FREE
July 9, 2020
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ArvadaPress.com
VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 6
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 12
JCPH says it will take legal action against Bandimere for July 4 show
A representative from Lakeside Insurance picks up a PPE kit on July 6.
CASEY VAN DIVIER
Free PPE provided to Arvada businesses Businesses can register to pick up PPE through ongoing program BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CVANDIVIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arvada businesses can pick up free personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves, paper towels, masks, disinfectant, rubbing alcohol and infrared thermometers through a new summer offering. The city of Arvada has ordered the PPE in bulk using CARES Act funding and is working to distribute the items with the Arvada Resiliency Taskforce, a group made up of numerous community organizations including the Arvada Chamber of Commerce, Arvada Visitor’s Center and others. The groups have also partnered with environmental contractor Custom Environmental Services, which is headquartered in Arvada, to store the PPE prior to distribution. Any business that has an Arvada business license can sign up to receive the equipment they need. Businesses must fill out a liability
release form and application prior to picking up supplies and can access the forms at the Arvada Chamber’s website, arvadachamber.org. After filling out an application, businesses will be given a date, time and location for pickup. The city and taskforce plan to continue distributing the PPE twice a week for several weeks as long as the need continues, said Jean Gordon, executive director with the Arvada Visitor’s Center. Businesses will likely be able to come back to pick up a second PPE kit at some point, with the frequency of how often a business can return still to be determined, she said. In addition to what has already been provided, the taskforce and city also hope to acquire other PPE items based on feedback from businesses. On the first day of the distribution, July 6, the taskforce was expecting around 50 businesses, Gordon said. “We’re helping them get things they can’t find and offering cost savings,” she said. “We’re so happy to be able to support businesses in this way.” Businesses who came to pick up the supplies said they view the PPE
CUTS COMING
A $6.3 million shave to the county in the works for next year
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Employees of Arvada businesses stand in line to get PPE through a program the city is running with the help of the Arvada Resiliency Taskforce. as a necessity for their businesses to stay open during the ongoing pandemic. “We need it to keep everyone safe, our employees and our customers, in order to keep our doors open,” said Brandon Pickering, general manager at Pickering’s Auto Service. Rita Lawrence, a co-owner of All Secure Lock and Security, echoed the sentiment. “It’s really hard to find other places where they have these things,” she said. “For them to be able to procure this and help us out is really cool.”
RECALL BEGINS Petition signatures are needed to trigger city council recall election P4
Statement cites evidence that speedway violated agreement reached before event BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Jefferson County Public Health is promising to pursue legal action against Bandimere Speedway’s owner after the speedway held a racing event on July 4 that allegedly violated a court order that laid out crowd size and social distancing requirements for the event. According to a statement posted on the JCPH website, JCPH and Bandimere agreed to “clear, court ordered requirements” leading up to the Jet Car Nationals event “with the intention of permitting a well-controlled event to proceed.” “While Bandimere said they would comply prior to the event, those requirements were violated,” the statement reads. According to the statement, that agreement included requirements for six feet of social distancing between households to be maintained and that gatherings within the venue be limited to “175 people per activity area” However, the release clarified that requirement did not limit the entire venue to 175 people. Instead, Bandimere was supposed to use the social distance calculator to determine how many individuals, up to a maximum of 175 people, could safely social distance in various areas, such as individual grandstands. “This did not occur,” JCPH Public Affairs Manager Ashley Sever said. Sever said the county does not have an estimate of the total attendance at the SEE BANDIMERE, P10
TRAINS, POOLS AND PUTT-PUTT Here are some things you can do this summer P12