Monument feeling pain of gain in population

DENVER – Monument is the fastest-growing city in El Paso County, according to city-by-city population data state demographers released Wednesday.

Monument’s population jumped 23 percent from July 1, 2001, to July 1, 2002, going from 2,481 residents to 3,073 residents.

The strains of that growth can be seen in the increased traffic and changing face of what was a sleepy little town. “It obviously has an impact on traffic, schools and just the general character of the community when you are talking about adding three or four houses a week instead of three or four houses a year,” said Mike Davenport, town planner and assistant town manager.

Monument grew rapidly for about the past three or four years, Davenport said, as the sprawling Jackson Creek neighborhood of Baptist Road expanded at a dramatic pace.

State Demographer Jim Westkott released his city-by-city demographic data Wednesday, a day before the U.S. Census Bureau releases its city-by-city numbers. The census numbers are not expected to be much different.

Growth has slowed in most of El Paso County since the late 1990s. Countywide, the growth rate dropped from 2.5 percent to 1.49 percent, largely because of the economic slowdown and loss of jobs.

In Calhan, about 30 miles east of Colorado Springs, estimates show a 1.1 percent decrease in population, from 908 to 898. That’s bad news to town administrators because some state and federal funding is based on population growth.

Calhan Town Clerk Lora Hahn doesn’t believe the numbers.

“As far as we know, we haven’t lost any population,” she said. “What goes on in Denver isn’t necessarily representative of what happens in the local community. It is very frustrating because a small town depends on their population base as a source for a lot of funding.”

Growth statistics from other cities in the county revealed few surprises but a few oddities. Colorado Springs’ population grew by fewer than 5,000 people in 2001-02. Ramah added one person, bringing its population to 122.

Manitou Springs and Palmer Lake each had about 1.5 percent growth. Manitou’s population went from 5,136 to 5,212; Palmer Lake added 33 people for a count of 2,280.

Fountain’s population declined by 483 people, according to the report.

County Commissioner Tom Huffman said the 1.44 percent population growth in unincorporated parts of the county – 138,248 people live in unincorporated areas – puts pressure on county government.

Because most of the growth is in the form of new homes taxed at a lower rate than commercial property, the county doesn’t have the resources to provide the services people want.

“People expect things like making neighbors mow their weeds, and we can’t necessarily do that,” Huffman said. “They want their roads plowed, ditches cleaned out and the things they are used to getting in the city. We can’t give them that, and it is becoming a greater and greater challenge.”

THE BIG GET BIGGER Colorado has nine cities with populations of more than 100,000. There are no statistics for Centennial before 2001 because that is the year the Denver suburb was incorporated. City 2000 2001 2002 Growth

Rate

2000-02 Arvada 102,153 102,470 102,586 0.4 percent Aurora 276,393 283,650 284,179 2.8 percent Centennial 102,457 106,365 n/a Colorado Springs 360,890 369,853 374,917 3.9 percent Denver 554,636 560,365 562,409 1.4 percent Fort Collins 118,652 122,521 124,650 5.1 percent Lakewood 144,126 143,976 144,052 -0.0 percent Pueblo 102,121 103,030 104,124 2.0 percent Westminster 100,940 102,905 104,147 3.2 percent