VOLUME 36 | ISSUE 35
WEEK OF AUGUST 29, 2024
$2
Water district seeks to dump TABOR limits Adams County
distributing bug repellant
Efforts to stem West Nile virus spread are ongoing STAFF REPORT
at the water district. “But we’re a special district. As a water and wastewater provider, we’ve just never gone to the voters with this request before.” The district’s Board of Directors hosted a special Aug. 26 meeting to listen to public input before deciding whether to place the measure on the ballot. Should the board decide to move forward with the measure, it will appear on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. Only voters within the district, which primarily provides water and wastewater services to Commerce City and parts of unincorporated Adams County, would be eligible to decide the measure’s fate. An estimated 70,000 residents rely on the water district’s services, according to a recent press release.
As more communities across the Front Range report instances of West Nile virus, Adams County is stepping up efforts to help residents avoid the disease and the mosquitos that help spread it. The Adams County Health Department will be distributing free cans of insect repellent that contain Picaridin at its clinics beginning Aug. 28. The offices are located at 1401 W. 122nd Ave. #200, in Westminster, and at 7000 Broadway Suite 400, in Denver. Picaridin is an odorless, non-greasy insect repellant developed as an alternative to DEET, which can be harmful to plastic items such as sunglasses and clothing. Picaridin doesn’t irritate the skin or damage plastics, according to the county, and can be used on children older than two months old. The health department also plans to give out the repellant at community outreach events throughout the end of summer and into the early fall. More information is available at the health department’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X pages. Colorado reported its first human case of West Nile virus in 2024, a woman in Arapahoe County, in June. Since then, the disease has been reported in Denver and Colorado Springs. Boulder County reported its first human case of West Nile virus in Longmont on Aug. 20. The virus was first detected in mosquitoes in Adams County in July. August and September are traditionally the two months with the highest number of people catching West Nile Virus from bites of infected mosquitoes. In 2023, Colorado had 634 re-
SEE LIMITS, P6
SEE REPELLANT, P11
The Metro Water Recovery Northern Treatment Plant is part of the water district and serves portions of Adams County, FILE PHOTO Aurora, Brighton, Commerce City, Denver, and Denver International Airport.
• Page 9
• Vestas to lay off 200 employees
BUSINESS
South Adams County Water and Sanitation District considers ballot measure BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
• Page 3
•27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
3 5 8 11
LOCAL OBITUARIES LEGALS CLASSIFIED
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
LOCAL
The clock is ticking down to the Sept. 9 deadline to add ballot measures for consideration in Colorado’s upcoming November general election. The South Adams County Water and Sanitation District, which supplies drinking water to Commerce City, is among the entities considering adding a question to the ballot in the next couple of weeks. The proposed measure would seek voter approval to exempt the district from the revenue collection limits imposed by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), a constitutional amendment
passed by Colorado voters in 1992 that limits the amount of revenue that state and local governments can collect and spend. The practice of gaining voter approval to transcend these fiscal limits has been dubbed “de-Brucing” here in the Centennial State, snidely named after the author of TABOR, Douglas Bruce. If it passes, the water district will join the ranks of the majority of Colorado cities and districts that have undergone the process, including the City and County of Denver, which approved a deBrucing measure in 2012, numerous municipalities in Boulder County, including the city of Boulder and the Boulder Valley School District, and even Commerce City and the South Adams County Fire Protection District. “Adams County themselves have done this,” said Theresa Friess, Public Affairs Coordinator
OBITUARIES: PAGE 5 | CLASSIFIEDS: PAGE 8 | LEGAL: PAGE 10
COMMERCECITYSENTINEL.COM • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
CLOSING HEALTHCARE GAPS Helping people find the care they need P4