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State of the
Valley Symposium 2007
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State of the Valley News
May
2007
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The State of the Valley News is a periodic newsletter from
Healthy Mountain Communities and the
Watershed Collaborative. Valley News contains
information on initiatives, trends, ideas, and events
impacting the Roaring Fork and Colorado River Valleys. |
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Eagle County voters said "no" a
second time to a home rule question. The proposal to expand
the board of county commissioners from 3-5 and allow voters
to place issues on the ballot was defeated by 355 votes -
3,819 against to 3,464 for the new charter.
The 43 percent return rate for the ballots mailed out is a
high turnout for a special election.
In order to bring the issue back again a new home rule
charter committee would have to be elected or the county's
population would have to reach 75,000.
Read Alison Miller's full article . . .
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It is a pretty accepted fact that life in Aspen is
expensive. This mayoral election season has turned into
the most expensive in the city's history.
Aspen mayoral candidate Tim Semrau has raised to more
than $33,000. Candidate Mick Ireland
has raised $25,000.
Fortunately, running for just a seat on the City Council is
a regular bargain compared to the seeking the Mayor's
gavel. This year the leading money raisers have raised
only $10,000.
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The election results from May 8th show that Ireland and
Semaru eliminated the other mayoral candidate, but neither
garnered the 50%+1 majority to prevent a run-off election.
Ireland received 1,036 votes (48 percent), while Semrau
received 747 (34 percent). The
runoff election will take place June 5.
Meanwhile, despite the $20,000 opponents raised,
the bus lane question won handily, 63%-37%.
Both Ireland and Semaru support the bus lanes.
Voter approval will allow dedicated bus lanes to be built on
1.2 miles of Highway 82 between Buttermilk and the
roundabout. The bus lanes will open concurrently the new
Maroon Creek bridge in spring 2008.
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Glenwood Meadows affordable housing project fizzles
Despite two and a half years of planning and support
from both the City of Glenwood Springs (deferred payment
of $800,000 in development fees and construction of a
park on the property) and Garfield County ($1.5 million
in cash), a proposed 120-unit lower-income apartment
project at Glenwood Meadows is dead. The Colorado
Housing and Finance Authority turned down a request from
the Aspen-based Dunrene Group for $8.9 million in tax
credits.
CHFA previously had awarded the project the tax
credits, but developers couldn't meet the deadline to
use them. They reapplied once they had put together a
package that included the city and county assistance,
but CHFA worried about continuing increases in
construction expenses for the project.
While the developers can reapply for the tax credits
later this year, Dunrene Group's Robert MacGregor said
he couldn't afford to losing another construction season
and the prospect of even higher construction costs.
Dunrene expects to partner with a developer of more
traditional middle-class housing on his property - only
15% of which would need to be deed restricted affordable
housing.
Read Dennis Webb's full article . . .
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Some 250 people gathered at St.
Stephens Church in Glenwood Spring on April 30 to encourage
elected officials from throughout the region to move faster
to create more affordable housing.
The meeting organizer,Congregations and Schools Empowered
(CASE), a citizen based group, challenged elected officials
from Aspen to Parachute to create a regional housing
authority to address the problem.
CASE asked participating elected officials to commit attend
another meeting May 24. While they were receptive to that,
some also noted the challenge in getting communities to
agree on solutions.
"Somehow we have to get them all on the same page, going in
the same direction. I think that's going to be difficult but
if we get it done we'll get some housing," said Glenwood
Springs City Council member Joe O'Donnell.
Read Dennis Webb's full article . . .
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The good news is finding a job in
Eagle County can be easy,
unfortunately for workers finding a place to live is
becoming next to impossible.
According to a recent report released the
Eagle County Economic Council, there
has been a 10 percent increase in jobs since 2003. Assuming
everyone who can work takes a job in Eagle County, there are
still 10,000 to 11,000 jobs left that will not be filled
unless somebody commutes from outside the county.
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On May 1, 1982, Rifle and the Colorado River Valley were
growing and bustling places due to
paychecks and investment from the oil shale exploration.
On
May 2, 1982, otherwise known as "Black Sunday," the rug
was pulled out from under the economic engine.
Overnight the economic outlook for the region sank and the
region struggled for two decades to recover. Twenty-five
years later, growth (driven by natural gas extraction) is
back and Rifle and the region are bursting at the seems.
Although, glad for the recent change in economic fortunes,
some people still worry about the future repeating the
past - again.
Grand Junction City Council Member Jim Spehar wonders
if we can heed the lessons of our past mistakes, and this
time, set aside some of those taxes, royalties and
fees in preparation for a softer landing instead of a
sudden and brutal crash.
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 Last
month, 39,789 people used Ride Glenwood Springs - an
all-time monthly record.
