Westsider Westsider 10-25-2013
North Jeffco
POSTAL PATRON
October 25,2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
North Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 42
PRSRT - STd ECRWSS US POSTAgE PAid BROOmfiELd CO PERmiT #101 Eddm
Tax hike supported by forum By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally speaks during the celebration of the opening of the new Uptown Avenue and Wadsworth Parkway Bridges on Oct. 15. The Uptown Avenue Bridge, formerly known as Olde Wadsworth/112th Avenue, is the second bridge of five to be replaced on the US Express Lanes Project. Photo by Ashley Reimers
Bridge opens By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
Another bridge completion along the US 36 Express Lanes project was celebrated recently, marking the second of five bridges to be replaced thus far. Members of the Colorado Department of Transportation, Regional Transportation District and city officials from Westminster and Broomfield came together on Oct. 15 to open the new Uptown Avenue bridge, formerly known as the Olde Wadsworth/112th Avenue bridge. The new Wadsworth Parkway bridge, the first completed replacement bridge which opened on Oct. 5, was also celebrated during the event. “We are thrilled to reach this milestone,” said Mark Gosselin, US 36 Express Lanes project director. “The Uptown Avenue and the Wadsworth Parkway bridges are vital connections for the regional and local communities.” The US 36 Express Lanes project is a $312 million, multimodule project between Federal Boulevard and 88th Avenue Street in Louisville/Superior. The project is building an express lane in each direction of U.S. 36. The lanes will accommodate high-occupancy vehicles, bus rapid transit and tolled single-occupancy vehicles. Phase 1, currently under construction, will
extend from Federal Boulevard to 88th Street in Louisville/Superior and open by January 2015. Phase 2, which is expected to begin this winter, will extend from 88th Street to Table Mesa in Boulder and is set to open in January 2016. Other bridges up for replacement in the project are the Wadsworth Boulevard bridge at 112 Avenue, Lowell Boulevard and Sheridan Boulevard bridges as well as the U.S. 36 bridge over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Improvements will be made on the Westminster Promenade bridge and the East and West Flatiron bridges. The project will include new electronic display signage at stations and bus priority improvements at ramps and the total cost of the project is $317 million. “This bridge represents progress to me and is part of the FasTracks Progress,” said Judy Lubow, RTD District I Director. “The Uptown Avenue bridge is part of the infrastructure that is facilitating FasTracks and in 2016 we will see Bus Rapid Transit come to his area and be a fast, reliable, high qual-
ity form of transit for the commuters in the north.” The US 36 Express Lanes project has been a collaborative effort amongst CDOT, RTD, contractor Ames/Granite Joint Venture, the U.S. 36 Mayors and Commissioners Coalition and the communities along the corridor, including Westminster and Broomfield. During the celebration, Westminster mayor Nancy McNally touched on the importance of the collaboration and said the effort is “a model for regionalism.” “The cities and the counties helped bring us to this point. Replacing the bridges is an enormous part of the overall project and we at Westminster know that because we also have the Sheridan bridge,” McNally said. “When we work together, our tax dollars are being used wisely. The bridge is just the beginning and we look forward to collaborating to continue to improve our transit needs as the work continues.” For more information on the US 36 Express Lanes Project, visit www. us36expresslanes.com.
Hispanic leaders came together in Denver on Oct. 21 to urge folks to support a school finance tax hike that they say will greatly impact Latino students. Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia headlined a forum at El Museo de las Americas, where he touted the highlights of Amendment 66, a statewide ballot measure that will create $950 million in new taxes annually to fund an overhaul of the state’s school finance overhaul. The money would be used to implement reforms that were put in place earlier this year by the Democrat-led Legislature. The taxes would fund full-day kindergarten, preschool for at-risk youth and provide more resources for school programs, including those that directly impact English language learners. Garcia, a Democrat, said that the tax hike — which will have a greater impact on tax payers with higher incomes — is a small price to pay to ensure that Colorado remains one of the most highly educated states in the country. “We’re going to go from the second most well-educated state to the first, and lot of those kids that will help us get there will be a lot of our Latino kids,” Garcia said. Growing numbers of English language learners and children living in poverty in counties like Adams and Jefferson would get more funding under Amendment 66. Both Jefferson County Public Schools and the Adams 12 Five Star School district would receive a 14 percent funding increase, if the measure passes. The districts would also see similar per pupil funding increases. Adams 12 would go from a per-pupil funding base of $6,463 to $7,076, a 9.5 percent increase, while Jeffco would see its per-pupil funding increase from $6,486 to $7,112, a 9.7 percent raise. Amendment 66 would raise taxes on all Colorado taxpayers. It would raise income taxes to 5 percent on everyone earning $75,000 or less. Those who earn over that amount would pay 5 percent on the first $75,000 in taxable income and 5.9 percent on taxable income above $75,000. Colorado’s current income tax rate is a flat 4.63 percent, regardless of income level. Guillermo “Bill” Vidal, who briefly served as Denver mayor and who currently is the CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver, said that his chamber board supports Amendment 66, regardless of the price tag. “For a business group to support a tax increase is an unusual thing,” he said. Critics say the ballot measure only throws more money at a bureaucratic school system, and that the new formula does not have enough reform or transparency to be effective. Opponents also blast Amendment 66 as a huge tax increase on all Colorado taxpayers at a time when they could least afford it. Not a single Republican voted for the legislation that is tied to Amendment 66, Senate Bill 213.
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.