Week of November 10, 2022
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 50
School board lays out legislative priorities Local control, parent choice are on short list BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
always been a pretty important highway,” said Douglas County Public Works Director Janet Herman. “And what we’ve realized over the last five, six years is that with the increase in development and employment growth in that area, 85 needs to be widened.”
Discussion from Douglas County School Board members indicates they will underscore the importance of local control and school and parent choice in any upcoming legislation on education. At the Nov. 1 board workshop, the school board went through its legislative priorities, which were last updated in 2020, to adjust them ahead of lawmakers returning to the statehouse next year. Before getting into specific areas of possible legislation, the board’s priorities document includes language to express the importance of leaving decisions about schools to local school boards, per the state constitution. Board member Mike Peterson said he wanted to re-emphasize local control of public schools and the district’s support for school choice and a variety of educational opportunities. “I think school choice is something we can really pride ourselves on and then recommit to choice for parents and support local control and honoring school choice,” he said. Peterson also advocated for legislation that reinforces the role of parents in their childrens’ education, giving examples of curriculum transparency and opt-outs. “It would be around supporting legislation that respects and supports parents’ values, beliefs and making it clear that parents have a right to make decisions regarding their childrens’ education in accordance with their personal faith, family upbringing, things like that,” he said. Board members David Ray and Elizabeth Hanson said they’d like the language to focus on the partnership between parents and schools. “I would suggest that we expand
SEE U.S. 85, P7
SEE SCHOOLS, P5
Downtown Parker
SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
Parker approves downtown development deal Town invests $57M BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Revitalizing downtown Parker continues to move forward as the town council voted 5-1 on Nov. 7 to approve a massive development agreement with Confluence Companies. The agreement involves the town selling six parcels of land that currently sit vacant along the downtown corridor. As part of the deal, the council agreed to give Confluence, headquartered in Golden, $57.3 million in incentives over 30 years through property tax, sales tax sharebacks and public improvement fees. Weldy Feazell, the director of the Parker Urban Renewal Authority, broke down the details of the agreement, which she described as a win-win for the town to turn a corner
with the My Mainstreet project, a community effort to encourage the right growth in the right places downtown. Feazell said the town has tried to sell the six parcels of land since 2018, with multiple deals falling through. Confluence Companies, she said, provides the best chance to make progress. However, Feazell said the deal could not go through without public investment. Hiring a third-party financial firm to run a variety of scenarios to see what is needed from the town to make the deal finanically feasible. According to the GAP analysis, consultants concluded that the revitalization project is not financially feasible without public investment, recommending a financial gap combination of property tax, sales tax shareback, public improvement fees and general investment. Councilmember Cheryl Poage said
while she is not against growth and progress, she took issue with how the process came to a vote. Poage said the council was made aware of the more than $50 million financial commitment on Oct. 31, with the public being told on Nov. 3. Poage stressed there has been a lack of transparency with the public and moved to delay the final vote until January. Just before voting on her motion, the town’s legal staff warned council members that the deal had to be approved on Nov. 7 or it would become null and void. Poage’s motion to delay failed 5-1. After nearly three hours of discussion. Poage voted against the measure to approve the final development agreement, stressing again the public deserved more communication and citizens should vote on such a massive development. SEE DOWNTOWN, P6
Project will widen U.S. 85, improve transportation BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In the largest construction contract in Douglas County’s history, a new project is underway on a section of U.S. 85, also known as Santa Fe Drive, from Highlands Ranch Parkway to C-470. Construction began on Oct. 3.
The project, which is predicted to take three years to complete, will widen the highway from four to six lanes at this segment. In addition, the project includes intersection enhancements, multimodal improvements and business access changes, according to the project’s webpage. The roadway “historically has