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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HMC and Roaring Fork Leadership Team Up |
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HMC and
Roaring Fork Leadership have teamed up to make HMC's annual
State of the Valley Symposium the final 'class' in the RFL
curriculum for 2006.
Since 1988, RFL has been providing a unique educational
experience for community leaders. A diverse group spends a year
together learning leadership tools to apply to personal,
professional and civic needs.
Executive Director Virginia Newton, who has attended previous
State of the Valley Conferences said, "I am so excited about
adding this conference to our regular program. The information and
the networking available to conference participants is especially
valuable for community leaders who can then take this information
and apply it to their organizations."
In addition to sending over thirty-five involved community
members to the conference, RFL is supporting HMC by assisting in
speaker travel and accommodations to help insure the conference
can attract top presenters."
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Eagle Valley entering new era of collaboration? |
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During the 1990's, Eagle County was one of the fastest growing
places in the U.S. The County's population almost doubled (21,928
to 41,659) and it moved from rural to
micropolitan according to the US Census. (Montrose and La
Plata Counties also entered this new category.) Recent
developments may point to a new area of planning and cooperation
in Eagle County to address the rate and location of development in
the future, namely:
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The economics of health care |
Americans pay more than any other industrialized country for
health care, yet according to a recently released study, Health
Spending In The United States And The Rest Of The Industrialized
World (Health Affairs. 2005; 24: 903-914), we do not receive
more services.
The study found a number of interesting facts about US health
care spending, including:
- The nations examined spend a median of $2,193 per capita on
health care;
- The United States spent $5,267 per capita for prescription
drugs, hospital stays and physicians visits in 2002, compared
with $3,446 per capita for Switzerland, the next highest
spender;
- Health care spending accounted for 14.6% of the U.S. gross
domestic product in 2002, a time when only two other nations --
Switzerland and Germany -- spent more than 10% of their GDP on
health care;
- The average medical malpractice payment, which included both
settlements and judgments, was $265,103 in the United States in
2001, compared with $309,417 in Canada and $411,171 in Britain.
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Resort sales set scorching '05 pace |
Real-estate sales in Colorado's resort communities are expected to
break last year's record.
Through midyear, brokers in Grand, Summit, Eagle, Routt, Pitkin
and San Miguel counties have sold $2.75 billion worth of real
estate in 5,207 transactions.
Last year, total sales in Pitkin County reached $1.3 billion.
As of June 30, sales were at $717 million, according to the Aspen
Board of Realtors.
"What's happening now is the baby boomers are making lifestyle
choices," said Steve Patterson, vice president of Telluride Real
Estate Corp. "It's not about how much. It's about how many days
you've got left on earth and how you want to spend them."
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Glenwood Springs debates Highway 82 relocation |
After years of wrestling with the traffic through Glenwood
Springs, some city officials think it may be time to get some
clear direction from voters. The Council is currently deciding
what would be funded by a transportation tax it plans to put on
this fall's ballot.
Last fall, voters narrowly defeated a tax increase covering a
variety of transportation projects, including continued work on a
Highway 82 relocation.
The city is a member of the Roaring Fork Transportation
Authority, which owns the railroad corridor from Aspen to
Glenwood. Over the years, the city has eyed the corridor as a
possible site for 82 and has purchased nearby property with that
in mind. However, residents already enjoy the corridor as a trail.
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RFTA wants Aspen to help buses get out of town |
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When it takes 50 minutes for a bus to get out of Aspen, transit
loses a lot of its competitive advantage.
Roaring Fork Transportation Authority CEO Dan Blankenship said
it would be a huge incentive to get people onto buses if they
could avoid the congestion that plagues the west end of Main
Street some weekday afternoons.
RFTA is suggesting that the City of Aspen create a seven-block
bus lane on Main Street between Garmisch and Seventh streets. It
would be for buses only, allowing them to avoid occasional
gridlock in the other two outbound lanes. The other two outbound
lanes would remain available for all other vehicles.
