Work on the bus barn will continue with one important issue remaining, but both sides say they work better together than apart
Idaho Springs has rescinded the cease-and-desist order it sent to the Clear Creek School District that stopped the school district from working on a water main at the site of the district’s new bus barn.
In a Sept. 26 letter sent to the school district, Assistant City Administrator Jonathan Cain wrote that work now can continue on a waterline extension at the bus barn site, known as the Transportation and Maintenance Facility or TMF. The building is being constructed on the track south of the former middle school on Highway 103.
“You and district representatives have worked with me and city staff to cure most of those issues over the past two weeks,” Cain wrote in the letter to Mike Moonan, the district’s special projects facilities manager. “While there are some remaining Idaho Springs Municipal Code requirements still unfulfilled, the city will rescind the Sept. 13 cease-and-desist order.”
Conditions listed in the letter included:
- the school district must file a development review cost reimbursement agreement form;
- the city must receive a dedicated easement from CDOT for all areas of the water line extension;
- the district must provide updates at least once every 30 days;
- and the school district must provide city staff access to construction activities to observe, inspect and test, as necessary, to ensure compliance with the plans and designs approved by the city.
In the meantime, city officials say they believe the issues that were part of a lawsuit the city filed against the school district in August will be resolved in the next 10 days, ending the litigation between the two entities over the TMF.
Idaho Springs Mayor Chuck Harmon said the school board has agreed to go before the city’s Planning Commission to present the TMF plans for review.
“The city is trying to expedite the process, so we don’t hold up our valued partner in any way,” Harmon said.
Idaho Springs also took the school district to court in early August because the city contended the school district hadn’t gotten the proper zoning approvals and permits before site work began at the track for the TMF. The city says its regulations concerning traffic control, lighting, landscaping, parking, noise, drainage, stormwater and erosion control apply to the project because they impact surrounding neighborhoods.
Rescinding the order
School board member Kelly Flenniken said the district can meet all of the conditions detailed in Cain’s Sept. 26 letter.
“Working closely all at the same table (and) understanding issues, we came to an agreement that has been in the works for several weeks, so that’s great,” Flenniken said. “We are better and stronger together, and that’s what the community deserves.”
Michael Gass, Clear Creek School District’s interim superintendent, added: “We are excited that we have been able to meet with city staff and review their questions to ensure they are confident in the district’s ability to meet their expectations.”
On Sept. 13, Idaho Springs officials sent a cease-and-desist order to the school district, demanding that it immediately stop installing a main water pipe at the site. However, the school district said it was a misunderstanding, its crews were not working on a water line and the school district was waiting for city approval to install the pipe.
The school district said its crew found a clogged culvert and a Colorado Department of Transportation crew was unclogging it on Sept. 8. That’s what Idaho Springs officials saw, not the school district’s crews digging a trench for a water line, the school district said.
At a court hearing on Sept. 22, Idaho Springs Municipal Court Judge Michael Goodbee postponed a trial, noting that if school district and city officials could come to an agreement, they could avoid six months to a year of litigation.