Herald Highlands Ranch 4/18/13
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 26, Issue 22
April 18, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Money helps speed C-470 project County commits up to $3.07 million for design, other work By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Douglas County has entered into a contract not to exceed $3.07 million with Wilson & Company Inc. to advance improvements for the C-470 Corridor. The contract, signed by the county commissioners April 9, will enable Wilson to go ahead with the preliminary design of the expansion between Interstate 25 and Kipling Road, as well as survey the project and conduct an environmental re-evaluation that is needed before construction can begin. Douglas County is just one of the entities along the corridor chipping in to get the project rolling, and Art Griffith, the county’s capital improvements projects manager, said he expects final approval for the project to take place next February. “Essentially this contract outlines $3.07 million of engineering services,” he said. “These are the next critical steps that are needed to advance the coalition’s efforts.”
The money for the investment is being taken out of the county’s road sales and use tax fund, in which $10 million was set aside for C-470 in the 2012 budget. Only $2 million was spent or encumbered last year, so the remainder was reappropriated as part of the 2013 budget. The actual project itself is expected to be paid for by the tolling of the new lanes, as was decided by the coalition this February. “This is a unique situation because we are working with a coalition that includes our neighboring jurisdictions along the C-470 corridor,” said Commissioner Jill Repella. “It is also unique because we are working with CDOT.” The coalition is also exploring applying for RAMP (Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships) funding with the state department of transportation, and Griffith said CDOT could contribute between $265 million and $350 million if accepted. Deadlines for applications are May 1. “With all the economic development that is going on in the northern part of the county, it is very important that we be proactive and really move forward, so I certainly support engineering’s approach on this,” said Commissioner Roger Partridge.
On April 9, Douglas County commissioners approved the spending of money previously appropriated for C-470 improvements to aid in the preliminary design study, surveying and environmental re-evaluation of a highway expansion expected to begin in 2014. File photo
Residents urged to be water wise Extra restrictions on hold across Highlands Ranch By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
Emmy Award-winning composer Charles Denler, of Highlands Ranch, recently completed the recording for “Portraits of Colorado, An American Symphony No. 1,” the first in a series of planned symphonies. The 10-movement symphony will be performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Chorus May 31 at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver. Photo by Ryan Boldrey
Portraits of Colorado come to life Emmy Award-winning composer pens symphony By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com In this area, the April 1999 Columbine tragedy is remembered every year at this time. For Highlands Ranch resident and Emmy-award winning composer Charles Denler, Columbine also finds its way into his latest work, “Portraits of Colorado, An American Symphony No. 1.” Denler, whose own brother was killed when he was 17, has always felt a connection to incidents like Columbine, and in the ninth movement, “The Columbine Tribute,” he combines the poetry of the state flower with the shootings that shook the state. “If you watch a sunrise in the morn-
ing you can see the flowers face east, and then throughout the day, they track the sun and turn to face west,” Denler said. “Every morning they know that the sun is going to come up in the east. It doesn’t matter how hard the night was. It gives a sense of new beginning and hope. “The movement obviously pays homage to the victims and the families, but it is not meant to be as much of a memorial as it is a hope for a better future.” Denler’s “Portraits of Colorado” — inspired by the artwork of Jerry Malzhan — is written in 10 shorter movements, as opposed to the traditional three, to appeal to the iPod generation. It will debut with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Chorus May 31 at Denver’s Boettcher Concert Hall. “It’s a passionate symphony not only about Colorado, but it’s really a symphony about overcoming the odds and overcom-
ing hardship, and finding hope even in the midst of the storm,” Denler said. “We all know that life is hard, and on some people it’s harder than others. This symphony is about celebrating new beginnings and fresh starts.” Writing with the dissonance and quick resolve of Aaron Copland to the melody and theme of John Williams, Denler intends to follow up “Portraits of Colorado” with two other symphonies in the next two years: “Portraits of an American Soldier, American Symphony No. 2” and “Portraits of New England, An American Symphony No. 3.” In addition to the symphonies and composing scores for Honda, Oprah Winfrey and “Dateline NBC,” Denler — who earned his Emmys for best music in 2004 with “Bentley Creek” and in 2005 for “Beyond the Medal of Honor” — recently composed Music continues on Page 8
While Centennial Water and Sanitation District has already switched to its summer watering budget, the district is encouraging Highlands Ranch residents not to start watering their lawns until May and to be prudent in doing so. “We want people to delay their watering as long as they can,” said Jon Klassen, water conservation coordinator for the district. “People may think it’s dry outside, but if you put a shovel in the ground you’re probably going to find soil moisture 4 to 6 inches down. Plants will find that, and it will help promote deeper root growth.” Centennial is one of the few area water districts that does not have additional restrictions in place heading into what is expected to be potentially the biggest drought year since 2002, but that doesn’t mean those restrictions couldn’t come. “We have restrictions ready on the back burner, and if we have to bring them to the front burner, we can exercise that discretion,” said General Manager John Hendrick. “At this time we are really emphasizing the conservation message. You don’t want to be Chicken Little, but you do want to be prudent. We are in a drought.” The drought of 2002 moved Centennial to take a hard look at its water situation, and in 2003 the district set in place its annual water budget, which is still being used. It’s because of those annual restrictions that additional ones aren’t needed at this time. “It is looking almost exactly like 2002 this year, the only difference being that this Water continues on Page 8
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