July 29, 2021
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
Shake Shack coming to Park Meadows Location to offer patio dining, sell alcoholic beverages BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Shake Shack is joining the list of food joints at Park Meadows mall, bringing not only an outdoor patio dining section but also the only alcoholic-beverage options to the shopping center’s food hall. “Just giving another twist to the way you can dine,” Park Meadows Senior General Manager Pam Kelly said. The site is under construction, converting a former food hall seating section into a food stand designed for Shake Shack, including pedestal ordering stations. The burger chain will be located next to the food hall entrance. Kelly said Park Meadows expects Shake Shack to open in September or October. The restaurant chain owned by famed restaurateur Danny Meyer began as a hot dog stand near New York City’s Madison Square Park in 2001, according to the company SEE SHAKE SHACK, P10
BY MADDIE BROWNING SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
The City of Lone Tree held a special town hall for the Mapping Our Future initiative on July 22 to
Unvaccinated people drive COVID rise as school looms In Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, 95% of those recently hospitalized were not fully vaccinated BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
city’s budget and financial future. She discussed how 72% of the city’s budget comes from sales and use tax revenue. The city’s sales tax rate is 1.8125%, with 1.5% used for city operations. The remaining 0.3125% is a temporary voterapproved tax increase used for the arts center, golf course and other recreational activities. Baumgartner said that even with
With the new school year only weeks away, Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties are seeing the signs of an upswing in rates of new COVID-19 cases, according to a news release from Tri-County Health Department. “Two connected factors are responsible for the increase in new cases: individuals who remain unvaccinated and the highly contagious Delta variant,” the health agency wrote in the news release. In parallel with trends across the U.S. and Colorado, new cases of COVID-19 have increased in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties in the past month, according to TriCounty, which is the local public health agency for the three counties. “While the overall rates are much lower than they were in April thanks to those who have been fully vaccinated against the virus, this recent increase in cases is concerning especially with school beginning in the next few weeks,” the agency added. Schools will likely return with little to no social distancing or mask requirements next month. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released new P-12
SEE TAXES, P22
SEE COVID, P20
The site of a future Shake Shack at the Park Meadows mall food hall is under construction and will feature a patio. PHOTO BY JESSICA GIBBS
Town hall examines proposed Lone Tree tax hike City might seek voter approval for 1-point sales tax increase
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 23
discuss the proposed 1 percentage point sales tax increase and answer questions from residents. Mayor Jackie Millet and members of the city’s executive team discussed how the city is being affected by its current budget, the different options for budget cuts and tax increases and why officials landed on increasing the sales tax rate from 1.5% to 2.5%. Kristin Baumgartner, deputy city manager, spoke first about the
FUN AND FLEXIBLE
Outdoors or indoors, a round of miniature golf is what you make it P14
WESTERN WELCOME WEEK Littleton’s signature annual bash is back in full form. Our guide is inside P15