Longmont appears ready to spend $930,000 to buy a little more than 19 acres of land to provide a security buffer for the city’s water supply while also preserving a group of historical buildings.
The money would purchase the D.E. Montgomery Estate adjacent to the city’s Nelson Flanders Water Treatment Plant, Larry Wyeno, engineering administrator with Public Works and Natural Resources, told city council during a work session Tuesday night.
Wyeno, speaking during the virtual meeting, said the Montomery parcel would help shield the water treatment plant from trespassers who may want to harm the city’s water system.
The location of the Nelson Flanders plant “is easy to access by the public. It’s just hard to secure that site at its current location,” Wyeno said.
If acquired, the parcel would give the city more control over the Nelson Flanders plant site including during its planned expansion, he said. The expansion is being paid for by an $80 million bond issue approved by voters in November.
As part of the expansion, the city wants to run a transmission line and place a storage tank on the Montgomery Estate parcel to create a more secure drinking water source, Weyno told council.
One potential snag is the Montgomery parcel in 2003 was designated by Boulder County as a historic site, according to a city staff report. It is the site of seven historic buildings including a house and several farm-related structures, the report states.
Locating the transmission line and storage tank on the property would require a certificate of appropriateness from the Boulder County Historic Preservation Board, along with other permits from the county, the report states.
Council urged Wyeno to complete the purchase of the parcel and to pursue the historic permits.
Councilmember Marcia Martin said the farm buildings — with some dating back to the 1890s — could be part of a historical education center.
“There could be several things we could use those houses for,” she said.
