Palmer Lake Board of Trustees, August 13, 2026: A New Administrator, a Land Swap and a Legal Bill Past Budget

Palmer Lake’s trustees hired a permanent town administrator, declared a water emergency, gave a landowner an informal blessing to pursue a land swap the mayor had to recuse himself from, and learned that the town has spent $174,604 on lawyers with five months of the year still to run. The meeting began with a workshop at four in the afternoon and adjourned a few minutes after nine.

Trustee Elizabeth Harris was absent. Trustee Roger Moseley was present for part of the evening and out of the room for both roll-call votes.

A Town Administrator, at Last

By roll call, 5-0, the board adopted Resolution 29-2026 and appointed Patrick G. Davidson town administrator, effective August 24th. The post has been filled on an interim basis by Police Chief Glen Smith, who has been holding two jobs.

The town used the recruiting firm Strategic Government Resources, named two finalists, interviewed them in executive session on August 3rd, and chose Davidson at a special meeting on August 6th, keeping the other finalist in reserve in case terms could not be agreed. The contract, attached to the resolution and already signed by Davidson, runs two years at a base salary of $150,000. It provides six months’ salary as severance if he is dismissed without cause, and no severance if he is dismissed for cause. It bars the board from dismissing him without cause until three months after the trustees elected in November 2026 take office — a clause of some interest in a town that has lost a mayor, two trustees and a string of attorneys in two years. There is no relocation payment, no vehicle allowance and no requirement that he live in Palmer Lake. The cell-phone allowance in section 4.9 was left blank.

Davidson told the board he had asked for “a fair opportunity” to do the job, that the challenges were no secret, and that he had already begun working with the clerk to come up to speed so the police chief could get back to his own seat. The clerk will administer the oath when he starts.

A Water Emergency

Also 5-0: Resolution 30-2026, declaring a Stage 1 water emergency effective immediately. Outdoor irrigation is now confined to one hour a week, Wednesdays between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., and only by bucket or watering can of five gallons or less. Sprinklers and automatic systems are banned outright. Monument Creek has been dry since mid-June, the surface treatment plant cannot run, and one Arapahoe aquifer well has been carrying the town since the end of June with its yield falling. The full rules and the reasoning are here.

The Hermosa Avenue Land Swap

The evening’s one contentious stretch concerned about a third of an acre.

Laura P. McGuire, of 93 Hermosa Avenue, owns roughly 1.7 acres between Glen Park and the Creekside Trail, replatted in 2021 as the Hermosa Creek Replat. Attached to her deed is a landscape easement of about a third of an acre at Virginia Avenue and Lovers Lane, which she has maintained at her own expense since 2019. Elsewhere on the property sit two spring-fed ponds and a stretch of wildlife habitat of about the same size. Her proposal is to trade one for the other: the town releases the landscape easement, and the ponds and habitat go to the town.

Mayor Dennis Stern recused himself and left the dais; he lives at the same address. Mayor Pro Tem Tony Beltran presided. McGuire told the board she is also the listing agent on a house at 141 Virginia that the mayor built and that is under contract to close in mid-September, and that she is contractually obliged to the buyer to explore the swap with the town — a duty she said the presentation itself discharged. Every person who came to see the property, she said, ultimately said no, and the easement was the reason.

She asked for no money and no decision — only a good-faith indication, that night, of whether the board would be willing to explore it, because she was meeting a surveyor the next morning and the survey would cost several thousand dollars she did not want to spend on a dead proposal. She offered to make up any difference in square footage in the town’s favor and to waive it in her own, and to pay a capped amount for the town attorney’s review.

Town Attorney James Godbold, attending remotely, set out the framework. Colorado has no statute governing land exchanges as such. If the land the town gives up serves a current governmental purpose — if there are municipal facilities on it — a swap requires a vote of the people; he did not think that applied here. Otherwise it is treated as a conveyance, which must be for reasonable consideration, generally established by appraisal, with the board making a record of what it relied on, and finalized by ordinance. He cautioned the board twice against pre-approving anything on the merits.

