By Donna Currie
At a Dec. 17 community meeting at Silver Creek High School,
the draft master plan for the temporarily-named Clover Basin Park was unveiled.
Steve Ransweiler offered the city’s perspective while
Nicole Horst from Wenk Associates, the consulting
company on the project, discussed the design.
Ransweiler explained that a draft master plan isn’t final – it is the “guiding document”
but that “things can
The park, south of and adjacent to Silver Creek High School
property, covers about 80 acres. Part of the plan includes areas of shared use
between the school and the park.
If the school agrees, in an area that now houses basketball
and tennis courts, the eight existing tennis courts, would be upgraded and the
basketball area would be eliminated, making way for two more tennis courts. Two
sports fields would be upgraded with artificial turf to allow more use of the
fields.
Besides the shared-use area, the park proposal includes
multi-use fields that would accommodate sports like soccer and cricket. Other
areas would accommodate volleyball, softball, disc golf and racquetball.
Besides organized sports areas, the park will have an
outdoor aquatics facility, a picnic grove, an interactive water feature, a
cross-country trail and a playground. Some space is also reserved for a future,
currently unfunded, 80,000 square-foot recreation center.
But that’s not all. Because of all the earth-moving required
to build the park, Horst said, “We have the possibility of putting in a
sledding hill.”
Another function of the park is to serve as water storage in
case of a 100-year flood. The park has been designed so that none of the
buildings are in the water storage area. Small rainfall wouldn’t affect the
park – this water storage would only be needed to offset major rains that could
otherwise flood business or residential areas.
A teen area has been designated, but plans for that area are
not finalized. The design team talked to high school students about what they
would like to see in the park, and those responses were significantly different
from the responses to the online surveys.
Many of the design elements in the park came from input at
previous meetings, as well as survey responses.
When asked how many people responded to the survey, Ransweiler said that “there were more than 300.”
The park design is an example of how a few people can make a
difference, if they speak up at the right time. A case in point is the cricket
field.
Horst said that the Longmont-Boulder area has about 300
active cricket players, and that their representatives were “very polite” in
making requests. Those requests were easy to accommodate, given the few
requirements for a cricket field.
In fact, the only infrastructure needed was a “concrete
pitch” which could be covered with artificial turf when not in use, making its
existence nearly invisible. More important to the cricket players was that the
placement of other structures – light poles, for example – had to be considered
when designing the fields for use by multiple sports.
Still to be decided is the final name for the park, and the
city is asking for input from citizens. According to a city ordinance, parks
can be named for a natural landmark, a natural feature or habitat in the
vicinity of the park, or a person or family that meets specific criteria.
The park will be built in phases, and those phases will be
determined after the engineering work is done. Funding is also an issue, as the
amount of work that can be done is limited by the amount of funds available.
Other details, such as the amount of lighting to be
installed in the park, will be determined later in the planning. Funding is an
issue, as lighting can be expensive to install and maintain. Lighting will be
provided first in areas that would see the most use in the evening, but would
be avoided in low-use areas or where the lighting would disturb wildlife
habitats.
When asked about park funding, Ransweiler explained that funding for building new park facilities comes primarily from
residential building permits. Longmont has one of the highest fees, set for
$4,943 per dwelling unit in 2008. Right now, $2.24 million is available, but
revenue streams could slow down if new housing builds slow down.
Maintenance for the parks comes from the public improvement
fund, which is comprised of sales and use tax revenues. State lottery funds
that come to Longmont are designated for the St. Vrain Greenway project, and
are not currently used for other projects, Ransweiler explained.
With the draft master plan presented, “The next big hurdle
is getting the master plan adopted,” Ransweiler said.
The school board and parks department will meet in January to talk about shared
use. If all goes well, the plan may go to the city council as early as
February.
Photo courtesy of Wenk Associates
An artist’s rendition of the view
from the main entrance of the new park.
