Week of February 16, 2023
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
CastlePinesNewsPress.net
VOLUME 10 | ISSUE 26
County homeless numbers drop in annual count Data skewed due to cold BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Douglas County saw a drop in the number of people experiencing homelessness who were counted as part of the Denver metro area’s annual snapshot of the unhoused this
year compared to last, according to early data. And while it’s difficult to pinpoint what causes unhoused people to be located in or outside of Douglas County on one night per year, county officials attribute the decrease to the work of a new team that helps connect the unhoused in Douglas with services. “Having a (resource) navigator
paired with law enforcement seems to be the secret sauce,” county Commissioner Abe Laydon said during a Feb. 9 news conference announcing the preliminary numbers. Dangerously cold weather rolled into Douglas County and around the Denver area at the end of January, potentially affecting the metro area’s annual Point in Time count. When outdoor conditions are
so harsh, unhoused people might “scrape together enough resources” to pay for a motel room — thus flying under the radar of the annual tally, said Jamie Rife, director of the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative. “We don’t have the data yet, but we (may see) that more people stayed inside or found a couch to stay on,” SEE COUNT, P8
Bill could require county board to expand to 5 School district
gets creative to keep teachers Affordable housing considered BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
“To me, it is a simple good governance issue, but there is pretty much united bipartisan opposition from county commissioners who would be impacted,” said state Rep. Bob Marshall, a Highlands Ranch Democrat and one of the bill’s top supporters.
While the Cherry Creek School District approved salary increases to recruit and retain teachers, the Douglas County School District is forced to be more creative in addressing the ongoing issue. During the Feb. 7 meeting, school board members considered the option to partner with developers to create housing options for teachers who cannot currently afford to live in Douglas County. Despite being one of the state’s largest school districts, Douglas County has struggled to compete with other districts in teachers’ salaries, and the results of the November election did not help. Voters rejected a mill levy measure, which was slated to go directly
SEE EXPAND, P5
SEE CREATIVE, P4
A bill introduced in the state legislature would require larger counties to expand to five-member commissions. There are currently FILE PHOTO three commission members in Douglas County.
Laydon opposed measure BY ELLIS ARNOLD AND HALEY LENA EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In Douglas County, three people make the decisions that affect roughly 370,000 residents. Often, those choices come from the major-
ity of two commissioners. Now, a bill in the state legislature could change that, expanding the number of members on a county’s board of elected leaders to five. The bill would affect several Front Range counties with large enough populations, including Douglas County, where the board has become known for its bitter conflicts.
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | SPORTS: PAGE 20
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