Board approves sale of small parcels to El Paso County for Deer Creek/Woodmore roundabout

The Lewis-Palmer Consolidated School District No. 38 Board of Education on July 21 approved a resolution authorizing the sale of small parcels to El Paso County to accommodate a roundabout at Deer Creek and Woodmore Drive, north of Palmer Ridge Middle School. The board authorized Chief Business Officer Brett Ridgeway to execute the transaction.

Brett Ridgeway told the board the parcel request originally came through as an easement earlier in the year but that legal review completed in July showed the county is acquiring small pieces of land rather than a simple easement. "There actually is a little bit of land that they are taking...so the sale of land, which is, if you go to the other end of the resolution...this actually is technically speaking, a sale of land," Ridgeway said. He said the six swaths together total "almost 0.333 of an acre." The land will be used to widen the roadway and create space for the roundabout; Ridgeway characterized the transaction as a straightforward county acquisition with payment to the district.

Board members discussed safety benefits of the roundabout and a broader Safe Routes to Schools project, noting that a separate safety-trail project will come online later in the school year. One board member referenced a past local drowning incident to underscore the value of proactive safety infrastructure.

A motion to approve the resolution passed on a voice vote; the board recorded no substantive impacts to school facilities and noted the roundabout and a safety trail together should improve student safety in the area. Ridgeway will complete the closing documents authorized by the resolution.