Beltran was the holdout, and his objection was procedural. The town has no process for a land swap and, by Smith’s account, has never done one. He held up El Paso County’s assessor map, which shows the town’s land there as two parcels separated by a right-of-way, and said it did not match the simple diagram in the packet. He wanted a survey and an appraisal before any signal at all, and moved to table the matter until the new administrator arrives. The motion died for want of a second.

Smith argued the board was being asked for no more than it gives anyone at a pre-application meeting: would the town even consider this. Trustee Moseley, who had walked the property, said the pond parcel is probably a buildable lot worth around $150,000, that the parks department does not want the easement and does want the ponds, and that the values are close enough to be worth exploring — but warned against giving away land cheaply, recalling a half-acre the town once handed to a trailer park. Trustee Michael Beeson said he had spoken to the mayor at length about the optics and was satisfied nothing was being circumvented. Trustee John Marble said he had received an anonymous email claiming the pond was toxic, did not share the concern, but wanted neighbors on the record.

At which point the recused mayor came to the podium to dispute Beltran’s characterization, saying Godbold had just explained that a swap falls under the statutory conveyance process and that it was therefore wrong to say no process exists. A point of order followed.

The board gave its answer by show of hands rather than motion: three thumbs up, Beltran the one down. Nothing was approved. A survey, an appraisal, a replat, planning commission review and an ordinance all lie between Thursday’s gesture and any exchange of land.

In public comment, Lauren Penner of the parks commission said the commission had discussed it and saw no problem, that through the lens of open space the pond parcel plainly has more to offer, and asked that if it does proceed the parcel be rezoned open space afterward so it stays that way. Martha Brodzik told the board it had spent half an hour on a question that asked only whether the town was interested. At the previous meeting she had cited the open meetings law and objected to one-on-one conversations between officials and trustees about the proposal.

$174,604 in Legal Fees, and Counting

At Beltran’s request, the clerk produced a year-to-date accounting of legal spending. Through July 31st the town had incurred $174,604.60 against a 2026 budget of $140,000 — over by $34,604.60, or about a quarter, with five months to go. The 2026 budget had itself been raised from $95,000 the year before in anticipation of heavier legal activity. Actual 2025 spending came in around $145,860, so this year has already passed all of last year by roughly $28,745.

The memorandum names the three matters in the litigation line, all involving Trustee Moseley: Moseley/Brodzik; Moseley v. Town of Palmer Lake, Mayor Dennis Stern and Town Clerk Erica Romero; and Moseley v. Town of Palmer Lake, Town Clerk Erica Romero and Deputy Town Clerk Grant Massey.

Beltran said the figure was why he had asked: residents are entitled to know where the money goes, three suits by one trustee have roughly doubled the town’s legal costs this year, and that is money not spent on anything else. Beeson agreed the numbers should be public and said he wanted to be sure the board was not ringing a shame bell at a citizen exercising a lawful right. Beltran said there was no shame game, only facts. Smith advised the board that the real question is the 2027 budget, and whether it should amend the current one.

Buc-ee’s, Still Unwound

The executive session scheduled for the top of the agenda — to receive legal advice on negotiations with the landowner’s counsel and Buc-ee’s following the withdrawal of the annexation request — was cancelled. Special counsel Karl Kumli, of Dietze & Davis, wrote that he had no substantive report, apologized that the board had been called into session on his account, and said his next progress report may have to wait until September 10th because he is out of state on the 27th.

Trustee Atis Jurka said the matter has dragged since February, when the applicant withdrew, and that the timeline has slipped from February to March to June to August to September. He questioned whether the firm had put more than one lawyer on it, as its engagement contemplated, and noted the town paid $15,000 up front. Mayor Stern said he shared the frustration but that firing Kumli would not motivate the other side, that the town has already paid for the work, and that unwinding the annexation requires more than reviving an old resolution. Beltran said the contract is for legal advice on such matters as are assigned by email confirmation, and asked whether those confirmations exist, since recent invoices describe work on an annexation agreement he considers dead. He said he would submit four questions in writing.