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Dan Burden returns to Glenwood |
Dan Burden, walkable communities expert returns with Engineer
Troy Russ to Glenwood Springs for a third workshop on pedestrian,
bicycle and traffic issues.
Reclaim Our Town: Grand Avenue Traffic Calming Vision
will take place July 19-21 at the Community Center and City Hall.
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The high cost of free parking |
Why should governments require parking other than on the streets?
They shouldn't according to UCLA Professor Donald Shoup. "Off
street parking requirements," writes Shoup, "cause great harm:
they subsidize cars, distort transportation choices, warp urban
form, increase housing costs, burden low- income households,
debase urban design, damage the economy, and degrade the
environment."
In short free parking isn't really free. In fact, the average
parking space costs more than the average car. In The High
Cost of Free Parking, Donald Shoup proposes new ways for
cities to regulate parking, namely, charge fair market prices for
curb parking, use the resulting revenue to pay for services in the
neighborhoods that generate it, and remove zoning requirements for
off-street parking. Such measures will make parking easier and
driving less necessary.
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The value of planning with nature |
Nature-Friendly Communities provides a step-by-step
guide to help government officials and planners protect open space
and natural areas while promoting economic growth. It shines a
spotlight on the most successful approaches and the work happening
in local communities across the country.
Top nature friendlycommunites include: Austin, TX, Baltimore
County, MD, Dane County, WI, Eugene, OR, Fort Collins, CO, Pima
County, AZ, Placer County, CA, Sanibel, FL, Twin Cities, MN, Bath
Township, OH, Charlotte Harbor, FL, Chicago, IL, Dekalb County,
GA, Farmington Valley, CT, King County, WA, Pittsford, NY, Powell
County, MT, Teton County, WY, and Traverse Bay, MI
Nature-Friendly Communities is written by respected
Colorado planner Chris Duerksen.
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Smart growth choices for the future |
Choosing Our Community's Future is a resource designed
for regular citizens who want to make a positive contribution to
shaping the growth and development of their neighborhoods, towns
and regions. The guidebook will help readers make rational,
compelling arguments against poorly conceived plans, but more
importantly, it will help them paint a vision of what they do
want.
Written in everyday language by a veteran journalist and
citizen advocate in conjunction with experts in various arenas,
the book is easy on the eye, with an appealing format, abundant
photographs and illustrative examples.
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NWCCOG's Planner's Resource Network Workshop, July 26 |
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Visions, Vistas and Viewpoints: Imaging our Mountain
Communities in 2030 is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26th at
The Keystone Lodge.
Some of the major currents of change in mountain communities
will be examined in this workshop, with a focus on the future.
Speakers include Patty Limerick, Jim Westkott, Bill Kendall, Terry
Minger and more.
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Annual Smart Growth Workshops, 8/19 & 8/26 |
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The Office of Smart Growth in the Department of Local Affairs is
hosting its annual Smart Growth workshops in Grand Junction on
August 19 and in Denver on August 26.
Workshop topics to include: mitigating big box impacts;
improving relations between elected officials, planning
commissioners and staff; economic and population forecasting, and
a legislative update.
Check the Smart Growth website for details or contact Andy Hill
at 303.866.3785 or andy.hill@state.co.us.
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HMC set up for
online contributions |
Healthy Mountain Communities has entered the electronic
fundraising world.
The DonateNow button, provided by nonprofit Internet foundation
Groundspring.org, allows Healthy Mountain Communities to
receive credit card donations directly through our website.
So if you've always wanted to support HMC's efforts to foster
regional collaboration and innovation, but were frustrated by our
inability to accept contributions online, fret no more!
Simply click on the DonateNow button in this newsletter or when
visiting HMC's website and immediately be taken to our customized
donation page.
This page uses the newest secure server technology to guarantee
that credit card donations are safe, secure, and private.
Next up is online registration to the State of the Valley
Symposium!
Also online . . .
Field Notes, HMC's new blog designed to share
information, new ideas and stories about on the well-being of
people and the vitality of place. It will replace the
Colorado Communities Report that HMC has published over the
last few years.
Check out the latest entries on health community related
efforts across the county. |
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