Castle Rock council approves water agreement,URA formation, and North Meadows extensions
Council voted to amend agreements so that final design and other services can be completed relative to the extension of North Meadows Drive from U.S. Highway 85 to Interstate 25.
Information provided by Kristin Accola, Town of Castle Rock
Progress toward securing Castle Rock’s long-term water future was made Tuesday, when Castle Rock Town Council unanimously approved the Town’s participation in the regional WISE Partnership.
Council approved an agreement to form the South Metro WISE Authority, of which Castle Rock will be one of 10 members. Through its participation in the authority, the Town is set to receive 1,000 acre-feet of water per year from Denver and Aurora, starting in 2016. (The average household uses about one-half an acre-foot of water per year.)
Also on Tuesday, Council approved the formation of the Castle Rock Urban Renewal Authority – a tool to assist in the Town’s economic development efforts to create jobs and expand the tax base.
Town Council will serve as the URA Board, for which meetings will soon be scheduled, and policies and procedures established. Future steps include designation of an urban renewal area or areas within Castle Rock, and creation of urban renewal plans for those areas. Additional information is available at www.CRgov.com/URA.
Approval of the WISE agreement was the result of more than four years of effort. Now, in order for the delivery of that water to come to fruition, contingencies must be met: approval of a pipeline agreement to move the water to the south metro area; Army Corps of Engineers approval to store the water in Rueter-Hess Reservoir; and approval of a separate agreement among 18 entities statewide to work cooperatively on water resource issues.
The Town’s estimated annual operational and maintenance costs for the water are $2.3 million, and capital costs are estimated at $37.1 million – both of which will be covered by the Town’s current water rates and fees structure.
The agreement is a major component of the Town’s Legacy Water Projects and will advance the Town’s goal of a 75 percent renewable water supply by 2065; share renewable water costs with other entities; and spread those costs more evenly among current and future Town water customers. Learn more about these efforts at www.CRgov.com/LegacyWater.
Finally, Council on Tuesday voted to amend agreements so that final design and other services can be completed relative to the extension of North Meadows Drive from U.S. Highway 85 to Interstate 25.
Construction on the North Meadows Extension – a project nearly 10 years in the making – is expected to start this year and be completed in 2015. Learn more at www.CRgov.com/NME. 