Godbold advised against the board taking any position in support of the Town of Monument ahead of the county commissioners’ August 27th hearing on the Buc-ee’s appeal, saying the town is better served waiting for clarity on Kumli’s work. Jurka said that means missing the window to tell the commissioners that 70 percent of Palmer Lake’s voters opposed the annexation, but deferred. Public commenter Kellie Currie told the board the 70 percent are still active and will speak at the hearing whether or not the town does.

Invoices, Redactions and Privilege

A long stretch of the attorney’s report concerned who may see what. Godbold said he could not speak to where the advice to redact the previous firm’s invoices had come from, but that redaction would have been his advice too. Smith said the redactions were made under direction from CIRSA, the town’s insurance pool, applying the state statute rather than marking specific lines, and objected to what he described as a repeated implication that he had done something he had not.

On the unredacted versions, Godbold said he has given them to Trustee Moseley’s attorney as a matter of due process for the removal hearing, and recommends the board not receive them until that hearing concludes, to avoid tainting itself as decision-maker.

Beeson asked whether itemized invoices should come to the board at all if they cannot be shared publicly. Godbold said reviewing them privately is ordinary fiduciary oversight and common practice, and that he has no objection to providing itemized bills so long as they do not go into the public packet. Beeson said he would take them. Moseley said prior firms had itemized without disclosing advice, and described a records request for legal advice on how the town counts response days under the open records act — a question, he argued, whose answer everyone needs — that was refused as privileged. He submitted the email chain into the record; it appears in the supplemental packet, along with the town’s July 15th refusal citing attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. Godbold said an itemized attorney invoice is not the right vehicle for that answer, and that better and safer routes exist.

Data Centers

The planning commission had asked the board to consider a temporary moratorium on data centers. The board’s sense was that it does not yet know enough — about acreage, water, power or transmission — to write permanent rules, and that a pause buys time. Beltran suggested calling it a fence rather than a moratorium on the grounds that residents understand the word; Godbold said the term carries legal weight but the document could be titled differently so long as the body is clear. Marble noted the northern Colorado town of Lyons has adopted a six-year moratorium, the longest in the state, and said even a temporary measure would let residents sleep easier. Godbold took the discussion as direction and will bring a draft, if possible on August 27th and in any case by September 10th. Monument imposed its own six-month data-center freeze on July 20th, before any developer had asked.

Also Before the Board

A police vehicle. Approved unanimously: a used vehicle, not to exceed $18,000, from S.T.E.P. funds — money officers earn working off-duty traffic enforcement, the one town account that carries over year to year. It replaces a vehicle going out of service by year’s end and is expected to be a Ford Explorer. Smith said the fleet needs a broader conversation.

Fire notification and evacuation. Jurka, who attended a Monument Fire District briefing in place of the August 4th meeting, brought back Pikes Peak Region Emergency Management’s “Ready, Set, Go” brochures and asked how residents learn about a fire if they are not signed up for Peak Alerts, which evacuation route applies when the fire’s location varies, and what happens to people who cannot leave on their own. Studies he has seen put a full evacuation of Palmer Lake at five to six hours. Romero said a workshop with the Pikes Peak Office of Emergency Management had been scheduled and lost to a lack of quorum, and will be rescheduled. The board gave a thumbs up.

A demand for $2,500. Godbold reported an informal demand from a man arrested for driving under the influence whose charge was later dismissed, seeking reimbursement of attorney’s fees incurred in clearing the record and in dealing with a county search-and-rescue suspension and a concealed-carry issue. Godbold made no recommendation and said he was not worried about the town’s exposure either way. Smith opposed paying, arguing the arrest was valid, that dismissal is not the same as absence of impairment, and that paying once invites more. The board took no action.

A book. On an amended agenda, Becky Albright — a Palmer Lake resident of 33 years and a clinical social worker in Monument for 26 — introduced a community read of Alexandra O. Hudson’s The Soul of Civility and a local chapter of Hudson’s Civic Renaissance initiative. Hudson has already met with council members and mayors from across the Pikes Peak region. Albright’s argument was that Palmer Lake starts from strength: the holiday traditions, the warnings about bears on the trail, the burn bans and water restrictions people actually follow. Donated copies are available and a QR code leads to an interest survey for hosts and facilitators.