Photo courtesy of Wenk Associates
The draft master plan of a new
park near Silver Creek High School.
A Passion For Plants And Pictures
Liz Emmett-Mattox
You’ve seen him at Nostalgia Days, Rhythm on the Rails, the
Fourth of July Parade – everywhere something is going on in town. His name is
Curtis Jones, and if you don’t recognize him, chances are it’s because when you
see him, his face is hidden behind a camera.
It would be natural to assume he’s a full-time photographer,
since he’s at every event in Niwot, shooting away. His photos have been
published in the Courier, the Daily Camera and the Daily Times-Call.
Jones said he started his company because he had a passion,
and he wanted to get filthy rich. He figured out after a couple of years that
he might not get filthy rich, but he still had the passion.
Jones said his goal is to educate people and that his
company is really in the business of selling information with some seeds to go
along with it. This is obvious when you look at the seed packets. Besides being
beautiful, they contain a wealth of information about the plant and its care.
Because seeds are sold on consignment, at the end of the
season there are often unsold seed packets. Instead of throwing them away,
Jones has made it a practice to donate them to different organizations and
charities, including some as far away as Afghanistan.
Most people in town know Jones as the man with the camera.
As Rachel Snyder, coordinator of the Niwot Business Association’s Niwot Central
said, “It’s like that old question, ‘If a tree falls in the forest and no one
hears it, does it make a sound?’ If there’s an event in Niwot and Curtis isn’t
there to take pictures, did it really happen?”
Jones feels just as passionately about Niwot as he does
about gardening. “People need a purpose; they need to believe in something
bigger than themselves. In this town you feel part of something bigger.”
As the unofficial town photographer, he shows up at nearly
every event in town. He spends much of his free time taking photos, but wishes
he had more time to donate to the community. “I have a very tolerant wife,”
said Jones. “She knows I get such enjoyment out of being with people and taking
pictures, so she puts up with me.”
In addition to photographing parades, concerts, and other
Niwot events, Jones serves as the Area 1 Representative to the Niwot Community
Association covering the Old Town Area.
Jones is not just generous with his time, he’s generous with the prints. He donated over $500 raised from the sale of his
photo of the rainbow over the “flag” barn to support the restoration of the
Grange.
Jones has also given away hundreds of prints to people he’s
taken pictures of. He said, “Niwot is so small, if I had a picture and I didn’t
know who it was, somebody else did and I would just take it to them.”
These days, people can look on the website www.flickr.com/photos/curtisjones to see and download many of Jones’ photos for
free.
Jones’ contributions go beyond his great pictures. Snyder
said, “Curtis is really doing an important job documenting the history of
Niwot. We are so fascinated by photos of early Niwot. Just think of people 100
or 150 years from now wondering what life was like at the turn of the century.
The pictures Curtis is taking are part of the legacy we’re leaving to the
future.”
Mary Wolbach Lopert,
editor of the Courier said, “Curtis popped his head up out of the ground and
started taking pictures for the Courier. He’s planted some great community
seeds.”
Photo by Curtis Jones
Curtis Jones as he sees himself
“House Concerts” Amendment Extends Far
Beyond
By Kathy Raczkowski
The Boulder County Land Use Department opened several cans
of worms when it opted to change the wording and expand the reach of its recent
draft amendment concerning house concerts.
While the initial intent of the amendment to the Land Use
Code was to both allow and regulate house concerts in unincorporated Boulder
County, a draft presented at a public meeting on Dec. 4 proposed the inclusion
of any and all types of gatherings “where a fee, donation, or purchase is
expected from attendees” to be regulated by the new ordinance.
The draft also limits the size of the gatherings to between
25-60 individuals, restricts the number of gatherings to six per year and
requires the events to be held inside the host’s residence exclusively.
This change in wording brought new interest and public
outcry to a battle that has been raging for a year and a half between a
Nederland area man and the Land Use Department.
For years, Greg Ching has hosted
regular concerts at his home under the banner of Aspen Meadows House Concerts.
