More than 200 people did some Spring cleaning on Saturday. Folks in Western El Paso County and the Chapita Park area were able to drop off all sorts of household wastes for free at the Ute Pass Fall Clean-Up Event.

Residents dropped off 1,400 gallons of old paint, 26 tons of tree debris, 200 gallons of old oil and 50 gallons of anti-freeze among a slew of other toxic material.

Smokey the Bear also made an appearance at the event. "Only you can prevent forest fires," said Smokey the Bear.

It's one of the main reasons residents in the area were given a chance to do a face-lift around their homes.

"I'm glad it's right here in my neighborhood," said Rosann Bowen who took advantage of Saturday's event.

"I cut all the scrub oak down around my house which is kind of like a big weed," said Chuck Struck who took advantage of Saturday's event.

"This is critical. This is a critical piece of it. You have to be proactive, you can't wait until you have a fire," said El Paso County Commissioner of District 3, Sallie Clark.

Plus, right now pine beetles are inactive, so it's the perfect time to chop down and get rid of infested trees.

"I've had them right next to my house," said Hayes Veeneman who took advantage of Saturday's event.

But an event like Saturday's may go away according to Commissioner Clark if Initiative 1A doesn't pass. "The difficulty we'll have is going into next year with our budgetary cuts we may not be able to do these types of programs," said Commissioner Clark.

She says 1A would bring in 75-million-dollars, but a free event isn't incentive enough for everybody to vote 'Yes' on 1A. "I don't vote for any tax increases because I think we're taxed enough already," said Bowen.

The link below will show you how Initiative 1A will read on the Ballot this November.

http://car.elpasoco.com/NR/rdonlyres/2287635B-5F46-404D-A2CD-1CAABB861CB6/0/2008GeneralSampleBallot17x22_rev6.pdf