The consent agenda passed with no audible dissent: four sets of minutes, the June financials, and checks over $15,000 to Core & Main ($53,452.34, materials for Shady Lane phase one), CIRSA ($48,614.29, the quarterly insurance contribution) and Lyons Gaddis ($24,561.00). Jurka flagged a vote recorded in the July 23rd special meeting minutes as 0-0; Romero said it is a formatting error from the town’s new meeting software and will be corrected to 5-0. He also asked why the Lyons Gaddis invoice carried no itemization, which opened the discussion above.

An invoice after a resignation. Jurka returned to Community Matters Institute, the town’s former planning consultant, which resigned on February 18th with a 14-day wind-down he calculates ended March 4th. The worksheets attached to invoice PL 26-03, in the packet, carry entries dated March 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th. Smith said he would look into it, and that if work in progress was finished afterward he would probably have approved it — while rejecting a comparison to the previous attorney’s departure.

Departmental Reports

Police. In July, 63 traffic stops, 51 citations, 17 reports, two accidents, one domestic violence charge and 426 calls for service. The drone unit deployed five times, assisting Monument police and the Forest Service. The department is still working on e-bike education and enforcement, and Smith said an ordinance on definitions, ages and where they may be ridden is coming, with citations in the meantime.

Fire. A residential structure fire suppressed; crews returned from the Gold Mountain and Keystone fires; a member sent to the Elk Fire on immediate need returned Monday; an engine is deployed to Washington or southern Canada. The department logged 183 hours of company training in July and three members earned Firefighter II certificates.

Water. Hydrant repairs at Colorado Springs Circle, Brook and Viola, and the Whistlepost complex; the hydrant in front of the fire station has been fixed and returned to service. Shady Lane phase one starts August 17th and should take at least a month, putting completion near the beginning of October. Phase two probably waits until spring, funded by pushing back the low-zone tank rehabilitation. Monument Creek remains dry.

Public works. County Line Road restriped from the town limits to Highway 105 and a section patched near the east entrance; sidewalk repairs by the elementary school drop-off completed July 31st; two bear-resistant trash receptacles installed near the lake; three new information boards and three entrance signs at Centennial Park. The mayor thanked the crew for clearing the streets with front loaders after Thursday’s downpour.

Public Comment and Board Reports

Mike Bickl of 313 Bonita objected to the town selling land he identified as the old motorcycle track, which he and neighbors have used for fire mitigation and chipping. Selling assets a town has few of, he said, to cover a year of an administrator’s salary is the wrong trade; he urged the board to remember whose assets they are. Beltran said a portion under contract is expected to be voided and the rest is a board decision.

Kellie Currie, returning for a second topic, said the developer behind the proposed Highbrook development, which she identified as TriLakes Developers, has notified residents below the site that the north side of the block encroaches on property he has newly acquired, and has told her more than twice that she must buy her own survey. Its plat, she said, runs through her chimney and up her stairs into her backyard; the homes below the site were built in the 1980s. Told the Highbrook planned-development amendment sits eleventh on the town’s legal priority list of some 47 items, she asked whether a resident should have to spend that money. Mayor Stern suggested she ask the developer to pay for a survey proving where its land begins.

Martha Brodzik suggested the town ask its part-time controller whether its Great Plains accounting system already includes the project-accounting module, which would let staff tag expenses by project code and run a query rather than assembling summaries by hand.

In board reports, Jurka flagged new state building code rules effective March 31st and Proposition 123 affordable-housing funds, including a local planning capacity grant and owner-rehabilitation money. Mayor Stern was unenthusiastic: Palmer Lake consistently pulls zero building permits, Proposition 123 requires committing to a number of new units annually, and missing it means paperwork for a waiver the town lacks the staff to chase.