Three complaints – one anonymous, one an inquiry rather than a complaint, and
one from a man in the mountains who has filed over 500 complaints about DIA
noise – caused the Land Use Department to look into Ching’s right to host such events.
According to Land Use Department Director Graham Billingsly, under the current code Ching’s actions were illegal because he charged a fee for the concerts to pay the
musicians. This, Billingsly said, made hosting the
concerts a business, which is not permitted in a residential area.
After many debates, meetings and suggestions, the Land Use
Department drafted an amendment that would permit house concerts within certain
limitations. After public input, that draft was amended to include other home
events that involve monetary exchanges. Ching thought
his fight might finally be over. Billingsly hoped so,
too.
But in their attempt to draft an ordinance that would cover
more than just concerts, the Land Use Department drew concern and criticism
from county residents who now felt their rights as land owners were being
curtailed.
The amendment, as presented at the Dec. 4 meeting, would
regulate everything from home-based Tupperware parties and church gatherings to
political fundraisers and charity events.
As written, it would disallow the hosting of certain outdoor
contests or charity events on private property, regardless of the size of the
property, and greatly limit the number of guests.
It could even be construed to restrict potluck dinner
parties and gift-giving celebrations. Some of those at the meeting argued that
it would make illegal many of the gatherings county residents currently host.
Technically, lots of those gatherings already are illegal, Billingsly pointed out. Under the current Boulder County
Land Use Code, if something is not stated within the Code as being permitted on
private residential property, it is not permitted.
So, technically, if someone complains about your activities
on your own property, unless the Land Use Code states that you can engage in
said activity, you could be cited with a violation.
But only if someone complains. “We use complaint-driven
enforcement,” said Billingsly. “The hope here is to
craft something that only addresses the really egregious cases,” he said of the
proposed amendment. “The process we go through is to get as much public input
as we can to inform the recommendations we make to the Planning Commission.”
The concerns brought up at the Dec. 4 meeting made it clear
that the draft as it stood would need still more revising, and that even more
public input would be forthcoming following the rewriting of the proposal.
Billingsly sent out a revised draft of the regulation on Dec. 12 and decided to delay
presenting it to the Planning Commission until its Jan. 16 meeting to allow for
public input on the new wording.
The latest draft specifies that the regulations would apply
only to residential hosting of “Home Events,” defined as groups of 25 to 60
individuals assembled for “live music, broadcast music, or other commercial
entertainment provided inside a dwelling unit or accessory structure where a
fee or financial donation is requested from attendees to pay for the event”
and/or groups assembled for “product sales or a product sales party where a
purchase is expected from attendees.”
Other parts of the proposal limit times, frequency, parking,
signage, noise generation, outside storage of goods, and non-resident hosting
of events.
It also states, “Legally accessory residential uses which
are not Home Events … (as defined in the regulation) … are allowed by right
with none of the restrictions (listed in the document). Exact wording can be
found on the Land Use Department website.
Members of the public are encouraged to educate themselves
on this proposed amendment and its impact on county residents. Comments to the
Land Use Department are invited via phone, email or snail-mail. You may also
attend public meetings on the topic as well as official hearings. The next
official Planning Commission meeting will be held Jan. 16.
To learn more about Aspen Meadows House Concerts and the
origins of the current debate, visit www.AspenMeadowsHC.org
To read the proposed amendment drafts, see www.co.boulder.co.us/lu . You may also email comments via that website or write to
Boulder County Land Use Department, P.O. Box 471, Boulder, CO 80306, or call
303-441-3930.
Railroad Crossing Repairs At Highways 52 And
119
By Natalie Clarke
Although it is considered a high priority and funding has
been in place since last spring, don’t expect the bumpy railroad track at
Highways 52 and 119 to be fixed before spring.
Since Highways 52 and 119 are state highways, the Colorado
Department of Transportation (CDOT) is in charge of road maintenance. However,
the railroad track is property of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF).
