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Customers Last??

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: Fountain Utilities doesn't care about their customers

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  It may sometimes seem like Fountain doesn’t care about their customers, but the reality is that we do!  A great deal!  One of the challenges of running a business – particularly a Utility – is that we have thousands of customers. . . and we cannot always meet everyone’s desires.  Things like late fees, shut offs for non-payment, or even increasing rates may inadvertently send a message that we don’t care.  However, in a non-profit business these are some of the only tools that we have to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of the utility costs and that we are able to continue to operate and provide quality water and stable power for everyone.
The City of Fountain Utilities takes pride in providing reliable service while prioritizing customer satisfaction. More than just a utility provider, we are dedicated to building strong relationships with the community by ensuring residents receive the support and care they deserve.
Our customer service team is committed to making utility management easy and stress-free. Whether answering billing questions, assisting with payment plans, or responding to service requests, we treat each customer with professionalism and kindness. Understanding that unexpected financial hardships can arise, Fountain Utilities offers flexible payment options and assistance programs to help qualified families in need.
Beyond day-to-day interactions, our utility company actively engages with the community through educational initiatives and outreach programs. We provide resources on energy conservation, water efficiency, and ways to reduce utility costs, empowering customers to make informed decisions about their usage. Last year in 2024 we provided 1,056 payment arrangements and our Lighten the Load (LTL) program provided $20,555.49 in bill payment assistance to 93 Fountain residents.

Bizarre Time to Light a Christmas Tree

RUMOR brought to Jimmy’s Camp: 

The City of Fountain lights their Christmas Tree before Thanksgiving!

Jimmy’s Fact to Trade:

This rumor is true! The City does light its Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. In fact, the City has been conducting its Christmas Tree lighting on the Friday before Thanksgiving for so long that the longest tenured employee can’t remember ever lighting the tree at another time. Jimmy investigated around the city to find out why the City lights the Christmas tree when it does. Most employees remember it just always being that way. Others had some assumptions such as: maybe we light it early because majority of people go on vacation during Thanksgiving week, and we want to share the event with as many people as possible; maybe we do it to enjoy the tree lighting for the entire month of December without missing a couple of days. I think we all truly know exactly why we light the tree when we do; it’s because Santa Claus has an extremely busy schedule this time of year and wouldn’t be able to make it if the city tried to do it later. Scheduling Santa these days can be a challenge!
The city wants to thank everyone who attended the Christmas Tree Lighting event in front of City Hall this year and we want to thank all the coloring contestants for entering the contest! Because of your coloring skills, Fountain City Hall has the best Christmas wall in the front range!  Want to come next year? Stay informed on the city’s website and social media for announcements of the dates, locations and time of events!
Jimmy would like to wish everyone a safe, happy and peaceful holiday season and looks forward to trading more rumors for facts in 2025!
Published: 12-20-24

Fountain Fights Back Against Invasion


Rumor brought to Jimmy's Camp: The city is responsible for taking care of all the weeds that grow in Fountain.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade: This rumor is false, and Jimmy has some facts for trade:  Here in Fountain, we have a common enemy, and that enemy is WEEDS.  Weeds are unsightly, useless, troublesome, herbaceous plants, which ordinarily grow without cultivation, are not grown for the purpose of landscaping, slope stabilization, drainage control or food production.  During the Springs and Summer months, the added moisture leads to an explosion of these unsightly plants and negatively impacts the look of our city.   
The city has a municipal code addressing weed control to ensure a clean and safe environment that can be found under Title 8: Health and Safety in Section 8.04.030: Overgrown weeds. According to the code, property owners must maintain their lots, keeping weeds and grasses trimmed below a height of nine inches. Failure to comply can result in the city issuing a notice to the property owner, requesting compliance within ten days. If the property owner does not address the issue, the city may perform the necessary work (because those weeds need to be gone!) and charge the owner for the costs incurred. This code helps prevent fire hazards, pests, and maintains the community’s aesthetic appeal. If you would like to know more, you can scour the city’s website or click on the following link that will take you directly to the municipal code for overgrown weeds: Title 8. Chapter 8.04. 
Does this standard apply to the city as well?  It sure does, the city is comprised of many separate areas of responsibility for weed maintenance, to include all city owned properties, and our staff spend a lot of time organizing city efforts to keep weeds at bay that the city is responsible to handle. 