Beeson asked for an August 27th item on short-term rental regulations — occupancy and vehicle limits, and requiring bear-proof containers — submitting photographs of scattered trash at 136 Starview taken on Monday and again on Thursday afternoon. Romero said the planning commission is already reviewing the code, that town code does not currently specify who must have bear-resistant containers, and that singling out short-term rentals is where the commission got stuck, since the problem also involves commercial properties and long-term rentals. Amy Hudson of Star View said she had served on the planning commission when the rules were written and understood repeated complaints to bear on license renewal. Brodzik argued short-term rentals differ because the owners are not there to see the mess. Smith said officers will write ordinance violations where they have grounds, and reminded the room that bears themselves are the Division of Wildlife’s business.

Beltran asked for a standing item, beginning September 10th, recognizing a citizen who has given something to the town. Mayor Stern asked for the fire district to return on August 27th for discussion and possible action.

The next regular meeting is Thursday, August 27th. The El Paso County Clerk’s office is scheduled to give a workshop that day. Nomination petitions for the November election are out; the last day to cure them is August 24th.

Correction, 15 August 2026. This article originally misspelled Kellie Currie’s name as “Kelly Curry,” taken from an automated transcript of the meeting rather than checked. It also misreported her remarks on the proposed Highbrook development in two respects: it said the developer had told her she must buy a survey because its plat crossed “a backyard she has owned since the 1980s,” when what she described was that the homes below the site were built in the 1980s; and it framed the encroachment as a matter between the developer and her alone, when she said the developer has notified residents below the site that the north side of the block encroaches on property he has newly acquired. Ms Currie raised the errors with the Independent.

Sources & further reading

The Independent’s own coverage: Palmer Lake Board of Trustees, July 23, 2026 — the board’s decision to send Trustee Moseley’s removal to an outside hearing officer, the process referenced throughout this meeting · The Monument Fire District’s merger proposal, presented at the workshop that preceded this meeting · The Stage 1 water emergency, in detail · Buc-ee’s Hearing Set for Aug. 27 · How the Buc-ee’s annexation actually ended · Monument’s own data-center freeze.

Meeting record: Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Packet, August 13, 2026 — 103 pages, including the agenda, four sets of minutes, the unaudited June financial statements, the check and vendor registers, departmental reports, the 2026 year-to-date legal expense memorandum, the open legal issues priority list, Resolution 29-2026 with the signed employment agreement, and Resolution 30-2026 · the six-page supplemental packet, containing the Hermosa Creek Replat, the proposed land swap aerial, the assessor parcel map, Trustee Moseley’s records-request correspondence and Trustee Beeson’s short-term rental item.

Entities: Town of Palmer Lake · Monument Fire District · El Paso County Treasurer, certified mill levies.

Methodology

Every page of the 103-page meeting packet and the six-page supplement was read, including the pages that carry no extractable text and had to be read as images: the recorded plat, the aerial and assessor exhibits, the vendor invoices and the ten-page employment agreement. Figures for legal spending, the 2026 budget and departmental activity are taken from those documents rather than from remarks at the meeting.

Accounts of discussion come from the town’s live stream of the meeting, working from a machine-generated transcript of that recording. Transcripts of this kind are imperfect — they misrender names and garble phrases — and the Independent’s reporting process uses AI tools that can make mistakes; if we have gotten something wrong, we will correct it, via the Independent’s corrections page. The recording carries no speaker labels, so every speaker named here was verified against the recording itself rather than taken from the transcript; where identification was not certain, the attribution is to the office rather than the person, and no characterization is made of any speaker’s tone beyond what is directly observable. Direct quotation is limited to short passages that are unambiguous on the recording. Personal names, which transcripts of this kind garble, were checked against the meeting packet and the recorded plat rather than transcribed by ear.

The board took two recorded votes, both 5-0 by roll call, and resolved the land-swap question by an informal show of hands that produced no motion and no minute entry. Minutes of this meeting had not been prepared at the time of publication; where this account describes a vote, it reflects the roll call as taken on the recording.

No party to any of the matters described here was contacted for comment for this article.