Colorado Springs – The influx of more than 10,000 soldiers to Fort Carson by the end of the decade will present challenges for the community, especially in the areas of transportation, education and affordable housing.
More than 500 people met Wednesday at a town-hall meeting in downtown Colorado Springs to talk about how the region can prepare for an estimated 28,000 more people – soldiers and their families – in the next four years.
“It’s probably going to be good for some beer sales,” said John Weiss, publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent newspaper. “It’s going to be very good for some of the maternity wards in Colorado Springs. We need to be prepared.”
The military post is planning to spend $1.2 billion on 27 construction projects. Another 400 housing units are planned, bringing the total number on base to about 3,000, but with 60 percent of soldiers living outside the guarded gates, leaders expect a strain on roads, social services and K-12 education.
The Colorado State Transportation Commission already has allocated $45 million to rebuild an interchange at Interstate 25 and Colorado 16, but community leaders said congestion and infrastructure problems could pop up elsewhere.
To help schools, community leaders plan to push a bill in the next legislative session that will help school districts near Fort Carson pay for students who are military dependents.
“We need a second ‘count day’ so that they are counted and schools are imbursed or reimbursed for the expenses of those students that come in after count day,” said Tony Koren, chairman of the Colorado Defense Mission Coalition, a group helping to facilitate the growth.
Count day is usually Oct. 1 and is crucial to the financial well- being of schools. State and federal funds are disbursed based on the number of students counted that day. Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 lost $1 million last year because so many students arrived after Oct. 1.
Sen. Andy McElhany, R- Colorado Springs, said details of a bill have not been worked out.
Community leaders said they are working with developers to build more affordable housing near Fort Carson.
Maj. Gen. Robert Mixon, commander of Fort Carson, said the average age of a soldier is 23. In that age group, depending upon rank, a soldier with a wife and two children would have a housing allowance of about $800 a month.
“This isn’t a real wealthy clientele,” Mixon said. “… The costs are usually more than they’ve got in their pocket.”
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
