Comments on: County acquires and preserves another 771 acres

By: popsk123

popsk123 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:13:52 +0000

Open space is one the most important programs for the future of Douglas County and its citizens. Without this program sooner or later Douglas County would look like Arapahoe and Denver Counties with nothing but sprawl and grid locked roads.
I realize the funds are limited for purchases but I would like to see some consideration to obtaining some properties in the north east part of the County before the developers get their hands on it. Some properties here have unobstructed views all the way to Pikes Peak, the Rockies, Longs Peak and the prairies half way to Kansas.
We still have time to preserve these vistas for generations to come.

By: Cheryl J Matthews

Cheryl J Matthews — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:43:17 +0000

Diane,
I do understand your concern about the county spending money for open space at a time when there is a salary freeze in the County. The financial condition of the County is of concern to all employees. However, you may not be aware that there is a dedicated open space sales and use tax passed by the voters in 1994 that cannot be used for anything but the protection, management, and maintenance of parks and open space. The $11,000,000 has been spent in the Cherry Creek corridor over the last 15 years of the program. Similar to the Justice Center tax and the Road tax, the open space sales tax is a stand-alone fund that has no impact on general fund that provides most of the salaries and operating expenses for the county. We manage the open space fund very carefully and take advantage of every partnership opportunity possible to leverage our funds. While it may appear to some that the county used poor thinking/planning in making the purchase at this time, the opportunity to purchase the Palmer Divide Ranch at a greatly reduced price due to the downturn in the economy was very stragetic. I would be happy to speak with you if you have more questions or concerns. Thanks for expressing your opinion on the County blog.

By: dcarpent

dcarpent — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:35:22 +0000

As a citizen of Douglas County, I am all for preserving wild life and open spaces. However, at a time when services are being or may be cut and there is a salary freeze in place within the county government, I hardly think that this is the time for the County to spend in excess of $11,000,000 to acquire land. If the County Commisioners had saved even half of this money, I feel that they could have used it for so many other services or departments that are truly in need of it. I think that the decision to buy this land at this time was poor thinking/planning on the part of the County and I am very disappointed.