What’s on David Deitemeyer’s desk heading into the new year?

“My desk is messy,” joked the senior administrator for the city of Colorado Springs’ Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) program. “There’s a lot of great stuff going on this year.”

A decision due this month from City Council will be “great” to some and less so to others. So goes split opinions on electric bikes being allowed across trails — opinions that emerged from the parks department policy proposed over the fall.

With City Council’s approval, e-bikes could be greenlit across destinations such as Red Rock Canyon, Stratton and Blodgett open spaces and Ute Valley Park. Those are properties overseen by the city’s sales tax-funded TOPS program, which was approved by voters in 1997. Critics of the e-bike proposal have said voters, not City Council, should have the final say on e-bikes, pointing to TOPS charter language that they say bans motors on funded lands.

The new year could be the year for that legal access — or yet more nuanced talks over the increasingly popular e-bikes. Officials have indeed said talks will be necessary regarding conservation easements and deed restrictions that cover the majority of the parks system.

There is much more on Deitemeyer’s desk.

To name a few: a plan for a new open space, expanding trails in others, and the reclamation of a quarry seen as a future recreation hub. That and more is detailed in TOPS priorities envisioned under a projected $13.7 million budget for 2025.

Officials have forecasted $8.1 million to be spread across administration, maintenance, trails and parks and open space development. Per voter-approved terms of TOPS, the projected budget’s remaining $5.6 million will be set aside for potential open space purchases.

A plan for a new open space could come together soon in the new year.

This spring could see votes from the TOPS Working Committee and parks board on a master plan for Fishers Canyon Open Space. The steep, rugged 343 acres border the Broadmoor Bluffs neighborhood, Cheyenne Mountain State Park and Pike National Forest on the city’s southwest side.

A draft plan is set to be unveiled at a public meeting Jan. 22. The last public meeting revealed interest for a trail system running 10-plus miles, including rock climbing opportunities and views toward the parks system’s new highest point (surpassing Mount Muscoco in North Cheyenne Cañon).

“If we are successful with the master plan, we will begin to explore pathways to initiate implementation of the high-priority recommendations,” Deitemeyer said.

He said the “budget will be a challenge for sure” in terms of Fishers Canyon development in 2025. The high priorities would be a trailhead parking lot and the first, lower segments of the trail system.

Deitemeyer was also determining exactly what the budget would allow for in a newer, less-explored part of Blodgett Open Space.

A 2024 master plan calls for a trailhead parking lot to the south of Blodgett’s popular entrance, adjacent to Pikeview Quarry. Deitemeyer said the goal for the new year is to open that parking lot and several new biking-only and hiking-only trails.

That’s while he continues to monitor nearby progress of Pikeview Quarry’s reclamation. The company in charge, Castle Aggregates, has sounded confident about revegetation and stabilization, ahead of the state reviewing the job.

Depending on assessments, the city could accept the land for a potential “world-class” bike park, as envisioned in a 2020 agreement. Those discussions could come around the end of 2025, Deitemeyer said.

Meanwhile, the parks department expects to soon embark on reclamation of Black Canyon Quarry perched high between Williams and Waldo canyons. A contractor would be the first step toward a long-term vision to establish recreation in the scenic area.

But onlookers have worried about the parks department’s capacity to take on the job. About $900,000 is committed so far.

“We are challenged by the limited budget we do have,” Deitemeyer recognized. “But I do feel confident we’re going to be able to get the work done. It’s just a matter of doing some problem-solving.”

Another 2025 priority is to finish the trail system mapped in the 2020 Austin Bluffs Open Space master plan. That includes a new hiking-only trail up Pulpit Rock, called Enlightenment Trail.

And the new year figures to see the start of another, broader master plan: an update to the parks department’s 2014 systemwide plan — “our road map for the future of the park system,” said department Director Britt Haley.

“This will be a citywide conversation at a critical time in our city’s history as more people move to our city, and more park offerings will be needed to keep our community special,” Haley said.

Meanwhile, the El Paso County parks department’s capital improvement list for 2025 details close to $18.6 million in projects.

The majority of that, listed at $11 million, is for construction of Fox Run Nature Center amid the pines defining Black Forest. With an approved design, construction could start later this year or next year.

Millions more from the capital improvement list is dedicated to park infrastructure along Fountain Creek that suffered major damage from 2023 flooding. Construction sites include Willow Springs Ponds and the Duckwood and Hanson trailheads.

And the county anticipates constructing a new segment of the Ute Pass Regional Trail, as part of a vision to extend a tour through the hills from Manitou Springs to the Teller County line. A 1.5-mile segment is planned for the Cascade-Chipita Park area.