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Week of December 1, 2022
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 39 | ISSUE 19
Camp Christmas lights up Lakewood Wheat Ridge discusses 2023 budget BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Santa Claus greets visitors on opening night of Lakewood’s 2022 Camp Christmas.
PHOTOS BY ANDREW FRAIELI
BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Candy. That is was Alice Chyou’s favorite part about her first time visiting Lakewood’s Camp Christmas at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park. Not Santa Claus ready to hear Christmas her wishes, not Hin Han the flaming metal owl sculpture and not the shimmering lights scattered amongst trees and decorating buildings. “To come and decorate in this living museum is kind of trippy,” said Lonnie Hanzon, the creator of Camp Christmas. He’s commenting on how his outlines and schematics for what a physical Camp Christmas would look like fit the park perfectly, SEE LIGHTS, P4
Omar and Blake Chyou visited Camp Christmas for the first time this year, with Alice Chyou hiding behind her father.
Starting 2023 with $48.4 million, Wheat Ridge is estimated to bring in $78.1 million across all of its funding, spending about $92.5 million according to the city’s 2023 estimated budget. Representing the most budget expenditure is the Capital Improvement Program which covers projects like the Improve Wadsworth project, street maintenance and bike lane improvements — 29% of the total budget — with the police department coming in second at about 17% of the total budget. The council and staff reviewed the budget in a study session Nov. 21, planning to have a final public hearing and adopting the budget on Nov. 28. According to City Manager Patrick Goff, “the 2023 budget cautiously projects an optimistic view for the city in the near term.” He said in the study session that revenues are projected to still increase, but at a slower pace than the recent past, with inflation increasing goods and labor costs. “Some uncertainty does exist concerning the future of the economy,” he continued. “However, I believe Wheat Ridge has built a strong foundation, and we will continue to remain resilient against future challenges.” The total budget is split into various categories, with the general fund taking up the most of the budget at 51%. That fund breaks down into further categories including the police at 30%. SEE BUDGET, P5
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
THE UNDERRATED TEACHER P16