Finally, here are some other weed control facts that may interest you:

- CDOT is responsible for the medians and right-of-way along HWY 85/87
- The Northeast Corner of Mesa Ridge and Fountain Mesa to the curb and gutter is the responsibility of the Safeway area business district.
- All businesses are responsible to the curb and gutter along their street.
- Any school property is the responsibility of the School District.

Published: 09-04-2024

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NOT FOR SALE!



RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: The city is buying up all of the commercial buildings in downtown Fountain.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  This rumor is false.  The city of Fountain does own buildings in downtown Fountain, referred to as “The Olde Town Business District,” and recently purchased the building that housed the now closed Fountain Valley News.  However, with over 40 commercial buildings in this area of Fountain, you can’t say the city is buying everything up.  So here is Jimmy’s fact to trade:  The Olde Town Business District is considered the area on the east side of Interstate 25 and west side of the railroad near John Metcalfe Park and up to Comanche Village Drive.  This includes the “downtown” area where Fountain City Hall is located on Main Street and Ohio Avenue.

The City of Fountain owns seven buildings in the Olde Town Business District. The buildings consist of the Police Department, Firehouse #1, Fountain City Hall and the City Hall Annex (former FV News), Utilities Customer Service, Walt Fortman Food Distribution Center, the Museum, and Parks and Recreation Division formerly known as the Lorraine Center.  That’s just about 18% of the commercial buildings. These city owned facilities are utilized to provide various services to Fountain’s residents, and if they are no longer used for such a purpose, the city works to find a new and positive use for the property that benefits the community.
Published 08/15/2024

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No Water, No Fountain

  
RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp:  Fountain doesn’t have enough water.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  This rumor is false, although the title of this article is true; You really can’t have a fountain without water unless you are using chocolate or cheese, but that’s another discussion all together.  Did you know that Pueblo Reservoir serves as the City of Fountain’s primary water storage facility, holding all our water for long term needs and drought resiliency?  Well, after the most recent wet year, the city has built up approximately three billion gallons in reservoir storage to ensure a stable supply long into the future. The City of Fountain typically supplies about one Billion Gallons per year to our customers, meaning that storage could sustain the city for THREE YEARS, even if it didn’t rain a drop at all in that time.  

       On top of planning a resilient future supply for our residents, the city is always tackling the challenge of maintaining and optimizing existing infrastructure to ensure stable and reliable service to our water customers. The city is starting construction later this summer on a major 30” pipeline that will connect the City’s Southwest storage tank to the large customer areas east of Fountain Creek and I-25. Once completed, this pipe will significantly increase redundancy and system resilience in the southern half of the city and greatly boost flows available for firefighting. The pipe is also designed to integrate with planned future supply projects and serve as the backbone for water service to areas of future growth south and east of Fountain.  The fact is that thanks to the diligent work of the City’s Water Utility, Fountain citizens don’t have to worry about their water supply unless we really start using this precious resource irresponsibly. 

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ROAD WORK......YOU CAN EXPECT DELAYS


RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: The city doesn’t complete road projects

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  This rumor is true if you add the word quickly; The city can’t always complete road projects quickly. Overall, this rumor is false, road/ street projects are not tasks that can be completed with ease. There is a very grueling process to complete in order to even start a roadway project. Once a roadway project is created, multiple departments must collaborate to answer a mountain of questions: Is it a city owned road? Do any other entities have ownership or property attached to project area? Does the city have the budget to fund the entire project, if not, how do we get access to funding? Once we get the funding, can we handle the project ourselves or do we need to contract it out? When can we start, how long will it take? And that’s just a few blocks from the Jenga stack of questions. The good news is that the City of Fountain collaborates extremely well and continues pushing to finish projects that the Taxpayers have approved no matter the time lapsed.