The previous record was 39,058, set last July. Monthly
totals should continue to grow as the city restores service
to the south end of town.
There is a good chance that 2007's ridership numbers will
break the record set last year.
In 2006, 379,148 people took the bus, up from 210,000 in
2005. Already this year, 111,613 people have ridden the bus
over the first three months, almost 50 percent more than
over the same time frame a year earlier.
The city's bus numbers have soared ever since early 2005,
when City Council made changes that included eliminating
fares and focusing the coverage area on the core parts of
town.
Read Dennis Webb's full article . . .
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Last November, a routine traffic stop turned into a
shootout with a meth addict. For some, it was a warning
about the growing danger of methamphetamine use in the
region.
Meth use has risen dramatically in Garfield County in recent
years. It has overtaken cocaine as the county's drug of
choice. In a Mesa College study of a sampling of recent
Garfield County District Court drug cases, nearly half -- 47
percent -- involved meth.
Next door in Mesa County, 89 percent of drug cases involve
meth. Officials worry that could be Garfield County's
future.
Read David Frey's full article . . .
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Professor Walt Hecox and the crew at
The Colorado College have released their fourth annual
State of the Rockies Report.
SOR2007 offers insight into some of the most pressing and
emotionally charged issues facing the Intermountain West -
growth, immigration, forest health, water - and does so
well.
Your can purchase
print copy for $20 or
download a pdf of the report.
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 Whole
Foods Market announced that it will build 44,000 sq ft.
supermarket in the
Willits Town Center in
Basalt. The store is expected to
open in early 2010.
The Basalt store will be the ninth in Colorado for Whole
Foods but its first in a mountain town.
Willits is just upvalley from the City Market in El Jebel
and about 20 miles from both Aspen and Glenwood Springs.
Basalt should a significant increase in sales tax revenues
due to the store and the jobs will also be welcome. Filing
the jobs, however, could be a more difficult task. As
Basalt Mayor Leroy Duroux noted,
"We, quite frankly, don't have the work force or the
housing."
Read Scott Condons' full article . . .
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Valley housing
entities merge
The Garfield County Housing Authority,
Mountain Regional Housing Corporation and Roaring Fork
Housing Fund are merging to boost their collective efforts
to create affordable housing in the region. The new
organization will be called Valley Housing Partners.
Valley Housing Partners will have four divisions. One will
administer programs such as Section 8 low-income rental
housing, senior housing and deed-restricted housing. Another
will focus on development of rental and for-sale properties
and rehabilitation of existing ones through the use of the
housing fund.
The last two divisions focus on education of home buyers,
and provision of revolving loan funds for below-market loans
to families, and for development and rehab of housing units.
The organization plans to raise $5 million to $10 million
over the next three years for a housing development fund.
Read Dennis Webb's full article . . .
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The
Aspen Skiing Co. is under contract to purchase the
Sopris View Apartment in El Jebel. The 64 two-bedroom unit
complex is geared toward year-round employees.
The complex is "ideally situated" in El Jebel, with walk-to
access to mass transit, the grocery store, numerous
restaurants, a movie theater and a bowling alley, said Jim
Laing, SkiCo's vice president for human resources.
In November, SkiCo purchased the Thunder River Lodge in
Carbondale, its first foray into the downvalley market. The
lodge's motel-style rooms are currently being remodeled into
apartments.
About
60 percent of the Aspen Skiing Co's 3,400 peak season
employees live downvalley, and that percentage is even
higher for the company's 1,800 year-round employees.
Laing said that in a perfect world, SkiCo would house all of
its employees upvalley. He noted that a remodel of Aspen's
Holiday House and the expansion of the Snowmass Club Commons
development are in the works. But the longer those projects
take, the more difficult the housing situation becomes.
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The National Mining Hall of
Fame, Leadville
This event is held in our region only once every four
years and is only open to Nonprofit Organizations in Eagle,
Garfield, Lake Pitkin and Summit Counties.
So if you have a create new (or existing program) or you are
trying to build or renovate a community facility, this event
offers a great opportunity to meet Foundation staff from
across Colorado and share your story.
Some of the goals for the event include:
- Increasing the number of grants and the total dollar
amount of grants that are made to nonprofit organizations
in Eagle, Garfield, Lake Pitkin and Summit Counties.
- Improving regional collaboration among nonprofit
organizations and the nonprofit, for-profit and government
sectors.
- Increasing the capacity of local nonprofits to serve
their communities more effectively and efficiently.
For non profit and local government managers, this is a
event you don't want to miss. Click
here to register.
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Thanks to the Colorado Office of Smart Growth, your can
receive timely information on upcoming smart growth events
around the state and nation.
Sign up for their
list serv to have information emailed to you or check
out the list of upcoming events on their
website, such as:
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