So, even though CDOT must pay for materials, it is up tp the railroad to schedule and repair the railroad crossings.
Rick Jensen from CDOT completed the necessary surveys last
spring and submitted them to the BNSF. “We’d like to have it completed by the
end of our fiscal year, which is the end of June.” Jensen said.
Mark Gosselin, the resident
engineer for CDOT, said he is unclear what the delay on the part of BNSF could
be. “We have a signed contract, and I have e-mails from as far back as March 6
(2007) that discuss the repairs.”
Gosselin dealt with Andy Amparan in Kansas City, who is the
manager of public projects for BNSF. Gosselin said
there is signed contract with BNSF dated November 7, 2007, detailing the repair
work to be done.
According to Pam Fishhaber from
the State Public Utilities Commission, Amparan received the paperwork from CDOT, and materials have been ordered. The delay at
this point is weather, and BNSF will have to wait until there is a clear window
of acceptable weather.
Fishhaber said the repair of this intersection is high priority and expected to be
completed as soon as feasible, certainly next spring and possibly earlier.
Terry Melander, BNSF’s roadmaster, oversees 240
miles of track including the crossing at Highways 52 and 119. He said this
intersection is in his “list of top ten priorities” and that they will proceed
as soon as weather permits.
Diagonal Highway Bike Improvements Coming
By Mandy Walker
The Boulder County Commissioners have given the go-ahead to
begin construction on two planned improvements to the Diagonal Highway under
its Highway 119 Bikeway Project.
The two projects are the construction of a bridge over Lefthand Creek for northbound cyclists and pedestrians, and
improvements to the intersection at Highway 52. Construction on both projects
is due to start March 1.
While there are six- to eight-foot wide shoulders along most
of the Diagonal, the northbound shoulders are non-existent just north of
Airport Road where a narrow bridge crosses LeftHand Creek. The bridge itself is structurally sound and there are no plans in the
foreseeable future for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to replace it.
A 10-foot wide bike/pedestrian bridge will be constructed on
the south side of the existing bridge, allowing users to transition from the
Diagonal to the bridge and back to the Diagonal.
At the intersection of Highways 52 and 119, bike lanes
currently become non-existent, forcing cyclists to enter traffic lanes. The
construction project involves re-striping the lanes so that Boulder-bound
cyclists would cross over the right-turn lane and go through the intersection
in a designated bike lane alongside the traffic.
Longmont-bound cyclists will be able to use the right-turn
lane but continue straight through the intersection. There is insufficient
space on the northbound side to create a dedicated bike lane through the
intersection.
Funding for the improvements is provided by the county
Transportation Improvement Tax approved by voters in 2001 and by the Federal
Transportation Enhancement program, which is administered by the CDOT. State
and federal funds will cover about one-third of estimated costs.
A third project, a bike/pedestrian underpass under the BNSF
railroad to link Four-Mile Creek trail to Cottonwood Trail, is under design
with construction planned for late 2008. Improvements to the 63rd Street
intersection are also under design.
Courtesy of Boulder County
Three locations on the Diagonal are slated for improvements
under the County’s five-year plan to make bicycle and pedestrian improvements
to the Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont.
By Liz Emmett-Mattox
The thermometer on the side of the Grange tells the story:
The Grange came a long way in fundraising, but there is a long way yet to go.
Although $100,000 is a lot of money, it will take about three
times that amount to actually do all the work that needs to be done to restore
the Grange building. $300,000 is the estimated cost of rehabilitating the
Grange Hall based on the Historic Structure Assessment.
According to Left Hand Grange Secretary Dorinda Dembroski, the building had a thorough inspection,
both inside and outside, to determine exactly what work was needed.
The result was a 130-page document outlining the building’s
condition and a proposal for rehabilitation. Dembroski said the report was very helpful, because it gave them a plan of what needed to
be done.