The city is excited to announce that they are in the final stages of completing the Indiana Rd project that was envisioned nineteen years ago!  The story of this project starts in 2005; the City of Fountain began coordinating with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway on an alternate railroad (RR) crossing at Indiana Rd, so that the Illinois Rd crossing next to Aragon Elementary School could be closed and act as a dedicated roadway, for improved access to the southern areas of the city. The Indiana Rd improvement was initiated by the Moving Fountain Forward (MFF) initiative that was approved by Taxpayers in 2009. The project was hindered by ballot language that stated money for projects had to be saved up prior to the project being built.  So, the city started on its path to start saving (MFF) funding while also applying for grant funding that could help. In 2015, the City Engineer was able to procure a $850K grant, but that still wasn’t enough, as prices increased over the years.  The estimated price in 2009 was between $750K-$1.5M, and that was no longer accurate.  After the Great Recession, years of Colorado population growth, and the COVID-19 Pandemic, the estimated completion cost continued to sharply rise.  However, between 2020-2022, the City Engineer procured multiple grants totaling $3.5 M to assist with funding, and finally enough money had been secured to start the project!  Construction began on Indiana Rd in 2023 and will be completed in the summer of 2024. The final costs will be approximately $5 million to complete the work.  After almost 20 years, the project is almost complete, and the City of Fountain can’t wait to share its opening with the community!

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Motocross on Fountain Trails



RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: Fountain trails are a good practice area for the motocross elites.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade: This rumor is as true as Fountain being named for being home to a giant natural fountain. If you didn’t know both of those were not true, I’m sorry you had to read it here.  The 8.6 beautiful miles of trails that Fountain Parks and Recreation maintains are for walking and bicycles only! Motorized vehicles are prohibited. Riders are subject to being cited for trespassing on park property and possibly being charged and fined up to $2,650, which we’d like everyone to avoid. After all, for that price you could buy center track tickets for you and all your friends to go see real supercross!  So, everyone be safe and enjoy our great outdoor trail network, but not on your dirt bike or other motorized offroad vehicle……

Want to learn more about Parks & Open Space rules, click on the following link that will take you to the correct page on the city’s website.

Parks & Open Space Rules

Published: 05-08-2024

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So, You Got a Ticket? Now You Must Wait for Court to Pay a Fine


RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: You must show up to municipal court in Fountain to pay a ticket or fine.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  This rumor is false.  So, maybe you’ve been pulled over in Fountain and received a ticket. You deeply regret that California-rolling-stop and now steel yourself to show up to court at Fountain City Hall to pay your fine.  Just remember, you actually have options! Once your ticket or fine is in the court system (usually within two weeks of your run-in with the law), if you choose you can go ahead and pay it online (your ticket will explain how to do that) or you can come in person to pay before your notice to appear in court.  All done.  Now, if you need additional assistance, you can come by and visit the best court clerks in the Fountain Valley before your court day as well to set up a payment plan if you need one. You can also call in at 719-382-8555 between 8:00am to 5:00pm to ask questions and get court information.  Remember, the court clerks cannot give legal advice, and you can’t pay your citation by phone, but you’ll otherwise find them very helpful!  You can also contact the court clerks through email by addressing it to [email protected].   While it’s always a better choice to mind the law and not have to pay a fine or deal with the court, Fountain does have a great team that is ready to explain the process and your options!  
Published 05-08-2024

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Fountain Builds Sidewalk to Nowhere



RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: The City of Fountain built a sidewalk that leads to absolutely nowhere.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  This rumor is true! (Well in a way, let us explain!) West Missouri street has one of the most pristine sidewalks in the City of Fountain. The sidewalk is an amazing piece of concrete perfect for the steps of a Fountain hiker, biker, or workout enthusiast. However, if you do follow the sidewalk to its end, you will find yourself at a dead-end……So you mean the City of Fountain has in fact constructed a sidewalk that leads to nowhere? Well, that appears to be true, but that’s only for now.

