Staff at educational worksite terminated
Pikes Peak Community Foundation cites revenue loss
The Pikes Peak Community Foundation has terminated the staff at Venetucci Farm in Security, citing the loss of revenue that for decades funded the educational working farm.
The foundation had little choice, said special projects manager Sam Clark.
The Security Water and Sanitation Districts notified the foundation last month that it is suspending its annual lease agreement for four water wells on the 190-acre property because of contamination blamed on toxic firefighting foam traveling from Peterson Air Force Base in the aquifer that feeds the wells.
The districts paid the farm $265,000 in leasing fees for this year — even though they were unable to pump water from the wells, general manager Roy Heald said.
“They’ve been suspended until we figure out a way to treat the wells and obtain water,” Heald said.
As a result of a health advisory issued May 19, 2016, related to the contamination the farm stopped growing vegetables and herbs that it sold at local farmers’ markets.
The foundation manages $50 million in philanthropic funds and $20 million in assets including Venetucci Farm.
Susan Gordon, who with her husband, Patrick Hamilton, has managed Venetucci Farm for more than a decade, will remain in their jobs through the end of this month.
They can stay on the property as residents and caretakers until summer, Clark said.
“We have the opportunity to transition and treat them as fairly as possible.” he said. “It comes with a lot of respect for the work they’ve done to feed and educate and care for our community through the farm.”
Part-time educational coordinator David Rudin, a nine-year employee who has used the farm as a classroom for local students, also will lose his job.
The fate of the farm is unclear. Clark said no holiday events were planned, and other operations, such as a self-guided bird trail, its famous pumpkin patch and educational activities, have yet to be decided.
“We’re addressing the budgetary issues now to give our employees as much lead time as possible,” Clark said. “We’re trying to take care of our stewardship responsibilities from the outset.”
The educational working farm is home to the region’s longtime pumpkin patch giveaway for school children. The land was donated to the foundation by the late Bambi Venetucci, after the death of her husband, Nick Venetucci, in 2004, to preserve the family’s legacy of opening their land to the community.
Widespread contamination of area water sources from Peterson Air Force Base’s firefighting material leaked carcinogenic chemicals known as perfluorinated compounds into the aquifer that feeds wells on the farm.
Security, Widefield and Fountain now use surface water from three sources that originate at Pueblo Reservoir, Heald said.
“That water is very expensive,” Heald said. “We want to get back to using our wells – we have a huge investment in the wells and water rights.”
The districts signed a contract with the Air Force on Thursday to help design a treatment system, he said, which would enable the districts to resume using water from the 24 regional wells that they stopped using in September 2016.
“It just shows the far-reaching effect this water contamination has had,” Heald said. “We feel bad for the foundation.”