One of the most pressing needs was for an upgraded
electrical system. This work, supported by a grant from Adolph Coors Brewing
Company, has begun.
Most visitors won’t notice any difference, since it’s all on
the inside, but a new electrical panel in the utility room will replace the
electrical panel in the kitchen. As money becomes available. Dembroski said, they will
look into replacing the existing fixtures with more energy efficient models.
Another significant improvement already completed was
replacing the sewer line to the street.
The Grange has applied for a grant to have construction
drawings done. “Once the drawings are done, this will allow us to put the
different pieces out to bid, then we’ll have a more
precise picture of the costs,” Dembroski said.
Having the construction drawings and cost estimates for the
different parts of the project will help, because many of the available grants
are “line item,” which means they are for specific items in the restoration
plan Having the drawings and the bids will allow the
Grange to use its money more efficiently.
To date, the Grange has raised about $45,000. Donations from
the community make up about $34,000 with the remaining $11,000 coming from book
sales at the Grange.
Dembroski expressed her gratitude to members of the community who have already donated
money or services. “Curtis (Jones) with his photos, Dale
(Lamb) selling hot dogs, and Burt (Steele) with the fruit. We also get
some money from the Community Association from Nostalgia Day.”
Having gotten only so far with direct appeals, Dembroski said her next step is to get organized and go to
businesses in the area.
The next few months are critical because April is the
deadline for applying for matching funds for the construction phase of the
project. The amount of money the Grange has raised will determine how much it
can apply for in matching funds.
The Grange needs to raise as much as possible, because the
first phase will involve major structural upgrades, including replacing the foundation, the rotted
sill plate and studs.
Donations are tax deductible. Checks should be made payable
to P.I.C.K. and mailed to Left Hand Grange, PO Box 301, Niwot, CO 80544.
Fire Department Readies For Mill Levy Increase Attempt
By Mandy Walker
Mountain View Fire Protection District (MVFPD) is organizing
a group of citizens, business owners and politicos to examine moving forward
with another attempt to get voters to approve an increase to the mill levy.
Fire Chief Randy Templeton hopes the group will have its first meeting in early
January.
Templeton also hopes to have the results of a study
commissioned by MVFPD in partnership with the City of Longmont, Boulder Rural
Fire Protection District and Boulder Emergency Services looking at how the
agencies could cooperate to deliver services more efficiently. A merger with
Boulder Rural is a possible scenario. Templeton said the study results will be
presented at a public meeting.
Templeton is concerned that MVFPD’s typical response time is around seven minutes while the national standard for
response times is four to four and a half minutes.
“We can do a whole lot better than we’re doing,” he said.
However, he believes an increase in the mill levy is necessary. “I can’t build
the system to the level it needs to be. I don’t have the cash for that.”
The mill levy currently stands at 7.977. That equates to
property tax of about $222 per year for a house valued at $350,000. Templeton
said that although the mill levy has been unchanged since at least 1991, the
amount each property owner pays has actually gone down over the years as the
population has increased.
The mill levy for Boulder Rural is 11.747, which voters
approved in 2006. That would be the target for MVFPD and would mean about
another $105 in property tax on a home valued at $350,000. Templeton estimates
that would generate an additional $2.9 million in revenue annually.
MVFFD made attempts in 2005 and 2006 to increase the mill
levy but both efforts have failed to get the support of voters. The next
election for the district will be held in May.
Ahead Of Its Time
By Anne Dyni
From 1920 to 1924, Elsie Demmon caught the train at the Boulder depot every weekday and commuted to work in
rural Boulder County. The ride wasn’t long - just seven miles and she arrived
at the 75th Street rail crossing promptly at 8:30 a.m.
From there, it was just a short walk along a gravel road to
the White Rock School where Demmon taught grades one
through eight.
Vernon Ewing recalled flagging that same train at the 95th
Street crossing when he and his mother traveled to Brighton to visit his aunt.
