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Commissioners Approve Sale of Sr. Center to Penrose Seniors

An effort by the Penrose Senior Citizens Club to take over sole ownership of the Penrose Senior Center from Fremont County came to a successful conclusion Tuesday when the Fremont County Board of Commissioners approved a sales agreement with the club.  The Penrose Senior Citizens Club had been trying for more than 30 years to secure ownership of the building at 405 Broadway in Penrose.   In recent years the club had pressed the Board of Commissioners to donate the building.   That was apparently the intent of the Board of Commissioners in the late 70’s but a transaction was never completed.  The sales contract that was approved by the commissioners at Tuesday’s regular meeting basically gives the club the building with stipulations that the building be preserved for public uses and that they invest the purchase price in building improvements.

County Commission Chair Debbie Bell said the sales contract calls for a $10,000 purchase price.  But instead of paying the money to Fremont County, the contract requires the Sr. Club to spend $10,000 on building improvements over a ten year period.   Bell said the contract also requires that the property be used solely as a senior center for a period of ten years, that it continue to be made available as a polling place in Penrose for ten years, and that the club is restricted from selling the building over that ten year period.     The sales contract also stipulates that the club provide proof of liability insurance during the ten year period.   If any of the stipulations are not met during the ten years, ownership of the building would revert back to Fremont County.

The Board of Commissioners Tuesday also conducted a public hearing for a Special Review Use Permit being sought by Black Hills Energy for an upgrade of four miles of transmission line in eastern Fremont County.    Black Hills intends to upgrade a 69kV power line to a 115 kV line.   The end result will be a new transmission line heading east to the Pueblo County line expanding Black Hills easements and having three parallel rights of way from the Portland substation eastward.   Black Hills spokesman Dave Atwood said Black Hills is investing $12 million in the transmission line upgrade with $4 ½ million of that investment in Fremont County.

In other business last Tuesday the Board of Commissioners:

  • Approved a beer and wine liquor license for Susie’s Out West Café and Steakhouse in Howard on a 2 to 1 vote.   Commissioner Mike Stiehl voted against the license saying he preferred Michael Scrivner and his employees, as a first time liquor license applicant, would take the liquor licensing training course prior to serving alcohol;
  • Approved the county’s annual sponsorship of a single family owner-occupied housing rehabilitation grant through the Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments.   Autumn Dever noted that last year Fremont County residents received 15 of the 19 allocated housing grants designated for a five county area;
  • Approved another two year extension of the temporary cessation of a special review use permit for Bill Tezak for the vacant convenience store on Forge Road just south of Oak Creek Grade Road.   Tezak said he is still working to sell the property and get the store reopened;
  • Approved a special review use permit to allow a chainsaw carving carpenter shop for Audrey Mutchelknaus who carves the wooden bears and sells them from her property on Eight Mile Hill west of Cañon City;
  • Approved a special review use permit for Mercury Towers to erect a 130 foot monopole wireless communications tower on RE-3 School District property behind the Cotopaxi School.     James Burnham of the Loma Linda KOA Campground at Cotopaxi said while he appreciates the cellular service he wishes the tower service would reach his customers at the campground.    District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden echoed those concerns saying the campground owners  on Eight Mile Hill in the Royal Gorge area had also complained for years about inadequate wireless service for their customers.