DOUGLAS CO 1/3/12
Castle Rock
News-Press
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 10, Issue 41
January 3, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Incentive package big draw for town Digital Globe Services owner meets with council By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com
Castle Pines artist Mary Williams welcomed about 50 visitors to the Dec. 21, 2012, solstice celebration at Elk Ridge Park. Photo by Rhonda Moore
Solstice brings crowd to park Second winter celebration eclipses first go-round By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com The winter solstice celebration in Castle Pines could become a holiday tradition if Mary Williams has her way. Williams on Dec. 21 welcomed a crowd
to the second annual solstice celebration and a chance to experience her interactive artwork on permanent display at Elk Ridge Park. The Castle Pines artist in 2011 unveiled her solstice sculptures at the park and was on her own for that year’s winter celebration. With the help of the City of Castle Pines and word of mouth in her neighborhood, the 2012 celebration was more of a community event. Nearly 50 people joined Williams at the park around the noon hour on winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the
day when the sun is at its lowest altitude. Williams’s solstice sculptures comprise a summer display at one end of the park and a winter display at the other. The functional pieces were inspired by the Anasazi Sun Dagger in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon. The Sun Dagger marks the extreme positions of the sun and moon during the summer and winter solstices and is said to be an ancient calendar. Notable in the discovery of the Sun Dagger, a rock formation believed to have been Solstice continues on Page 17
Fieldhouse to break ground in 2013 Indoor areas for year-round play on Castle Rock’s radar By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com Castle Rock nearly doubled its investment in a regional park with plans in 2013 to advance construction on a $9 million fieldhouse. The Philip S. Miller fieldhouse is designed as a 50,000-square-foot building to feature indoor synthetic turfs, a play adventure area and swimming pools. The goal is to accelerate construction of the fieldhouse to coincide with the 2014 grand opening of the first phase of the Philip S. Miller Regional Park, said Rob Hanna, director of Castle Rock parks and recreation. The park is on 225 acres south of The Meadows off of Plum Creek Parkway, with hiking and biking trails, an outdoor amphitheater, adventure playground and athletic fields. The first phase of the park is a $10 million investment included in the parks and recreation department’s 2013 budget. In their last meeting of 2012, council-
Town council is putting its money where its mouth is, offering more than $280,000 in economic incentives to entice businesses to Castle Rock. The town on Dec. 4 met the recipient of one of its 2012 incentive packages, in the form of a business owner who moved his global headquarters from Washington, D.C., to 316 Wilcox St. Jeff Cox, owner of Digital Globe Services, chose Castle Rock for 13 executives from the East and West coasts, he said. Cox, a four-year resident of Castle Rock, selected the area after being approached by the town’s economic development council. His company received an incentive package from the town that included 50 percent off town building fees up to $2,500 and a jobs incentive package up to $27,500. The $30,000 cap on the Digital Globe Services package ranks among the lowest that town council has approved, according to the town’s economic development fund report. Some companies negotiated incentive packages up to $99,000 from money earmarked to advance economic development. The incentives are financed through the Castle Rock economic development fund, a $5 million fund established in 2011 by town council, said Trish Muller, director of finance. Among the recipients of 2012 incentive packages are Rocky Mountain Excavating on Atchison Way, Holiday Inn Express on Genoa Way and Douglas County Firearms on Park Street. “We are investing in our existing businesses, as well as welcoming new business to Castle Rock,” said Mayor Paul Donahue, District 1, in the town’s development fund report. “These businesses bring in new revenue and keep revenue from leaving our community. Bottom line: They create jobs for our citizens, expand our tax base, make significant capital investments in Castle Rock and spur new office, industrial and retail expansion in our community.” Cox chose Castle Rock over the Denver Tech Center thanks to the economic incentive offer on the table, he said. The package helped make the final decision to purchase and renovate the space on Wilcox Street. “Without the incentives, it would have been more difficult for us to do that,” Cox said. “It’s a win for our company and a win for Castle Rock.” Digital continues on Page 17
INCENTIVES FOR 2012
The Town of Castle Rock advanced the start of construction from 2014 to 2013 for the $8.9 million Philip S. Miller Regional Park fieldhouse. Courtesy image from Town of Castle Rock
members on Dec. 18 voted unanimously to bump construction of the fieldhouse from 2014 to 2013, by issuing $8.9 million in certificates of participation. The certificates of participation are an obligation secured by a public asset, and no taxpayer approval is required for the
issuance of COPs. The obligation for the fieldhouse will be paid back over the next 20 years by impact fees from future growth, Hanna said. The plans for the fieldhouse include a full-size synthetic turf field for events such Fieldhouse continues on Page 17
The Town of Castle Rock finances economic development with $5 million dedicated from the general fund in 2011 to the economic development fund, said Trish Muller, director of finance. The 2012 economic incentives include: • Digital Globe Services, whose incentive offer included up to 12 high-paying, executive-level jobs, received an incentive package up to $30,000. • Rocky Mountain Excavating offered 50 new positions, 10 of which are permanently based in Castle Rock — incentive up to $55,000. • Holiday Inn Express offered 15 full-time and five parttime positions plus improved services for Castle Rock — incentive up to $99,000. • Douglas County Firearms offered 18 full-time positions by the end of 2014 — incentive up to $99,000.