Pueblo West board welcomes 3 new members, OKs Liberty Point agreement with Pueblo County
The Pueblo West Metro District welcomed three new board members May 27 as the revamped five-member board got to work forging an agreement with Pueblo County for maintenance of the Liberty Point memorial overlook area at Lake Pueblo.
The meeting kicked off with new board members Christopher Pasternak, Rodney Potter and Gregory Roberts taking the oath of office. Bill Vickers was voted president of the board and Brian Axworthy will serve as vice president.
Pasternak was named treasurer and Roberts was tabbed as secretary.
Pueblo West Metro Parks and Recreation Manager Carol Cosby told the board a new trail will be constructed along Purcell Boulevard from Hahn's Peak south to the Liberty Point overlook. Because the overlook is owned by Pueblo County, an intergovernmental agreement is needed to outline how the area will be maintained.
"We will maintain the trail and overlook taking care of things like trash and weeds and they (Pueblo County) will be responsible for the parking lot and roadway," Cosby said of the agreement.
The $1.69 million trail will be paid for by a $1.35 million federal grant awarded through the Colorado Department of Transportation and $338,000 earmarked in the district's budget.
"The trail will be 2.7 miles long. It will tie into two other trails — the Joe Martinez Trail, which was just recently completed and the Medal of Honor Trail, which will be done in the future by the county," Cosby said.
The district will soon initiate a construction bid process. Pueblo West is home to 24.7 miles of trails, all of which have been grant-funded, she said.
The board also discussed the future of Fire Station No. 1, 51 E. Hahn's Peak, which was built in the 1990s as a volunteer fire station and has since been modified to accommodate living quarters in a former storage area. The station needs to be brought up to codes and standards, according to Pueblo West Fire Chief Brian Caserta.
"The most critical part of the modifications will be done first and we will wait for the living quarters in the future," Caserta explained.
Pueblo West Metro District Manager Christian Heyn told the board about $1.4 million will be needed for Fire Station No. 1 upgrades and it will be paid for by the 1-cent fire safety sales tax revenue, which generates between $3.8 million and $3.9 million per year.
Since it was approved by voters in 2020, the sales tax has helped fund the construction of a new Fire Station No. 2 and funds the salaries for 15 firefighters to staff it. Heyn said the district "potentially needs to ask voters to approve the sales tax in perpetuity" because it is due to sunset in 2030.
More: Pueblo West voters won't see fire safety or union initiatives on November ballot
Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via X at x.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo West Metro board welcomes 3 new members
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