Northglenn Thornton
Sentinel
December 13, 2012
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com
Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 18
Region targets traffic congestion Thornton joins forces in I-25 plan By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com Thornton City Council allocated funding for the Interstate 25 North Managed Lane Extension and Express Bus Project. At its Dec. 4 regular meeting, council unanimously approved $1.75 million for the highway improvements, that will include the area between U.S. Highway 36 and 120th Avenue. Assistant City Manager Joyce Hunt said the $44 million project is subsidized with a mixture of federal funds and local con-
tributions from seven surrounding municipalities, including Adams, Broomfield and Weld counties along with the cities of Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster. “What really led to the success of the funding of this project was the coming together of the counties and cities to make a significant contribution to this project,” Hunt said. “This is actually a very important project for the north area, because … it’ll provide a very important congestion relief for an interim period, which could be a while, until the permanent improvements
are constructed to add general purpose lanes through that area at some point in the future.” Thornton’s contribution to the project will be doled out over a three-year period beginning next year. The project, which is expected to be completed by summer 2015, calls for the construction of one new managed lane in each direction on I-25 between U.S. 36 and 120th by narrowing the inside shoulder of the existing thoroughfare. This six-mile stretch of highway would then be repaved and installed with a new one-mile noise wall to accompany an existing three-mile noise wall. Public transit and high occupancy ve-
hicles with two or more passengers will be allowed free access to the continuous managed lanes, while all other vehicles will be assessed a toll. In all, Hunt said $34 million of the project will be funded through the state grants from the Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery (FASTER) program and federal grants through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. Apart from the $4,525,000 contributed by surrounding cities and counties, the remaining $5.8 million balance will be funded by Denver Regional Council of Governments federal funds and RTD local transit funds.
Precious clothing drive under way Donated gear to benefit A Precious Child’s annual holiday efforts By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com Members of the North Metro Fire Rescue District took a few hours last week to give back to the community they serve by hosting a winter gear drive to benefit A Precious Tree, an annual holiday outreach effort run by A Precious Child. Throughout the two-hour event on Dec. 5, nearly 40 community members filtered through NMFR Station 64 at 13515 Lowell Blvd. in Broomfield to learn about fire safety and the importance of giving back. “Considering what A Precious Child has done for the community, we’re very proud to be a part of it,” said NMFR spokeswoman Stacey Mulligan. “All the families have come in so far have brought donations, so it has been a huge success in that way for us.” Mulligan said the fire department has been involved in the annual holiday outreach event since the effort first began in 2007. She said it is particularly important to the fire department, because NMFR first responders often encounter needy families and children when responding to emergency calls.
Jordan Bransom, 8, of Broomfield tries on firefighter gear Dec. 5 during a benefit for A Precious Child at North Metro Fire Station 64. Jordan and his family donated new and gently-used items to A Precious Child, an organization which helps support impoverished families throughout Colorado. Photo by Emily Mehring “We see it firsthand … and we want to make sure we’re reaching out to the non-profit community and helping them out,” Mulligan said. “We know that by doing things like this, holding these types of events, and making sure that we’re contributing to the
cause of helping is going to make a big difference.” A Precious Child founder Carina Martin said donations collected from all eight NMFR locations will be transferred over to the nonprofit’s donation distribution facility in Broomfield. There,
she said, children and their families from 170 partnering agencies in Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Jefferson, Arapahoe and Denver Counties can pick up any winter gear they need. Martin said donated, gentlyused clothing items that are need-
ed this winter season includes children’s coats, long pants, boots and blankets. Martin said the need for donations is becoming increasingly important as the community’s need and the organization’s reach grows. In fact, she said about 23 families across the Denver metro area stop by the non-profit’s donation distribution facility in Broomfield each day. “We still can’t even touch the surface for the need that exists out there, so we need everybody coming out and dropping off their donations,” Martin said. Broomfield resident Ginger Bransom said she heard about the donation event through a friend and decided to stop by the NMFR fire station and drop off a few of her children’s old jackets. “I think it’s a great grassroots movement for the Broomfield community to try and give back to our community,” Bransom said. “Oftentimes, I think that it’s always nice that we help other countries, but it’s just as important to help people in your own community and those that are in need as well.” The winter clothing drive will be held until Dec. 21. These drop-off locations include two of the fire department’s stations in Northglenn, at 10500 Huron St. and 10946 Irma Drive. For more information, contact Mulligan at 303-452-9910 or smulligan@northmetrofire.org.
County, cities unite in DIA’s future Resurrected committee addresses ongoing future development concerns By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com A meeting of about 30 to 35 Adams County and neighboring city officials convened last week for the first time in five years to address looming concerns about
proposed development around Denver International Airport. Members of the Airport Coordinating Committee, including Westminster and Thornton officials, met in a two one-hour executive sessions to discuss future plans outlined by Denver Mayor
Michael B. Hancock in June to build an Aerotropolis and Airport City surrounding the 34,000 acre airport. Adams County Commissioner Erik Hansen, the designated interim Airport Coordinating Committee spokesman, said these
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concerns stem from alleged violations of a 1988 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between Adams and Denver Counties to construct the airport city portion of the plan. That agreement spells out the creation of the Airport Coordinating Committee and restricts the development of “accessory uses,” confined to “only those land uses which are necessary for or directly related to the operation of the new airport,” such as parking structures and retail or concession space. The agreement also limits residential, commercial and industrial development to areas south of 72nd Avenue, and south and east of an open space buffer along Peña Boulevard, requiring Denver to actively limit development north and west of the buffer.
Existing plans for Airport City Denver plans calls for the construction of five business clusters within a 9,000-acre area, targeting the bioscience, renewable energy, aviation and aerospace, logistics, industrial agriculture and perishable-foods industries. The proposal includes areas where the agreement restricts development. Hansen acknowledged the committee and Denver County “are united in the belief that we need to work together toward the common goal of economic development for the region,” but said more must be done. “I think the message is pretty clear,” Hansen said. “There were promises made in the 1988 IGA and we expect them to be kept, and we’re unified in making sure Airport continues on Page 2