This sidewalk is actually part of a much bigger project to connect trails from Fort Collins to Trinidad, which is part of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) master trail plan for the state of Colorado. Fountain agreed to build the sidewalk – funded by CDOT – in order to get funding to fix other parts of our trails and also to get CDOT to construct a walking bridge that is envisioned to be built over Fountain Creek. This bridge will eventually connect county trails to our Fountain trail network by way of the sidewalk, allowing trail goers to follow the sidewalk to the Indiana crossing and then straight on into Adams Open Space.  So, a sidewalk to nowhere? Yes! But eventually a sidewalk that can really take you places!
Published 03-18-2024

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The City Starts Strategic Planning for 2025-2027

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: The city doesn't prioritize anything.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade: Do you ever look around the Fountain community and wonder, what are the most important things the city is working on right now? Who is responsible to get things done? When will it get done?  Well, we have all those answers in one place for you!  The City of Fountain Strategic Plan is a document published every three years that answers these questions and more!  Available online and in printed booklets at City Hall, the City Strategic Plan highlights the city’s highest priorities, and lists the specific plans, actions and initiatives that the city is working on to support those priorities.  Designed to be simple, focused, and accountable, the City Strategic Plan is not written to be a dense, complex and overly ambitious document.  Quite the contrary, it is laid out in a short, plainly written manner, so that you don’t need a lawyer or secret decoder ring to read it!   You can check it out here.

 Additionally, the city provides updates to City Council and the public on the progress being made on the Strategy, in case you are wondering if anything is actually getting done!  Those updates are also posted on the city website, here Strategic Plan.  

 We encourage you to download the Strategic Plan or come by City Hall and grab a copy!  It makes a great gift for birthdays, anniversaries and the holidays, and many city staff even enjoy reading it to their kids as a bedtime story.  Pick up your copy today, you won’t be able to put it down!
Published 03-18-2024

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City Council Meeting Attendance and Virtual Viewings are on the Rise!

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: City delighted to see massive uptick in City Council Meeting attendance and viewings so far in 2024.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade: This rumor is true!  The city’s first two City Council Meetings have seen a significant increase in participation and viewership, and the city is excited to see if this upward spike will continue. The city has been reminding residents that Council Meetings are FREE to attend, and participation is encouraged as well, whether in person or virtually.

In January, there have been almost 1000 views online of the two meetings, an almost 300% increase from December of 2023, and more than 600% increase from meetings in January 2023!  So, are you interested to join this apparently rapidly growing and super popular trend?  Well, all meetings are listed on the City Calendar on the city website, and there are plenty of semi-comfortable chairs at City Hall waiting for you.  If you’d rather take in all the exciting action from the comfort of home, the city provides links to participate virtually, on the city Facebook page and the website as well.

You can learn a lot about what is currently happening in the city, ask questions to your elected leaders, and be in the middle of it all if you attend council meetings!  Or, if you’d rather just microwave some popcorn and watch later at your own pace, all City Council Meetings are recorded, and you can tune, and binge watch them like Yellowstone, Survivor, or Game of Thrones.  Any way you choose, the city is delighted you may tune in or attend, and hopes to see you, your family and friends make attending Fountain City Council Meetings the next hottest trend in Fountain!
Published: 02-05-2024

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The City Doesn't Care About the Parking Lot Located at the Markets at Mesa Ridge!

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: The city won’t fix the parking lot at the Safeway. (Markets at Mesa Ridge).

Jimmy's Fact to Trade: That rumor is true, but there’s actually a bit more to the story.  As a private commercial entity, the Markets at Mesa Ridge is responsible for repair and maintenance on their own parking lot and drive areas, not the taxpayers of the City.  They manage their property through a property management company, who is currently Colorado Association Services.

Although the City does not maintain private parking lots, it has heard from citizens and has made (and continues to make) multiple attempts to work with the property manager to address the issues there.

