JULY 23 - 30, 2025
VOLUME 32, ISSUE 28
THE DEFINITIVE SOURCE FOR GRAND JUNCTION BUSINESS & COMMUNITY NEWS SINCE 1994
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New GJ fire station may open without staff Brandon Leuallen
D
The Business Times
uring the July 16 Grand Junction City Council meeting, local emergency medical technician Andrea Barber delivered a public comment warning that the newly built Grand Junction Fire Station 7, set to open across from Appleton Elementary, may be unstaffed despite voters approving a tax measure in 2019 that promised full staffing for new fire stations. “There’s currently no solid plan in place to staff Station 7, nor to recruit for a fire academy next spring due to lack of funding,” Barber told the council. “This is a promise that was made to taxpayers, and it’s a promise I implore this council to find a way to keep.” Station 7 is the third and final fire station funded by Ballot Measure 2B, also known as the First Responders Tax Act, which was approved by voters in April 2019. The measure increased sales and use taxes by 0.5 percent to provide “dedicated funding for fire, police, and emergency medical services.” The revenue from 2B was split between the Grand Junction fire and police departments, supporting not only firefighter staffing and infrastructure, but also police officers, civilian staff, dispatch operations, vehicles and equipment. See FIRE on Page 4
Owner of zip line got $1.7M in incentives...
And the taxpayers got ZIP!
— See story, Page 2
The zip line, built by Bonsai Design, which operates it under its trade name, Riverfront Zip Adventures, has been locked up and out of service since it shut down partway through 2024. As of July 18, 2025, the Riverfront Zip Adventures bookings page reads: “We are closed for the remainder of the season and we hope to see you next year.” Photo by Brandon Leuallen.
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