transitioning from a public concern to valuable asset, it will be worth everything that went into making it happen. Just as Cherry Creek and Confluence Park are shining examples for the Denver area, Fountain Creek can become our own shining example for both Pueblo and El Paso Counties as envisioned by former Sen. Salazar when he established his “Crown Jewel” plan. The new district will receive $50 million in gradual funding through Colorado Springs Utilities payments for mitigation improvements of Fountain Creek as a result of the Southern Delivery System. In addition, it will now be eligible for additional grants as a State designated watershed authority.
This was truly a collaboration of 3-1/2 years of hard work—by El Paso and Pueblo County Commissioners and City Council Members from Pueblo and Colorado Springs, small cities and towns throughout the region from Palmer Lake to Manitou Springs to Fountain, environmental groups, Congressional representatives, the military, councils of governments, utilities from both Pueblo and Colorado Springs, water agencies from El Paso County and the Lower Arkansas Valley, and an extensive amount of participation of many others. Our Fountain Creek Visioning group met month after month and year after year to come up with a consensus on issues such as water quality, the environment, and land use planning, just to name a few. While it’s too long a list to mention all the players, the process—sometimes cooperative and sometimes contentious, provided a venue to work through ground breaking good-neighbor agreements. This relationship building exercise also had a positive impact on the future of water availability to our entire region.
And especially unique to Colorado’s political climate, this piece of legislation crossed party lines with Representative Marsha Looper (R-El Paso), Senator Abel Tapia (D-Pueblo) and Representative Sal Pace (D-Pueblo) carrying the bill. They reached across the aisle to assure that SB141 passed unanimously, just as County Commissioner Dennis Hisey (El Paso) and I, along with Commissioner Jeff Chostner (Pueblo) and former Pueblo Commissioner Loretta Kennedy, Vice Mayor Larry Small (Colorado Springs) and Councilwomen Barbara Vidmar and Vera Ortegon (Pueblo) had done to establish a strategic plan and draft the template language for the bill. All of those involved in this process deserve a special thanks for staying the course when it would have been easier to just walk away. As a result, I’m convinced that the commitment and collaboration that started years ago will continue and one day in the not terribly distant future that instead of being a liability, Fountain Creek will be a destination which includes parks, trails and most importantly a beautiful waterway as an asset to our partner communities.
For more information, visit http://www.fountain-crk.org/
719-520-6413 sallieclark@elpasoco.com
Ten or twenty years from now when we look back on the events that made news in 2009, I suspect we’ll find that an event in Denver on April 30 should have made bigger headlines. The signing of State SB141 was barely mentioned by most of our local media. It’s not surprising; the legislature passes and the Governor signs many bills and only a handful make the front page. But I’m convinced that ten or twenty years from now, when we look back, we’ll view the signing of SB141 as a major milestone.
SB141 created the Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control and Greenway District. It marks an important turning point in local history – the day we all took joint responsibility for Fountain Creek. The District is a legal entity that stretches across both El Paso County and Pueblo County lines. It provides elected representatives in both counties a way to solve the long standing and complex problems that result when more and more homes and businesses use water in El Paso County and then release that water down Fountain Creek to be re-used in the Arkansas Valley.
In signing the bill, the Governor noted, “This represents an incredible collaborative accomplishment between two counties, over an extremely contentious issue.” In truth, it took years of negotiations. The sixty-page legislation signed into law last month was painstakingly written and rewritten. With legal assistance from Pueblo County and Colorado Springs Utilities, El Paso County’s own Assistant County Attorney Cole Emmons and Water Authority Manager Gary Barber worked many long days; attended many late night and early morning meetings and spent hours in consultation with lawyers and elected representatives throughout the Watershed area to come up with the final legislation.
No one said it would be easy, but when we see Fountain Creek transitioning from a public concern to valuable asset, it will be worth everything that went into making it happen. Just as Cherry Creek and Confluence Park are shining examples for the Denver area, Fountain Creek can become our own shining example for both Pueblo and El Paso Counties as envisioned by former Sen. Salazar when he established his “Crown Jewel” plan. The new district will receive $50 million in gradual funding through Colorado Springs Utilities payments for mitigation improvements of Fountain Creek as a result of the Southern Delivery System. In addition, it will now be eligible for additional grants as a State designated watershed authority.
This was truly a collaboration of 3-1/2 years of hard work—by El Paso and Pueblo County Commissioners and City Council Members from Pueblo and Colorado Springs, small cities and towns throughout the region from Palmer Lake to Manitou Springs to Fountain, environmental groups, Congressional representatives, the military, councils of governments, utilities from both Pueblo and Colorado Springs, water agencies from El Paso County and the Lower Arkansas Valley, and an extensive amount of participation of many others. Our Fountain Creek Visioning group met month after month and year after year to come up with a consensus on issues such as water quality, the environment, and land use planning, just to name a few. While it’s too long a list to mention all the players, the process—sometimes cooperative and sometimes contentious, provided a venue to work through ground breaking good-neighbor agreements. This relationship building exercise also had a positive impact on the future of water availability to our entire region.And especially unique to Colorado’s political climate, this piece of legislation crossed party lines with Representative Marsha Looper (R-El Paso), Senator Abel Tapia (D-Pueblo) and Representative Sal Pace (D-Pueblo) carrying the bill. They reached across the aisle to assure that SB141 passed unanimously, just as County Commissioner Dennis Hisey (El Paso) and I, along with Commissioner Jeff Chostner (Pueblo) and former Pueblo Commissioner Loretta Kennedy, Vice Mayor Larry Small (Colorado Springs) and Councilwomen Barbara Vidmar and Vera Ortegon (Pueblo) had done to establish a strategic plan and draft the template language for the bill. All of those involved in this process deserve a special thanks for staying the course when it would have been easier to just walk away. As a result, I’m convinced that the commitment and collaboration that started years ago will continue and one day in the not terribly distant future that instead of being a liability, Fountain Creek will be a destination which includes parks, trails and most importantly a beautiful waterway as an asset to our partner communities.
For more information, visit http://www.fountain-crk.org/