The train they rode was actually a gasoline-powered
passenger car called the McKeen Motor Car. Introduced
in 1905, it was the brainchild of William McKeen,
superintendent of Motive Power for the Union Pacific Railroad.
All of the McKeen cars were built
in the Union Pacific’s Omaha shops and for a time operated only on UP rail
lines. Nicknamed “the wind splitter,” its wedge-shaped front end and porthole
windows predated the diesel-powered streamliners of the 1930s.
A six-cylinder 200 hp internal combustion gasoline engine
powered the McKeen motorcar. Because it functioned as
a self-contained passenger car, one engineer, who acted as both driver and
conductor, could operate it.
A company brochure described its interior as “beautifully
finished with inlaid Cuban mahogany and wooden floors of hard maple.”
Structurally, these cars were lightweight, and their portholes were airtight,
watertight and dust-proof - features never before achieved in a standard car
window.
In 1908, three years after its introduction, Union Pacific
organized the McKeen Motor Car Company as a
subsidiary so that the cars could be sold to other railroads. Production
continued in UP’s Omaha shops and by 1909, the newer models were powerful
enough to pull trailers behind them.
The standard car was 55 feet long and accommodated 75
passengers on comfortable triple-wide leather seats. The addition of an
eight-wheel passenger trailer increased capacity by 58 people.
In all, more than 160 KcKeen motorcars
were built between 1905 and 1920. But when the United States entered World War
I, production was suspended. By 1920, interest in mechanical-transmission
motorcars had waned and production was brought to a close.
Several of the original cars were converted to gas-electric
engines. But when the last mechanical McKeen was
retired in 1942, it marked the end of the self-propelled rail car - an idea
ahead of its time.
Photo courtesy of the Erie Historical Society collection
This McKeen motorcar operated on
the Union Pacific line connecting Boulder, Erie, Brighton and Denver from the
early 1910s until 1925 when it was discontinued. It is shown here at the Erie
train depot.
By Mandy Walker
St. Vrain’s Unified District
gymnastics team celebrated the end of the season with a team banquet at Niwot
High School. Coaches Beth Healey and Erin Keeley presented each gymnast with a certificate, praising the athletes individually
for the contributions each made to the team.
Receiving a varsity letter for the first time were Becky
Allen (Longmont), Marie Bennett-Hawkes (Silver Creek)
and Rachel Johns (Faith Baptist).
Danielle Metzner (Niwot), Brittany
Wade (Longmont) and Hannah Yost (Silver Creek) lettered for the second time.
Team captain Elizabeth Stover received her fourth varsity letter for
gymnastics.
“Elizabeth did a great job keeping the girls focused and
unifying the team, which is difficult with everyone at different schools,” said
Healey. Healey believes Stover’s 9.7 beam score is the team’s highest score for
at least the past eight years and described Stover as “very exciting to watch.”
Healey was also impressed that with only about 100 girls
competing at the state competition, six girls from the team qualified.
It’s a tradition for the team members to vote for their
peers for seven awards:
·
Rookie of the Year went to Becky Allen.
·
Rachel Johns and Samantha Ross (Niwot)
tied for the Hardest Worker.
·
The Ham was presented to Hannah Yost as
the gymnast best able to present herself on the floor.
·
The TLC was awarded to Stover for
taking care of everyone else.
·
The Most Improved went to Ashlee Sanchez.
·
Brittany Wade won the MVP award.
·
Stover also won the Outstanding Gymnast
award.
Both coaches urged the girls to stay active during the
off-season and even to try another activity. “I think it’s great if you do
another sport – diving, track,” Healey said. “It helps give them confidence and
helps them in their gymnastics.”
“It really helps with
injuries if you keep your bodies in shape,” said Keeley.
Photo By Mandy Walker
Seniors Samantha Ross (Niwot), Elizabeth Stover (Longmont)
and Hannah Yost (Silver Creek) take the podium to thank coaches Beth Healey and
Erin Keeley for their hard work during the season.