CPNMD evaluates service delivery plans
By Chris Michlewicz
Now that voters have overwhelmingly approved the inclusion of the Castle Pines North Metro District’s (CPNMD) water and wastewater utilities with those of the Parker Water & Sanitation District (PWSD), elected leaders are setting their sights on next steps.
CPNMD Board President David McEntire said he was pleasantly surprised by the strong support for Ballot Question 6A. Of the 2,829 votes cast in the May 4 mail-in ballot election, 95.76% were in favor of inclusion.
“We’re grateful for the patience, confidence and trust residents demonstrated,” he said. “After years of hard work, the results are both gratifying and humbling.”
CPNMD’s board of directors advocated merging with a much larger, well-established water district – one that owns Rueter-Hess Reservoir and possesses water rights throughout the Front Range. It is a move the board says will secure a reliable water supply for Castle Pines, improve efficiencies, decrease property taxes, and, according to a feasibility study done jointly by CPNMD and PWSD, reduce monthly bills for 96% of CPNMD’s existing customers.
The inclusion with PWSD will officially take place on January 3, 2022. Over the next seven to eight months, CPNMD will transition water and wastewater utilities to the neighboring water provider. CPNMD will also evaluate the future of its other service and stewardship responsibilities, including the storm drainage system, 14 miles of trails, 352 acres of open space and three parks, including Coyote Ridge Park, Daniels Park and The Retreat Park.
“Our track record is never to forgo an opportunity to improve residents’ quality of life, security and return on mutual investments,” McEntire stated. “If that includes peeling back a level of government or executing transactions that culminate in cost savings for our residents and homeowners, then that’s what we intend to gauge these next seven months.”
The district board has a “unified flexibility” in these decisions and has opportunities to maximize efficiencies and economies of scale, McEntire said. District staff and the board “will leave no stone unturned” in its continuing evaluation, which will include resident input.
There is still much work to be done to physically and administratively to connect the districts, including installing an 18-inch pipeline along Hess Road that would run from PWSD’s water purification plant to CPNMD’s systems – a project McEntire estimates will take a minimum of three years to complete.
With the inclusion moving forward, 75% of the water needed to supply Castle Pines at full buildout is now secured.
