Pueblo West cancels Fourth of July fireworks show after nixing Wet Parade in May

Pueblo West’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display was canceled Monday after the metro district’s usual vendor was unable to provide fireworks for this year’s show.

District board members expressed bitter disappointment at the news, which comes on the heels of the district’s cancellation of the immensely popular wet parade in May.

“We took the wet parade away and now we are left with pancakes, a run and food trucks. I think we can do better,” said board member Nick Madero. “I am disappointed we had all this time to plan and nothing happened.”

Madero suggested a committee be formed to take over the task of finding a fireworks vendor who can put on a Fourth of July show and agreed to head the committee himself.

Pueblo West District Manager Brian Caserta shared the news of the cancellation at Monday’s board meeting. He said the district’s usual vendor had licensing issues and a backup vendor said “all of his fireworks are sitting in a shipping container in California” and therefore would not be able to reach Pueblo by July 4. 

Board member Jami Baker Orr also expressed her disappointment.

“We do owe it to our citizens to give them a celebration,” she said. “I want to thank Nick (Madero) for sponsoring the (Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast) because I know that is not cheap.” 

More:Fireworks sales in Pueblo are open, and Riverwalk's annual Fourth of July show is a go

The Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast runs from 8 to 10 a.m. Monday at Fire Station No. 1, 51 E. Hahns Peak Ave., and will feature pancakes, eggs and breakfast meats available free of charge thanks to a sponsorship by Madero’s business which he co-owns with his wife Angela, Madero’s Pest Control.

The Splash Pad and Food Truck rendezvous will run from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Civic Center Park, 61 E. Civic Center Plaza. 

Board tweaks rules for new development

In other business, the district agreed to modernize and amend its rules and regulations that require developers to bring in water for new inclusions and subdivisions to ensure new development will pay its own way and provide sufficient water resources to serve the estimated consumption of new residents. 

The issue came to light recently after The Reserve at Pueblo West property, located off Platteville in northeastern Pueblo West, was sold to new owner Jesse Scott. When the property initially was included in the Pueblo West district in 1998, the agreement required the developer of the 504-acre site to bring in 52 paired shares of Colorado Canal water and Lake Meredith storage. 

“Those shares are pretty anemic in a drought situation and we would not do that in today’s world, but we are willing to take those shares and stick to the original agreement,” said Doug Proal, board vice president. 

In exchange for the water shares, the builder will receive access to up to 45 residential taps during the next six years. Those taps will be sold at market rate and can only be applied for five at a time, keeping with new water tap sales rules adopted by the board earlier this year. 

If further development occurs on the property, additional water rights will have to be secured, Proal said. The board voted 3-1 to stick to the 1998 agreement for the reserve, with Baker Orr abstaining and Joe Mahaney voting against it.  

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Developer on the hook for road improvements

Another housing developer that brought their concerns to Monday’s meeting was unable to get a reprieve from previous requirements set out by the district. 

C.A. Enterprises Ltd. initially purchased 30 lots for $5,000 each in 2019 on LaPorte Avenue. The company has been selling the lots to other developers, represented by longtime local developers David Knuth and Jim Holmes, who requested the district waive a requirement to construct off-site road improvements to LaPorte Drive. 

The new owners said they were unaware of the road improvement requirement when they purchased the lots. 

“I am disappointed in the roadway issue on LaPorte,” Proal said. “Unfortunately, the initial purchaser of the property who flipped the lots for $20,000 and agreed to the road improvements did not follow through even though the difference would have been sufficient for the road improvements.” 

Lacy Flack, a Realtor representing Knuth and Holmes, said the cost for the road improvements is an estimated $500,000 and small builders can’t recapture those costs. 

The road improvement requirement “did not show up on the title commitment for the lots, and small builders have no way to know about these negotiations between metro and the previous developer. It is not fair that the last six builds get the burden to finish the road for all the homes,” Flack said. 

Director of Public Works Christian Heyn told the board the new owners requested improvements be limited to the road just in front of the remaining lots, which would cost an estimated $100,000 to $125,000. However, Heyn said staff recommend the board “continue to enforce the road improvement requirement because other cases will arise that can be challenged.

"The road does need to be improved for use to these lots," he said.

The board voted 3-2 to deny the motion to eliminate the required roadway improvements. The no votes came from Baker Orr, Board President Kim Swearingen and Mahaney; Proal and Madero voted yes. 

Proal said new lot buyers should be directed to the district’s engineer department to research requirements before purchasing lots. 

Re/Max building purchase put on hold

The board tabled a contract to purchase the former Re/Max building at 19 E. Abarr Drive for a new administration building to allow time to evaluate the space to see if it is sufficient to serve current office staff.  

The board also voted unanimously to reserve a 35-acre property at 221 N. Purcell Blvd. for the Colorado Army National Guard, which plans to build a field maintenance support facility and readiness center to replace sites in Pueblo and Rocky Ford.

The board initially signed a letter of support in 2019 and extended its support until Sept. 30, 2023, to allow time for the government budgeting and planning process.

More water news:Pueblo West's big water users would pay double under revised plan

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.