Transcript GOLDEN 1/24/13
Golden
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 147, Issue 8
January 24, 2013
50 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourgoldennews.com
Golden won’t appeal parkway right-of-way By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com The city of Golden will not continue its legal fight against a land swap between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority (JPPHA). Golden Mayor Marjorie Sloan said the decision was made during a closed-door meeting on Jan. 10. “It was based on the pros and cons, presented by our legal counsel,” Sloan said. After a year in the courts, a federal judge in late December ruled against Golden, the city of Superior, and environmental groups WildEarth Guardians and Rocky Mountain Wild. The groups had argued in a joint lawsuit that the Fish and Wildlife Service had not acted appropriately in granting a 300foot major highway right-of-way along the
eastern edge of the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge to the JPPHA for more than $10 million. Specifically, the groups argued there had not been proper environmental review of how the highway might affect any remaining contaminants in the Rocky Flats area, as well as the presence of endangered species in the area. “It took the judge 96 pages to resolve all the claims (in favor of the JPPHA). We still believe we had a solid justification,” Sloan said. However, proving that a government agency had acted illegally concerning its own area of expertise is an uphill battle, Sloan said. Golden Finance Director Jeff Hansen said he has kept a running total of the city’s legal fees involved in the fighting of the parkway plan, going back to 1997. “Since that time we have spent slightly
over $2.3 million,” Hansen said. Sloan said she could not speculate whether Golden might legally challenge any future efforts of the JPPHA to complete the parkway — a 10-mile tollway that is considered one of the missing links in the 470 beltway. Sloan did say that the city’s best option moving forward seems to be “working with CDOT on technical solutions to make the roads work for those who live here, and for traffic still move smoothly for those just passing through.” To that end, Sloan said the city has just updated its Highway 6 to 93 corridor plan, existing stretches of road that might be expanded to become part of the beltway. The JPPHA held a short meeting Jan. 17, its first meeting of the year, and the first since acquisition of what it calls the “Rocky Flats transportation corridor.”
“Congratulations for everybody who was involved with this complex transaction,” said Jefferson County Commissioner and JPPHA board member Donald Rosier at the meeting. “It was an additional year, but we got it done,” said Arvada Mayor and JPPHA Chair Marc Williams about the year-long legal battle. The JPPHA still has years of planning and study ahead of it before construction would begin on the parkway, according to the group’s Interim Executive Director Bill Ray. Though the land swap has already occurred, the other members of the original lawsuit have already filed appeals to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. First briefs are expected to be filed in the appeals case as early as February.
Economic forecast bright Steady growing trend in job market, consumer spending to continue, economist says By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews.com
Alyssa Graves and her father, Barry Graves, inside Art on the Brix, 1299 Washington Ave. Suite 180 in downtown Golden Jan. 17. The father-daughter team won the Golden Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year. Photo by Andy Carpenean
Business paints a pretty picture Golden Chamber awards business of the year By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews. com Art and wine studio Art on the Brix was named the Golden business of the year at the Greater Golden Chamber of Commerce annual awards ceremony Jan. 17. Art on the Brix (1299 Washington Avenue, Suite 180) own-
er Alyssa Graves said the award was a great surprise. “The chamber’s president Roy Masters left me a phone message saying there was something he wanted to talk to me about. I thought I had done something wrong!” Graves said. When she did get the news, Graves said she started crying. “It’s absolutely phenomenal to have the whole community say, ‘We recognize you and we’re excited about what you’re doing,’” Alyssa Graves said. Graves opened Art on the Brix in the fall of 2011 with her
POSTAL ADDRESS
father, Barry Graves, a construction contractor. “His love of wine and my love of art came together at the right time in our lives,” Alyssa Graves said. Barry Graves put it this way: “I saw it as a way of getting her more of that artistic element that she’s interested in, and gives me something to do in my retirement.” The studio, complete with a full wine and beer bar, gives individuals, couples, or even large groups a chance to come in and do some painting, often with the assistance of local professional artists like Jesse Crock and Jeannette Stutzman. As she accepted the award, Alyssa Graves recounted the story of how a woman had just come in the day before to schedule a large group painting project. “She said she was about to begin chemotherapy, and wanted to get all of her friends together to have some fun be-
fore she got sick,” Alyssa Graves said. Colorado’s 7th Congressional District Rep. Ed Perlmutter attended the ceremony, which was held at the Golden Hotel, and said that all the award winners would be read into the congressional record. He described Golden as representing “good service, good products, good people.” Also at the event Masters introduced the 2013 Chamber Board, including incoming president Lisa Knipp at the event. Other awards given out at the ceremony: Ambassador of the Year — Chris Quoyeser, Alpha Graphics Golden Young Professional of the Year — Jaime Strong, Three Tomatoes Steakhouse Civic Award — The Lariat Loop Chairman’s Award — ERA, A Waters Company Charlie O’Brien Award — Connie Tysdal
Colorado has been on a slow and steady economic recovery over the past couple years, and that trend should improve this year. Patty Silverstein, president of Development Research Partners, presented an economic forecast for the Denver metro area for 2013 during the Arvada Chamber of Commerce’s Third Friday Legislative Breakfast Jan. 18. She defines the Denver metro region as a seven-county region area from Boulder County to Douglas County. “We have been going forward, and we expect in 2013 that we will continue to grow and expand, but at a slow rate,” Silverstein said. Metro area unemployment tends to stay below the nation’s. In 2012, the average metro unemployment rate was 7.7 percent whereas the nation’s was 8.1 percent. “We expect the unemployment rate will continue to drift downward a little bit in 2013,” Silverstein said. Silverstein predicts the unemployment rate for the Denver metro area will be 7.5 percent this year with the nation’s at 7.9. In 2009-10, 64,000 jobs were lost in the Denver metro area. But by 2013, 74,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the metro area. Of the metro area’s 12 industrial clusters, which include aviation, aerospace, health care and information technology, five have experienced growth over the past years, Silverstein said. Colorado’s aerospace industry is now the second largest in the country behind California. Consumers are spending more money too, Silverstein said. Forecast continues on Page 4
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.