Specifically, the Safeway owns and is responsible for their parking lot. A board made up of other Mesa Ridge business owners are responsible for the remainder of the parking areas. In recent contacts with the Board by the city, they have indicated that they are in the process of addressing the issues. The city remains in contact with the Property/Community Manager regarding the issue.
Published: 2-5-2024

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City Employees are Verified 100% Human at Recent Wellness Fair

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: City Employees are almost human.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade: A recent voluntary review of city employee health and wellness has confirmed that city employees are in fact 100% human.  Despite statements out there that city staff are, "almost human," the city is proud to confirm that is just a rumor, and that Fountain's employees are in fact, human beings.  
Published: 12/21/23

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Public Safety Taxes are only Spent on Public Safety!

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: The city is spending public safety taxes on things other than Police and Fire/EMS.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  Residents voted yes on a Public Safety mill levy in 2022 strictly for Police and Fire/EMS needs.  Any tax revenue collected due to that public safety mill levy is "restricted" by law and cannot be spent on anything other than public safety.  These funds are additionally accounted for in a separate set of accounting books, called a Fund, which makes it easy to track the revenues and expenditures in public safety, and are included as part of an annual third-party financial audit of the city's budget and accounting practices.  As an additional note, the City of Fountain has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association for 13 straight years! 
Published: 12/21/23

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The City Admits that Snowplows are Only Used 7 Months Out of the Year!


RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: City's Snowplows are not utilized.
 
Jimmy's Fact to Trade: The city's nine snowplows are busiest in the months from November to March, though they are occasionally used outside of that timeframe in October, April and May, but only when it snows! In fact, our trucks are dump trucks first and only transform into snowplows when the orange attachment is placed on the front during snowstorms. The dump trucks are used year around for multiple projects. In regard to snowplowing, in 2022 the snowplows were dispatched 23 times for plowing our roads and up to 7 snowplows could be used at a time depending on the amount of snowfall and road conditions. During recent snow on December 9th, the city dispatched 5 snowplows and cleared over 55 miles of Fountain roads! Street Department CDL drivers are on standby and respond to work staggered 12-hour shifts, and city snowplows follow a specific prioritization plan for plowing of roads. You can find the snowplow map as well as the road prioritization at the following link: Snowplow Page
Published: 12/21/23

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Fountain Solar Array not paid for by Utilities Rate Hike

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp:  The Veregy Solar Array recently constructed in Fountain was paid for by Utilities customers through an electric rate hike.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  The Solar array that has been constructed on Duckwood Road actually doesn't cost Utilities customers anything.  It was paid for through what is called a performance contract, with guaranteed savings built into the project that helps contribute to stabilizing electric rates.  The Fountain solar array will provide renewable, sunshine powered energy for all City owned facilities and city streetlights, actually saving money, and represents another creative funding mechanism used by the city to improve infrastructure and services to residents!
Published: 12/21/23

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Fort Carson demands services from Fountain, or else!

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp:  The City is providing taxpayer funded services for Fort Carson.

Jimmy's Fact to Trade:  This rumor is false. Through what is called an Intergovernmental Support Agreement (IGSA), the City of Fountain does have the ability to support Fort Carson with various services but is in fact fully reimbursed for all city related expenses, and also receives additional revenue for the services provided, improving the city's General Fund.  Currently, the City provides pest control, animal control, and small construction project services through administration of contracts, with service on Fort Carson.  Over the last 3 years, the city has received over $145,000 in new revenue from the IGSA agreements and is estimated to bring over $460,000 more in the next 6 years! It’s a creative way to both generate income to invest into the Fountain community and directly support our nation's military!
Published: 12/21/23

The City Raised My Property Taxes Again

RUMOR brought to Jimmy's Camp: The city always raises property taxes.

FACT to Trade: The City of Fountain raised the property tax in 2022 for the first time in 32 years. The last time Fountain raised property taxes was in 1990. Fountain's current Mil Levy is 16.339 which was passed by the City of Fountain voters through a ballot initiative with 54.67% voting yes.  The following list gives the Historic Mil Levy's for the City of Fountain:
Year Mil Levy
1981__________12.00
1983__________12.78
1984__________15.00
1986__________18.00
1987__________9.829
1990__________10.239
2022__________16.339 (Current)(including Public Safety)
Published: 12/21/23