A BRIEF HISTORY OF SANTA FE TRAIL RANCH MILESTONES

(This article was originally submitted to the SFTR website by Bob Scott in 2018. Stay tuned for updates.)

Late 1800’s - Colorado Fuel and Iron bought the property to develop and extract coal for the coking ovens in Cokedale.

1970-1980? - The Pettigrew-Moritz Trust bought the property from CF&I.

Late 1980’s? - Charles Baldwin made an arrangement with the Pettigrew-Moritz Trust to develop and sell the properties.

Aug 30, 1990 - Baldwin filed the initial Covenants with the County.

Oct 3, 1992 - First elected POA Board, Developer relinquished control.

1997 - The Land Use Agreement was negotiated between Charles Baldwin and the Association, protecting Baldwin from future lawsuit by the Association and, notably, giving the Association control of our mineral rights.

1998 - Metro District Service Plan filed with the County. Also, the water and telephone systems were installed by OPEC, but left unfinished.

2003 - Ranch volunteers designed the fire station, acquired a grant through DOLA, and constructed the station.

2004 - The early Ditch Rats brought the water system to operational condition and began installing water meters.

2006 - The Metro sued OPEC and the Surety Company for non-performance. At that time, all 6 control panels and appurtenant wiring systems had been reworked or replaced, and 225 leaks had been located and repaired.

2007 - The Covenants were amended to prohibit mineral development.

2009 - A home grown SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system was developed and implemented to monitor and control water system pumps.

2011-2012 - Several attempts were made to re-open the railroad grade crossing at Morley, including offers to lease the crossing. All failed.

2010-2014 - Three different Engineering Companies were asked to evaluate the structural integrity of the flatcar bridge. All three determined it was dangerously overstressed, but declined to set a safe load limit.

2014-2016 - Wilson and Co. was asked to develop a cost proposal and preliminary design for a replacement bridge. Their proposal was considered and voted on by the property owners, and a contract for the project was signed.

2017-2018 - Lawrence Construction won the bridge replacement contract, built the new bridge, and removed the flatcar bridge.

May 8, 2018 - Metro District registered voters approve construction of a Metro Operations Building. Note: No guarantees these dates are perfectly accurate, but they are derived from the best information I possess.

Bob Scott May 18, 2018